context & critical ideas for handmaids Flashcards
where is Atwoods personal link to context?
relative accused of being a witch and nearly hung in Puritan New England
How may Puritan New England relate to THT
Gilead has similar religious views to Gilead and oppresses women.
women are not permitted beauty rituals etc
witch trials villainise and target women
when did tht come out
1985
how may the context of the 1980s influence tht
‘the american new right’ ideology becoming popularised
-right wing fundamentalists
-support from Regan and republicans
-advocated for return to moral values
what else did the American New right advocate for
-against abortion, divorce and gay rights
-wanted to tighten family morals
-popular in the ‘bible belt’ of america
who is a strong figure of the ANR and who is she represented by
Phyllis Schalfy - Serena joy
speeches advocating traditional morals
which counter movement to the ANR is represented by offred’s mother
new rise of second-wave feminist backlash
-womens liberation movement begins rallies pro-abortion, anti-porn and pro sexual freedom
how do the characters represent different reactions to political troubles
-Janine - accepts her role as a victim and in the patriachy
-moira - fights against it, radical liberal feminism
-Offred - not overtly political but represents apathy and indifference toward political upheavel
what does offreds character provide insight to
-apathetic young women.
importance to fight for beliefs
otherwise power is given to extreme right
what are features of dystopian literature
-totalitarism
-patriachal rule
-ideals of utopia
-strict social hierachies
-censorship & propaganda
-strong oppression
-control of language
how is control of language presented and similar to other dystopian novels
-the language of the handmaids and their greetings.
-1984 George Orwell’s ‘Newspeak’
what is the irony of Gilead’s rule
was advertised and fought for a utopian world, yet use violent and barbaric methods to achieve such
how is the setting used
- dystopians ususally seen as masculine. Offred as a female allows the novel to be feminised
what is an irony of utopian and dystopian worlds
-both are planned + characters are highly regulated with social control systems
-depending on whether the ‘utopia’ fits the ideals of the narrator, it may become a dystopia
how is narrative voice used
-her storytelling is in itself a form of resistance
-voices her opinion although society demands her to be silent
-her writing is found on a archaelogical site. her words travel through history in a form of rebellion
