The Handmaids Tale Gender Inequality Essay - 1067 Words

John Enright Dr. P English 103 3 October 2017 Lack of Difference from Women in The Handmaid’s Tale and Women in Modern Day Society Picture being in a world where women no longer have the freedom to purchase items, instead all of their money can be found in their husband’s account. This is the life of the Handmaids; their lives reflect those of slaves because they can’t go anywhere alone, have no money of their own, and live in constant fear of being sent to the Colonies. Small parts of gender equality can be seen in today’s society. The overall theme of The Handmaid’s Tale is gender inequality; this is particularly seen with how the women are treated in comparison to men. Gender inequality is seen throughout the novel by the role a†¦show more content†¦In The Handmaids Tale citizens must abide by the new rules, therefore they are in constant fear of punishment which includes death. â€Å"Abortion, possibly the key issue of the Christian political movement, also had its federal funding eliminated, even though attempts to limit or outlaw abortion itself were fought successful ly on Constitutional grounds.† (Napierkowoski) Many people like to argue that men are also mistreated in the novel. Men, such as the Commander, may desire to experience a true connection, this can be seen between the Commander and Offreds’ secret affair. The difference between the Commander and the Handmaids is that the Commander gets to raise a child unlike the Handmaids which are just seen as sex machines. â€Å"My red skirt is hitched up to my waist, though no higher. Below it the Commander is fucking. What he is fucking is the lower part of my body. I do not say making love, because this is not what he’s doing. Copulating too would be inaccurate, because it would imply two people and only one is involved† (Attwood 94). Shows how they are only used as sex machines†¦. Gilead believes that women are valuable if they are fertile and can reproduce. It can be seen in history where it is seen as the women’s fault, with Henry the Eighth. He killed his wives because they were unable to give him a son, when in reality Henry the Eighths gene left him unable produce aShow MoreRelatedMargaret Atwood : A Social Activist1225 Words   |  5 Pagespolitical climate, however, was Margaret Atwood: a voice that refused to be silenced, a progressive storyteller who interwove her writings with feminist themes that pushed boundaries and defied the status quo. Her prolific writing career is full of poems, essays, short-stories, and novels that have permanently altered the perception of Canadian literature, while never ceasing to shed light on pertinent cultural and social issues. Margaret Eleanor Atwood was born on November 18, 1939 in Ottawa, CanadaRead MoreFeminism And The Feminist Theory1942 Words   |  8 Pagesbeliefs about men, women, and gender roles; mainly, the feminist theory addresses how gender roles are unequal and how gender influences aspects of everyday life (â€Å"Feminist Literary Theory†) (Moffitt). In this way, the feminist theory can be used to analyze a variety of texts, including the poems, the â€Å"Siren Song† by Margaret Atwood and â€Å"It’s a Woman’s World† by Eavan Boland. Both poems display connections to the feminist theory, particularly in how gender roles and inequality between the sexes influenceRead MoreThe Great Gatsby And The Handmaid s Tale : Crushing Dreams2951 Words   |  12 PagesRilye Fries Mrs. Tucker English 12 hour 3 13 March 2015 The Great Gatsby and The Handmaid’s Tale: Crushing Dreams The Great Gatsby is regarded as a classic novel for its sad and hopeful story of Jay Gatsby and his quest to obtain Daisy Buchanan, his first love. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid s Tale is regarded as a more modern day classic, taking place in a dystopian society where women are regarded as sex slaves and the Bible is law. Both F. Scott Fitzgerald and Margaret Atwood, despite having