Societal Resistance and Control in The Handmaids Tale...

The words control and Gilead, the setting for the novel The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, are interchangeable. Not only is control a pivotal feature of the novel and its plot, it consequently creates the subplots, the characters and the whole world because of its enormity in the Republic of Gilead. Resistance also features heavily, as does its results, mainly represented in the salvagings, particicution and the threat of the colonies. Control dominates all aspects of Gileadian society, from minor, seemingly petty normalities such as the clothes allowed, all the way up to how and who to have sexual relations with. Unimaginable in this day, Atwood represents modern society gone sour, something which is chillingly†¦show more content†¦The most blatent form of control would of course be the punishments given for resistance and the retribution given out for disobeying the state. These, in Gilead, are really rather harsh and such things as homosexuality can resut in death, under the term Gender treachery. This is positively appalling to any civilised person believing in equal rights and death is almost absurd for such a non-crime. It seems that the society has medieval tendencies, which can be expected seeing that its main doctrine is taken from the most ancient book, the Bible. Still obviously this is no excuse for such barbaric acts in a modern society. Salvagings are also a horrible concept used by Atwood. All Handmaids and other women in the society are forced to attend the hangings of fellow women, often arranged on the nooses by their colours so they look pretty. A harsh warning not to step out of line. Also occasionally during the salvagings a rapist or murderer is thrown to the handmaids who rip him apart with their own hands, or feet, or teeth. The unthinkable is thought of for punishments in the Handmaids tale. There is also the threat of the colonies which always has to be contended with by all mischievous people in Gilead. The colonies are contaminated areas containing nuclear waste from numerable nuclear disasters and oil spills during the eighties.Show MoreRelatedPower Struggle In The Handmaids Tale By Margaret Atwood1373 Words   |  6 PagesRenowned playwright William Shakespeare, and contemporary novelist Margaret Atwood both explore power struggle from a feminist perspective. Shakespeare in ‘King Lear’ and Atwood in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ explore varying power struggles and their correlation to gender through their respective texts. Shakespeare and Atwood use the genders of their central characters to focus on power in historical and dystopian settings. 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