Abstract
The following paper will look at the construction of masculinity in Margaret Atwood's, The Edible Woman. In so doing, the paper will look at the topic of marriage and how this defines the construction of masculinity in the text - most notably by showing how men with romantic depictions of masculinity tend to recoil at the prospect of marriage. Additionally, the paper will compare the treatment of the female form in the novel to the treatment of the male form - paying particular attention to the latter. In the process of so doing, the "physicality" of the human body will not only be looked at through a comparative prism but also looked at in a manner which reveals the male body as something that stands for adventure, action, freedom (of the sexual kind, certainly) and functionality. When all is said and done, masculinity in Atwood's, The Edible Woman, is held up as fleeing from the constraints of domesticity and women - unless, perhaps, those things can be controlled by the man. Put another way, the masculine retreats when it perceives its freedom of movement to be under assault.

From the Paper
The Construction of Masculinity in Margaret Atwood's, The Edible Woman The following paper will look at the construction of masculinity in Margaret Atwood's, The Edible Woman. In so doing, the paper will look at the topic of marriage and how this defines the construction of masculinity in the text - most notably by showing how men with romantic depictions of masculinity tend to recoil at the prospect of marriage. Additionally, the paper will compare the treatment of the female form in the novel to the treatment of the male form - paying particular attention to the latter. In the process of so doing, the "physicality" of the human body will not only be looked at through a comparative prism but also looked at in a manner

Tags:masculinity, margaret, atwood

Abstract
The paper pinpoints when Atwood's character, "Kat," has her epiphany in the story and also outlines why Kat is highly unlikely to ever learn from the hard-earned insight she has stumbled across. Finally, the paper explores Kat's character in detail because her character is quintessentially that of the woman who has put aside all else in pursuit of her professional and short-term aspirations - only to discover that her selfishness and impulsiveness have been her undoing. The paper argues that the quiet tragedy of Atwood's story is that this is one moment of epiphany that does not re-shape the central character in healthful ways.

From the Paper
"The following paper will explore the use of epiphany by Margaret Atwood in her acclaimed short story, "Hairball." Specifically, the ensuing few pages will pinpoint when Atwood's character, "Kat," has her epiphany in the story; they will also outline why Kat is highly unlikely to ever learn from the hard-earned insight she has stumbled across. Finally, the paper will explore Kat's character in detail because her character is quintessentially that of the woman who has put aside all else in pursuit of her professional and short-term aspirations - only to discover that her selfishness and impulsiveness have been her undoing. The quiet tragedy of..."

Tags:hairball, atwood, epiphany

Abstract
The paper discusses the core question that Margaret Atwood deals with in her novel "Cat's Eye" that is the question of how women can find a place in history, given that being female is essentially to be excluded from history. The paper looks at how Atwood challenges the dominant master narratives of history, which supposedly embody universal truths, but which in fact exclude women and other "minorities" from positions of visibility, agency and power. The paper shows how one of the key master narratives in Western society is religion, and specifically the Christian religion.

From the Paper
"The core question that Margaret Atwood deals with in her novel "Cat's Eye" is the question of how women can find a place in history, given that being female is essentially to be excluded from history. In other words, how can a history be written that includes women? In answering this question, Atwood challenges the dominant master narratives of history, which supposedly embody universal truths, but which in fact exclude women and other "minorities" from positions of visibility, agency and power. One of the key master narratives in Western society is religion, and specifically..."

Tags:margaret, atwood, religion

Abstract
This paper examines the symbolic aspects found in the setting of Margaret Atwood's novel "Surfacing." Additionally, the paper analyzes one of the chief characters in the novel and explains how this individual is important to the over-all narrative. Additionally, the paper argues that silence, miscommunication and suspicion twist human relationships, a central theme in the story.

From the Paper
"The following brief paper will discuss the symbolic aspects found in the setting to Margaret Atwood's Surfacing. Additionally, the paper will look at one of the chief characters in the novel and explain how this individual is important to the over-all narrative. In the end, the next several pages will argue that silence, miscommunication and suspicion and how they twist human relationships are central to the story; no less importantly, her uneasy relationship with her male companion, Joe, suggests how communicating with men is not something she can do - or at least not well enough."

Tags:margaret, atwood, surfacing

Abstract
This paper explores and analyzes the narrative structure used by Margaret Atwood's in her novel entitled "Surfacing." According to the paper, the narrative structure is an extremely important part of achieving the author's complex objectives. Additionally, the paper describes this novel as an intricately crafted account of a complete descent into madness, and the beginning of a recovery, set over the time span of just ten days. However, the novel also references the past extensively, showing how events of the past have precipitated this mental collapse.

From the Paper
"In Margaret Atwood's novel 'Surfacing', the narrative structure is an extremely important part of achieving the author's complex objectives. This novel is an intricately crafted account of a complete descent into madness, and the beginning of a recovery, set over the time span of just ten days. However, the novel also references the past extensively, showing how events of the past have precipitated this mental collapse. As will be shown in this essay, Atwood uses the narrative structure to help her perfect her extremely successful portrayal of the character's state of..."

Tags:atwood, surfacing, narrative

Abstract
This paper explains that Margaret Atwood is not merely a writer but also the author of a more formative treatise on Canadian literature, "Survival", which serves as a context for interpreting and understanding the work of Canadian authors, in which she claims that Canada has a distinct national literature, distinguished from American and British standards. The author relates that Atwood argues that the central organizing metaphor or "symbol" for Canadian literature is survival, not merely that act of living through difficult times but rather an entire mind-set, which pervades the people and literature of the nation. The paper states that Atwood, writing from her own experience, lived as a child in the deep bush and observed the difference between what the characters of "Cat's Eye" call the wild and the tame of the world and the characters of "Surfacing" call the natives and the Americans.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Atwood's Career History
Survival: The Theory
Nature and Meaning in "Surfacing"
Survival and Nature in "Cat's Eye"
The Influence of Atwood's Life
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The challenge of surviving society and seeking legitimacy is perhaps the greatest challenge in "Cat's Eye", and yet the society of Toronto against which Elaine struggles is rather tame in comparison with the difficult situations of some of Atwood's other heroines, such as Offred. In "Handmaid's Tale", the great difficulties which patriarchy creates for women who wish to communicate with one another are made less subtle and more blatant. Offred spends months communicating with Ofglen before they begin to be able to communicate more than a few words at a time. She is likewise unable to truly communicate with Serena or with the Marthas. Here the Aunts inform and abuse their fellow women, and paranoia and backstabbing are the norm."

Tags:treatise, survival, heroines, mind-set, experience

Abstract
This paper describes how Margaret Atwood's literature fuses feminism with the Canadian experience of survival in the wilderness and how Atwood finds the same dilemma repeated in the experience of woman struggling against patriarchal domination. Indeed she locates patriarchy at the root of both evils. The paper analyzes key poems of Atwood such as "The Journals of Susanna Moodie" to show how she expresses the existential disjunction that occurs in patriarchal society when it tries to dominate nature.

From the Paper
"It is in order to emphasize this disjunction that Atwood chooses to focus on the experiences of the early 19th century Canadian poet Susanna Moodie in her cycle of poems under the heading The Journals of Susanna Moodie. She was a genteel English Lady who emigrated to Canada with her husband, and writes about her harsh experiences of surviving in the wilderness. Atwood's contention is that Moodie's experience is not just an adaptation process for an English lady, but in fact points to a permanent Canadian experience, which persists in more subtle forms to this day. In the Journal she tries to recreate the 19th century experience in light of the modern one. "

Tags:patriarchy, disjunction, wilderness, handmaid's, tale, Susannah, Moodie

Abstract
This paper deals with the life and works of Margaret Atwood, a Canadian author, who had a significant impact on various forms of literature; both internationally and in her home country. Her works include numerous novels, poems, and short stories on various themes and she is viewed by many as a champion of Canadian literature. The paper relates that, through her writing, Atwood has tackled many topics that are social or political in nature and that many of Atwood's works are decidedly feminist.

From the Paper
"One of the more notable works along this line is The Handmaid's Tale, published in 1985. Set in Massachusetts, this novel deals with the subjugation of women in a futuristic, dystopian society. Christianity has taken over and a repressive social order is instituted. In a throw-back to archaic times, women are relegated to a position of insignificance apart from the purpose of bearing children. Dissidents of all varieties are routinely publicly executed, infertile women are banished to barely inhabitable lands, and all divorces are made retroactively void.
As the Christian Bible is peppered with sexist notions that women are second-class in nature, Atwood's depiction of a future that is devoid of secular control does not seem too far-fetched; though religion is certainly not the only aspect she draws attention to. Throughout the book, many issues are tackled. Generic fascism is explored to many ends, though mostly in a manner dealing with the subjugation of women. Methods of social control are present in almost every facet; something which Atwood draws attention to with the treatment of dissidents by the book's authorities; especially so with women who are controlled through various means such as color-coding their clothing to indicate a woman's status and class."

Tags:human-rights, sexist, rebellion, controversy

Abstract
This paper provides an analytical overview of Margaret Atwood's "Happy Endings," in which six sketches illustrate vast differences between the beginnings and middles of six stories that end the same way. The paper explains that this premise is predicated on the fact that ultimately everyone dies, conveniently ignoring the fact that a story need not be carrying through to this ultimate conclusion to have relevance. The paper notes that Atwood's point is to stress the importance of understanding how the conclusion is reached and why; Atwood's other point in "Happy Endings" is that the story endings themselves are mere window dressing. The paper concludes that the heart of the story is in the reasons why that mutual love does not occur.

From the Paper
"The examples of B and C illustrate stories with conflict. The point Atwood makes towards the end is that it is not the actions themselves that are the main point of interest, but the reasons for the actions. The conflict that arises between Mary and John in B derives from a lack of love on the part of John. The heart of the story is not that John does not love Mary, but why he does not and why she does love him. These questions reach into the core of the two characters and are the key to insight."

Tags:cause, effect, Canadian, literature

Abstract
This paper analyzes these two poems by Margaret Atwood explaining that, in the nine years between the time that these poems were written, Atwood's focus in her poetry shifted from the observance of nature and contemplation of its place in the lives of people to acceptance of the natural mysteries and their refusal to be categorized in human terms.

From the Paper
"In "Night Poem" she uses a free verse form with no consistent meter throughout. The poem is thirty lines long, with four verses, each one expressing one complete thought. She begins with the words said by parents to their children through the ages: "There is nothing to be afraid of". The entire first verse is this thought, with the last two lines drawing us into the mind of the child from the mind of the parent. She replaces the father and the mother of the daytime with the "father and mother" of the night, Thunder and Rain."

Tags:metaphysical, subject, matter, light, heightened, awareness, presences, hours, darkness