Margaret Atwood - Para 1

Question 1

what kind of speech is it?

Answer 1

a declarative and almost commemorative speech on equality,

Question 2

what does it present?

Answer 2

how such issues of equality and justice are notions inherent to mankind and an exploration of these issues empowers a text with the ability to transcend its immediate occasion.

Question 3

she acknowledges?

Answer 3

that ill-portrayed female characters in fiction are reflective of society’s perception of women

Question 4

by acknowledging that?

Answer 4

Atwood is able to demonstrate the importance of freedom in women and their equality as a gender from stereotypical and traditional positions.

Question 5

the intertextual reference to “

Answer 5

“Lady Macbeth” and “Ophelia”

Question 6

what does the intertextual reference highlight?

Answer 6

the moral dichotomy of the “Angel/Whore split”, signifying the complex/diverse images of women.

Question 7

through commanding tone?

Answer 7

“We need something disruptive to static order”, where “disruptive” is symbolically represented through “disreputable” female characters, Atwood enforces the exigency for the breakdown of stagnant social structures, removing the categorisation of women into passive and submissive roles.

Question 8

This allows her to engage with the notion that ?

Answer 8

equality is a trait perceived by all, immortalising her equalisation of women with the human condition, transcending the speech’s Kairos.