The Handmaid's tale- context

Question 1

Atwood’s connection to puritanism?

Answer 1

Atwood’s own ancestry lies in ancestry, her relative Mary Webster was hanged as a witch in 1683

Question 2

Puritanism and dystopian societies

Answer 2

Puritanism’s ideal is a Utopian society, with traditional values. But in practice this means oppression, theocracy and patriarchy – features of dystopian Gilead

Question 3

Moral Majority

Answer 3

The moral majority existed to fight what they saw as the secularisation of the American society. They believed America to be a fundamentally religious nation. They fought against abortion, gay rights, pornography and the exclusion of Christian prayer in schoolsIn the Handmiad’s tale Atwood is speculating on what would have happened if the moral majority had ultimate power. we can assume the inspiration for Gilead came directly from the social order desired by fundamentalist Christians like the ones in the moral majority

Question 4

President reagan

Answer 4

presdient reagan emphasised conservatism and his belief in family values alluding to the traditional nuclear heterosexual family. he appealed to white working class citizens who felt racist resentment to the blackpeople who had made advances since the civil rights movement

Question 5

2nd wave of feminism

Answer 5

workplace rights
until the late 20th century, rape in marriage was still legal
the feminine mystique a book by someone de bouvoir