Dystopia Journal 2: Topic C

The author of The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, is a feminist. This is seen in the book as the women in the society, the Republic of Gilead, are oppressed by the men. They are not allowed to work (except for household chores or work of that sort), unable to read or write, and are really only valued for their ovaries. However, Atwood makes the men look very stupid throughout the book. She makes them seem oblivious to the fact that all the women are against the society, and that most of them are disobeying so many of the rules. She portrays the women as being smarter than the men think they are. This shows her view of women. Atwood believes that women do outsmart men.
What makes this book so powerful and uncomfortable to read is how so much in the book relates to our lives as they are today. Offred's old life was what society today would consider a normal life. I think that this makes this possibility of the future even more believable because it is not a distant subject from the reader. It is in fact the reader's life that they are talking about. It is scary to think how much society could change. Especially here in the case of women's rights, which we have worked so hard for, to disappear in the blink of an eye.
In The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood really does not offer much hope. The one thing that seems to offer some kind of comfort is the fact that mostly all of the other women are on the same page. They mostly are all afraid and disagree with how the society has changed. There is comfort in knowing that they are not alone in such a strange and horrible society for women.

Word Count: 299