The Handmaid's Tale

Choose one of the following essay prompts and answer it in an essay of no less than 1000 words. All papers will be due in class and online. Due date is TBD.

  • Apply to the well-ordered society Aunt Lydia’s dictum: “There is more than one kind of freedom ... freedom to and freedom from.” In Gilead, what dividing lines separate freedom from fascism, patriotism from zealotry, duty from subservience, godliness from fanaticism?
  • Contrast the coping mechanisms of Moira and Offred, particularly defiance, rebellion, escape, assertiveness, sexual indulgence, smoking, drugs, networking, and withdrawal. Analyze their use in the development of character and their overall relevance to the novel.
  • How does Gilead create and use a new vocabulary to buttress its totalitarian order? Discuss the relationship between language and oppression.
  • Is Atwood’s novel ultimately a feminist work of literature, or does it offer a critique of feminism?
  • Discuss the various ways in which Atwood uses setting and environment to highlight Gilead’s oppression.
  • Throughout The Handmaid's Tale Offred considers the multiple meanings and connotations of specific words. What might Atwood be suggesting about the flexibility or lack of specificity of language? What does this obsession with words convey about Offred's character or situation?
  • The Handmaid's Tale is set in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and most of the buildings and landmarks mentioned throughout the novel are parts of Harvard University. Why might Atwood have chosen a major university as the headquarters of this new regime? In your answer, consider the relationship between knowledge and control.
  • Offred’s narration is made up of a confusing mix of details from the present tense action of the novel and details from her various memories of the past. In what ways are her memories connected to what is happening to her at the Commander’s house? Why has Atwood chosen a narrative style that so frequently blurs distinctions between present and past?
  • In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood presents a first person narrator who chronicles her experiences under an extremely oppressive, misogynistic regime. Explore the development of this character during the course of her narrative. Does she move from fear and intimidation to the liberation of her will, or is the character formation more complicated in this text?