Margaret Atwood

Handmaid’s Tale 

Margaret Atwood

The way she wrote this book was really interesting, there are a series of dire situations happening in this story but it is written in a way that makes it sound nonchalant, like the current situation is just whatever, and nothing can be done, which adds a sort of humor and satire all things considered. The world of Gilead is full of wildly vivid authoritarian views and imagery; women are restricted to essentially being slaves to their commanders and forced to make babies due to a wave of infertility. So many of the themes in this story are so relevant now, when thinking about how certain freedoms feel as though they are being restricted now in real life. I think the satirical way that it is written not only keeps the book entertaining, but also makes it frightening when thinking about how our world is now. A world where religious fanaticism takes over and the possible outcome of that is great literary speculation, and Margaret Atwood immerses the reader in this world of sumptuary laws and beliefs beautifully. The most disturbing scene for me is the ceremony, it is like ritualized sex devoid of any love emotion, the description of the scene makes it seem like Offred is dead, and on the inside maybe she is. Her friend Moira is the most tragic character in the book because we get the impression that she is this strong independent woman who will fight to survive and escape, but in the end she is seen at the brothel after she is caught trying to escape Gilead. Another scene that caught my attention is the one where the Japanese tourists show up, that scene really threw me because before this we get the impression that maybe the whole world is like this; having the tourist there really puts the current situation of the United States on notice and it makes it seem even more miserable than earlier imagined. I have not seen the show, but I have heard good things but also that there are a few changes made to it, and they are expanding the world further; this really bothers me because I thought the epilogue and open ended conclusion was perfect, having this history class looking back and making fun of Gilead kind of takes me back to how satirical the writing was in the beginning, kind of reminding me why I liked the book in the first place. I think it does a disservice to the writing to change this in the television show, but I understand the need to do this as a business decision on Hulu’s part.