Dystopia and Utopia in ""

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews Margaret Atwood's "A Handmaid's Tale" and discusses the dystopian and utopian themes in the book. The author summarizes the book and discusses how the dystopic elements of the novel are shown by the religious zealots who took control of the United States and prevented women from working, owning money, and eliminated freedom of choice. The author also includes excerpts of irony present in the book, especially in the utopian elements of the novel when the Handmaids come together in an idealized unity of female bonding.

From the Paper:

"That women are supposed to exist only as reproductive vessels is reinforced by the fact that the Handmaids are not even allowed to read, when they go marketing. The women go from shop to shop, purchasing meat and vegetables in a kind of idealized setting of a common village, talking with one another and bonding with one another in a way that is often sadly lacking in modern life. Offred cherishes her conversations with Ofglen, a fellow handmaid, and the two establish a bond of closeness because of their common acknowledgement of female oppression. Offred, uncomfortable with Moira's lesbianism and her mother's radical feminist politics during the previous regime, now begins to understand the need for women to bond with women, not necessarily as lovers, but at least as human beings."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New York: Fawcett Crest, 1986.

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