The Handmaid's Tale

Rating:
Summary: A quest for personal freedom in the face of degradation
Review: Atwood's work is enjoyable on a number of levels. The first of these is in her talent as a storyteller. Her narrative constructs are rich in multiple layers that move through time with abandon, employing the use of flashbacks, dreams and distorted memory to go in and out of the story to re-examine the clues that are being left for us. Her work always has strong ties to the detective/mystery genre, even if the surface level would suggest otherwise. Here the story begins in a manner akin to film-noir, as we are thrown into a setting that we do not understand, whilst a myriad of stark and constantly free-flowing evocations are thrown at us in an attempt to leave us as bewildered and disturbed as the central character. It works. This subjective opening vignette was enough to persuade me to initially give up on the book as I waded into the unknown. Too ambiguous I though... too directionless. I stuck with it though, and gave the book my full concentration, so that by the time I'd reached the end of chapter two I really couldn't stop. I was engrossed.

The story is pretty much non-existent... in the same way that the story to such classics as the Bell Jar and the Lord of the Flies was an excuse by their author's for an emotional journey, so too is this. Our focus for attention is a mysterious woman known as Offred, who becomes our guide to this alien world, as we become her confidant. In the same way that Alex shares with us his exploits in A Clockwork Orange, so to does Offred, who shares with us her pain, her fragmented memories and her desire for some kind of escape. The central enigma is the discovery of her name before the construction of the colonies and the disintegration of society. This ties in with Atwood's other great talent, that being her fierce knowledge of social and political history. This gives her work an even starker emotional relevance that makes the usually far-fetched confines of science fiction seem almost like documented history. Her attention to detail in creating the world in which these characters inhabit is completely mind-blowing, being both an original, imaginative construct but also a horrifying reflection of our own world.

The book was first published in the mid-nineteen-eighties and we can clearly see the shadow of AIDS hanging like the sword of Damocles above the central social ideology and the aggressive treatment of sex and sensuality. There are also many allusions to the treatment of the Jews during the holocaust, the civil rights movement and unified segregation... all shot through with the many pretensions of that particular decade and it's "now" generation. The story builds slowly but we never feel bored by what is happening. Through the use of the slow-burning detective lay out, Atwood is able to get the reader interested in these characters and ask ourselves questions throughout the book... so, by the half way point I was demanding answers, moving through the book faster than any other I've ever read but at the same time trying to savour every last evocative detail. By the time I'd reached the closing chapters I was completely in love with the character of Offred... Atwood is able to embody this woman with a "real" spirit that makes us care about her like no other literary figure before (...a slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean!).

The dénouement of the book is a stunning example of Atwood creative use of storytelling. Not wanting to give anything away, I'll just say it's one of those endings that places an entirely new light on the proceeding work and leaves you desperate to go back to the beginning and start all over again. The whole book is tied together by Atwood's stunning use of language... honestly, if you ever get the chance to experience her poetry do so. The use of description here creates a kind of atmosphere that few books can equate, carefully setting up a level of mechanical degradation during the scenes within the colonies, whilst simultaneously giving the memories of Offred and her moments of tranquillity a down to earth beauty that is still totally real. This book moved and gripped me like no other, taking me on an intelligent and deeply compelling journey into the soul of one of the most significant tortured heroines ever created. To dismiss it as a copy of 1984 and Brave New World is a great injustice... as this book has an underlining degree of beauty that those works could only dream of.

Rating:
Summary: The Handmaid's Review
Review: Jason Thibault Book Review 12-17

The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. In the book the Handmaids Tale the main
character is Offred. A Handmaid that lives in Gilead. Offred who was a
Handmaid had the Commander as her man. His wife who was a gospel singer is named
Serena Joy. While Offred was having her monthly cycle she was to have sex with
the Commander while his wife Serena sits behind her holding her hands. There
are rules that the Handmaids need to follow. They are restricted to do things
that every other woman who wasn't a Handmaid could do. She cant leave the house
for normal foods shopping trips. The Gilead police kept a close eye on where
she was at all times. While the story is going on she really puts a little more
interest into the story she flashes back when things remind her of certain
things.
During these flashbacks there is the new world and the old world. In the old
world she had a affair with Luke who was divorced and married Offred and had one
child. Architects in Gilead took over completely, the military assassinated
the president and his followers of Congress and said they were taking over.
This age was where the woman were abused and used for prostitution. The Congress
decided that its time to tighten the rules for woman and having them not being
able to work or and have property. While this was occurring Offred lost her
husband and daughter through the mess.
Life while being the servant of the Commander was a lot different but always
the same. It was the kind of life that kept things the same and in the routine.
She sometimes takes trips with Ofglen to get some food. When she finally gets
away from the routine to go the doctor but it wasn't a good checkup he wants to
have sex with Offred to get her pregnant, but Offred refuses to have it because
if she is caught she could be send away. Then the Commander demands his gardener
Nick to go and see her. When he sees her he keeps going to see her on a regular
basis.
Ofglen who is Offred's friend tells her that she is a member of the "Mayday" a
group of people or organization trying to overthrow Gilead. She tries to find
the Ceremony that is different now that she knows the Commander. Then she
really is unhappy and she expresses her feelings to the Commander and he gets
mad and makes remarks that aren't very nice. Offred and the Commander had been
trying to have a baby for quite a long time and she really doesn't know what
else to do so Serena the Commanders wife tells her to go and have sex with Nick
his gardener. So when she has a baby with him she can say it was the Commander
when it really wasn't.
The novel ends by Professor Piexoto explaining that Gilead. Then he explains
how important Offred story but no on really knows what went on in the escape if
Nick helped or not and where did she go.
The Handmaids tale was a book that was a very good but book. But however it was
a little confusing for the average reader. When she jumped back and forth with
her flashbacks it was hard to follow if that just happened or if it was really a
flash back. I suggest this to any reader that tries or does read it because it
was a book that put the reader in the character's shoes more then other books.
It showed how terrible it was to be a woman

Rating:
Summary: A Prescient Vision of the Near-Future
Review: I highly recommend this book to everyone out there in the ether. Read it closely-- this is what happens when the religious right wins. I am amazed that Atwood was able to see our future so clearly when she wrote this book in the early 1980s.

In "The Handmaid's Tale," the Bible Thumpers have overtaken our government, demolished the church-state barrier, and installed their own vile brand of theocratic fascism in the Republic of Gilead. (Take note: they rise to power by citing a constant threat of unnamed terrorists, necessitating police state measures.)

In Gilead, everyone is segregated into a strict caste hierarchy. Men may be the Commanders, who are in charge, the Eyes, who are the agents of the Panopticon who whisk away any deviants, the Angels who wage the faraway wars, etc. Women's options are more strictly delimited: they may be the Wives of the Commanders, Econowives of the lower ranks, the Aunts who dominate and control women of the lower ranks, the Marthas who do menial household chores, the prostitute Jezebels, and the Maids like the narrator Offred.

As a Maid, Offred's sole purpose in life is to breed with her Commander. The manner in which Commander Fred attempts to "fertilize" Offred simply must be read to be believed. Interestingly, the Gileadans cite Biblical precedent to support this bizarre method of surrogate conception. Maids are terminated if they prove unable to conceive.

Since Offred's life options are so severely restricted, most of the novel takes place in her head. She reminisces about the time before, when she was able to marry, own property, and have her own children, the gradual increase in restrictions, and her failed attempt at escape. The novel is crushing in its illustration of a life thwarted, stunted, and defeated, and a woman made into an empty childbearing vessel. Reading the book, I was reminded of prison memoirs-- Offred has no chance of an external life, and is trapped in a life of solitude and regret.

Some people might say that such a future is unthinkable in our democratic society. I would recommend that you speak to any member of the extreme evangelical ministries, which view Jefferson's separation of church and state as a lie and an illusion to be abolished, and believe in the literal, inerrant truth of the Bible. I would also recommend that you read V.S. Naipaul's "Among the Believers," concerning the Islamic revolutions in Iran and Pakistan. Gilead's corporal punishments for heresy, dismantling of all democratic institutions like the press, and mandatory "Prayvaganzas" closely track what happened in Iran after the Ayatollahs overthrew the Shah.

I would place this excellent book on par with "1984" and "Brave New World." "The Handmaid's Tale" is necessary reading in this day and age.

Rating:
Summary: Handmaids Tale Review
Review: Todd Leveillee
English 12, 2004
The Handmaids Tale
Book Review

After assassinating the President and the members of Congress the Gilead continued to crack down on laws. They took away most of the rights for women, like being able to have property or the ability to hold a job. Knowing this Offred and Luke fled with their daughter and attempted to cross the border into Canada. Stopped there, Offred never saw Luke or their daughter again. From there she would no longer be a person with feelings, just an object of pleasure, and the duty of a handmaid.
The main character Offred meets Luke by having an affair with him. Luke divorces his wife and produces a child with Offred. They are caught trying to flee the country and separated. After being captured she was sent to the Re-education Center or the Red Center. This is where the women would be taught about the routine and duties of becoming a handmaid. When Offred finishes her training she is sent to the Commander's house. Weekly checkups are endured to make sure there are no diseases and after each checkup the handmaids go to the Ceremony. At the Ceremony the Commander reads to everyone from the bible. After this Offred and the Commander's wife, Serena go to the Commander's room. Offred has sex with the Commander while Serena sits up behind her and holds her hands. Offred is told by Nick, the Commander's gardener and chauffeur that the Commander wants to meet with her. They meet and Offred finds out that the Commander just wants to play scrabble with her. Time goes by and Offred has still not become pregnant. Serena wants Offred to have sex with Nick and just say that the baby is the Commander's. Offred and Nick begin to have sex on a regular basis. Offred travels secretly to a club called Jezebel's with the Commander. Serena finds out about this and she says she is going to punish her. Offred is waiting in her room when she sees a black van approaching the house. Nick comes into Offred's room and tells her that it is really Mayday members coming to save her. Mayday is a group that is trying to overthrow the Gilead. Offred leaves with the men and will never see the Commander again. At the close of the novel Offred says, "And so I step up, into the darkness within; or else the light." Meaning, she does not know where her life will lead her from here.
At the beginning of this novel this book seemed like it was just going to be about a woman that gave herself up for sex and continued to have flashbacks. It turned out to be about a woman that was transformed from a woman to an object fighting for survival. When I say she was transformed from a woman to an object I mean that she cared about life and Luke until she was turned to a handmaid. Since becoming a handmaid her life changes drastically. She now has a set routine of where she stays, what she eats and the tasks she is asked to perform. When Offred begins to develop a relationship with the Commander she is taking a huge risk. If she is caught by anyone, including Serena she could possibly be killed. Knowing this she still continues to go back. She is really in a predicament where she has no choice. If she goes and gets caught she is done for. If she doesn't go and goes against the Commander's request she will be punished. Either way it's a lose, lose situation. As the novel continues it seems like Serena senses that Offred is close with the Commander and tries to get her to sleep with Nick. Offred who has been longing to sleep with Nick abides by Serena's request. I call Offred an object because she has no say in anything she does. She must do as she is told or face the penalty. Just like a real life object she goes wherever she is taken does whatever she is told. This novel really keeps the reader interested because you find yourself always wondering, "What will happen next?"

Rating:
Summary: The Handmaid's Tale Reveiw
Review: Saverio Montecalvo
English 12, 2004
The Handmaid's Tale
Book Review

This story is about Dystopia. It is the author, Margaret Atwood's view of what her real world Dystopia would be like. The story is about what could happen if the government and the people lose control of what they have. It shows what could go wrong and what life would be without order. There are not that many details when reading the book, of why the world had been turned upside down so quickly. You have to make up your own ideas on what you think happened and why it happened. I believe that the author left it that way so the reader could be creative when reading this book. You begin to ask yourself question on why, would the world would turn into such a religious society, which was once so sane, and peaceful. This society slowly takes over and eventually they run everything, even sex. All the women are given the choice to either be sent to "the Colonies," or become a handmaid. The Handmaids wear red robes, white blinders, and do there own shopping. At this point of the book this does not seem to be a life or death situation for anyone. You try to keep your head and not let the society take control of you like they have done everyone else, however this will shortly change. The worst is yet to come. I will try not giving away all the major details in The Handmaid's Tale. In the new society, you are not allowed to see your previous kids, family, porn, or the other handmaids. One of the parts that I didn't like was all the flash backs that she was having during many of the parts of the book. I found them to be very confusing and hard to figure out, what was going on. I had to read some of the passages a couple of times, some times more than others. However I liked how the author used the past to create a background of the main character, Offred. You may think that the names are weird know, but once you read the book, in the later chapters you will find out what the Handmaid's names mean. I also like the great detail in which the author described in the book. It felt like you were in the room, you know where everything was; it was like you wanted to reach out and touch something.

The only thing that I would change was, I would give it a proper ending as it does not have one and it is frustrating not knowing what happens. You will know what I mean when you finish the book. I felt like there should have been another chapter, on what had happened to the main character Offred and to the rest of the Dystopia.

I would recommend it because it is so different and interesting from anything else.


Rating:
Summary: My Review
Review: When a woman is not given the choice to create a human. She will become a person not even herself can come to know. For sex is the art of governing. The Handmaids Tale is a malicious story told in a way only one can feel sympathetic for Offred, a handmaid living in the Republic of Gilead. She is to be obedient and is considered petty to all that are not handmaids. This is a place that has continued without interference of the past. For Gilead's future does not consist of love anymore but arranged child births and marriages. Offred is a woman that only exists in this community for her ability to produce children.

This cause for the existence of a child is so the future can reek of children molded into what this nation believes they should be. My opinion, which I hope is obvious, is that no child's future should be chosen by anyone but themselves. A person should not be able to just sit back and marvel at the sexual suggestions being spewed out. These are innocent babies being torn away from ever being able to say a phrase like "I love you, I really do." Offred's body is not the only one of its kind being tortured numerous times. This is only a story told by one handmaid. I just don't see how anyone can be self-assured when a woman is being provided by another like property. And let this happen to these woman when they have never been subjected to these "ways" before. These people should get paid for being generally annoying and irritating. How can you expect one to be sociable and efficient. When they are treated as if they are only this set of names and faces given away with instructions. I am not only furious with the ways of Gilead but disappointed. I know theoretically women are smarter. But I did not think they would go this far to control us. These things should stay in the privacy of your own home. I demand these people to stop humiliating themselves. You think you're the future of "birth" just because you manipulate women. One word for you "Wrong." Because no matter what happens there will always be that no passion, boredom, emptiness, need, laughter, and energy to communicate in this terrifying picture of the world. Some will not be able to tolerate, for example me. There is no real principal behind it because Gilead's expectations are unrealistically high.

But some unrealistic things can be capable of existing. That's why I recommend this book. Because it helps you appreciate the way our government is now. I am personally against a lot the government does today. But after read this tale I have come to appreciate it much more. I know most of you are saying something on line of "This would never happen, so what's your purpose." Well I do have a purpose because anything could happen. Its not like we would have agreed with a person ten years ago when they said "Two planes will crash into the twin towers." Our government is not perfect and neither are the people trying live by it. I guess the biggest problem in our mind's today is time. Because we have come to accept this life we live. But ,maybe some day you should try thinking out of the box.

Rating:
Summary: A life of sex while hanging on to hope
Review: The Republic of Gilead is a place where no woman would want to be summoned for it is a place where certain women, called Handmaids, are used as sex slaves. A woman given the name Offred explains her life as being a Handmaid and how she once had the life as a wife and mother. Now she can only think of her past and appreciate what she once had and hope one day that she will regain some of it back. Offred continues to explain through out the book how she was forced to live with a man, known as the Commander of the household, and his wife to be used solemnly for her ability to give birth. As interesting as the life Offred is now living, she surprisingly slowly shares information of her past and how everything came to be. As the book prospers, you can't help to want to know the future of Offred and her past. As things become unbearable in the Republic of Gilead, it is as if you also seem to slowly lose hope of ever gaining change. The best part is not quite really understanding what is happening in the novel, yet wanting to understand.

I believe The Handmaid's Tale was fantastic. I liked how the author only allowed Offred to tell certain parts of her past at random moments. Because I am a woman and the fact that Handmaids were being used for there abilities to give birth made me want to find out if Offred would escape from her, so called, destiny. Knowing that Offred wondered what had happened to her mother, Luke, daughter, and sometimes Moira, also made you curious on what had happened to them. There were moments through out the book that would make you think there was hope on yet escaping but then around the corner was just the opposite. As the reader, I just wanted to know what would come of Offred. For example, there was a time where you thought maybe the Commander, of the household Offred was sleeping in, would be Offred's ticket home. Then there are many women of Gilead who, like Offred, are against what has happened which could possibly lead to an escape. Of course there was the possibility of Offred becoming pregnant. The Republic of Gilead amazes me from the arranged marriages to the hangings in town. The Republic of Gilead is an awful place as described by a woman given the name Offred. However, just as Offred's new life in Gilead prospers so does her outlook on life and her heart and mind is swarmed with mixed feelings and soon yours are too.

If you have an interest in novels that are based on the feelings and emotions of one certain character, you will enjoy The Handmaids Tale. I definitely recommend that people read this novel because it keeps your interest and it makes you think differently about life. After I had read The Handmaids I appreciated my life more. The Handmaids Tale has excitement, mystery, unhappiness, paranoia and even romance. If you want to experience the life a woman who has lost her past and now must live a life of sex, pain, love, and hope you should read The Handmaids Tale.