The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood is a novel that takes place in a dystopian world where the United States of America has been replaced with the Republic of Gilead due to the declining rate of fertility. The Republic of Gilead has stripped women of all their rights. Meaning, women are not allowed to own property or have jobs. Women’s sole purpose in society is to serve men and birth children. Men in high classes are known as Commanders are the ones with the power since they can do anything that is politically, economically and socially.Women are assigned different roles and colors. There are the Wives who wear blue and are in charge of the household and most of them have fertility issues. The Handmaid’s wear red and serve as the surrogates for the wives and their main purpose is reproduction. Then there are the Marthas who wear green and purpose are those of a maid and nanny. The Econowives wear strips of multicolor and are the wives of those who have less money and power. Then there are the aunts who train the Handmaid’s. The novel follows a woman named Offred and her new life as a handmaid. Offred’s story is told by flashbacks of the past before the government was taken out and the life she had and switching to the present and the new role she plays in society including the things she must do to survive as a woman in a world where men rule.
Overall, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is a very tense, emotional, and raw novel about women getting their rights taken away. A world where women must bow to men and their purpose is to reproduce. Women lived independently, had jobs and owned their own property but it was taken away because men decided that the Bible says differently and it must be followed. It is disgusting, enraging, and heartbreaking that women went from finally having something to nothing just because men decided it was for the better. The story of Offred makes your heart drop because she was ripped away from her husband and daughter and has no idea where they are or if they are even alive. Her freedom, along with every women, is taken away and her purpose is to be a Handmaid and give a child to the Commander and his wife. Offred must follow and obey the rules if she wants to survive.
