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This 4 page paper discusses the roles of Offred and Moira in “The Handmaid’s Tale” and argues that they are direct opposites. Bibliography lists 1 source.
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4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVoffmoi.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
what could happen if the ultraconservative Christian Right were ever able to take over the United States. This paper discusses the roles that Offred and Moira play in the novel.
Discussion In the dystopian society known as Gilead that Atwood creates, women-never equal to men in any society-have completely lost any rights they once enjoyed. The society that has taken
the place of todays United States is rigidly delineated by gender-specific roles; in it, as might be expected from a conservative viewpoint, sex is a central factor, but in an
extremely unhealthy way. The book is a feminists nightmare: women are completely controlled by men, by means of their ability to bear. Some unspecified disease or event has resulted
in sterility on a wide scale, so fertile women are at a premium. They are called "Handmaids," and their only function is to bear children to whatever man they are
"assigned" to at the time (Atwood, 1986). The men who are entitled to use the Handmaids are part of the ruling elite whose Wives (with a capital "W", indicating their
status) are barren (Atwood, 1986). "Use" is the correct word, because the Handmaids are nothing more than breeding stock; Offred says as much: "We are two-legged wombs, thats all; sacred
vessels, ambulatory chalices" (Atwood, 1986, p. 136). Because they are fertile they are valuable, but if they ever lose the ability to bear, they become "Unwomen" and can be
sent away or killed. In this society, a womans life depends on her ability to bear; its the ultimate anti-woman scenario and an examination of what could happen if some
of todays thinking were taken to absurd extremes. Offred and Moira represent the opposite extremes of this society. Offred, who narrates the novel, is a Handmaiden; her name indicates that
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