One of the most prominent themes in The Handmaid's Tale is the use of language for power. Men are viewed as the most important, and so are classified by their military rank. They each have their own names and so keep their identity. As for women, their names are stripped from them. Women are classified by their gender roles like Wife, Martha, and Handmaid. This erasing of names serves one purpose, to take away ones individuality.
Some women are also unfortunate enough to be dubbed 'Unwomen' and deformed children become 'Unbabies'. These people are seen as unclean and evil, less than those around them. Language has set them apart from the rest of society.
Women are also forbidden to read. This puts them at a disadvantage and makes them less then men. Men suddenly become more intelligent and more powerful then women because of this one thing. In the world of the Handmaids, they are not even allowed to have a constant name like the Marthas and Wives. Handmaids are made to take on the names of the Men they are stationed with. Their names show the Man's possession being Of___ the man's first name. This takes away their identity and makes them not a person but an object, and with each new station they loose their old name and become someone else's name, someone else's property.
Greetings are also predetermined, you must say the correct greeting or you will me seen as disloyal. African-Americans and Jewish people are also refereed to differently, which singles them out and allows them to be further persecuted for who hey are. Gilead has complete control over all its subjects, especially the women, because they have control over their names.
In one scene Offred is able to overcome the system and play scrabble with her commander. She is able to use language, and so has the upper hand. Through the words she spells you can see how she really feels and what she is thinking. These words give her power that she normally doesn't have. This is a perfect scene to see how language really does control this society.
This book was one of my favorites. It was right up there with Anthem. I found it easy to relate to and more believable than most of the other books that we have read. Atwood successfully got her message across to the readers. Her views on feminism are quite apparent throughout the novel and her biblical allusions justify her stance. Though Atwood's details and descriptions she is able to convey a picture of a corrupt society that has very little morals. She is able to show us what can happen, even if it is just a tad far fetched. Although the ending of the novel is not what I had expected ( I wanted her to get out) it served its purpose and i found the historical notes at the end to be very interesting, they might have been one of my favorite parts. The historical notes really showed how we could be viewing events that happened years ago completely wrong, and that we should show more respect for the people that had to endure different events. We should respect those hurt in the past and being to learn from their mistakes. This book also make me want to say that women should stand up for themselves more, because we are just as good as men, we should not be degraded just because we are not like them. We should fight for the rights we deserve.
Monday, November 5, 2007
The Handmaid's Tale- Quote- I believe in you
"By telling you anything at all I'm at least believing in you, believe you're there, I believe you into being. Because I'm telling you this story I will your existence. I tell, therefore you are. So I will go on. So I will myself to go on."(268)
This quote made by Offred i found to be of peculiar importance, not just to the characters in the book but to people as well. Offred, after basically cut off from society and social contact feels totally and utterly alone. Humans are by nature social creatures and although they do like their privacy, they also like company. Offred only has solitude. She is not allowed to talk unless spoken to, and even then she must answer not with what she feels or wants to say, but with what she is trained to say. Without an outlet to vent out to like a person or diary (reading and writing were out of the question for women) it is easy of one to go insane.
Offred's situation is much like the one from the well known movie, Cast Away. Without anther person to talk to, to relate to the main character- Chuck Noland- is unable to hold onto his sanity. Noland feels alone, scared, and miserable. To solve this problem, he makes a friend in a beach ball- Wilson- whom he creates to substitute for the lack of human contact on the island. Wilson becomes his best friend whom he talks to and relieves himself of his stress and worries. Offred does a similar thing in her thoughts. She creates an audience, a friend, a reader, to keep her sane. By believing in the reader she is able to make it through. The reader becomes her closest and most trusted friend. Although she is not sure if we even exist, just the thought of letting her feelings go, of breaking the rules and coming into contact with another person is enough to keep her going.
Through this quote it also becomes apparent how important social contact is to humans. Without this contact one feels totally alone. To believe in other people is to believe in yourself. Everyone needs a buddy in life to make them feel good, to spill their heart out to. Offred is at the end of her rope. She desperately needs someone to believe in, to believe in her. Because we are there for her, she is able to go on. Our presence in her mind is enough to motivate her to keep going. Everyone needs a support system, and we as reader are that to Offred.
This quote made by Offred i found to be of peculiar importance, not just to the characters in the book but to people as well. Offred, after basically cut off from society and social contact feels totally and utterly alone. Humans are by nature social creatures and although they do like their privacy, they also like company. Offred only has solitude. She is not allowed to talk unless spoken to, and even then she must answer not with what she feels or wants to say, but with what she is trained to say. Without an outlet to vent out to like a person or diary (reading and writing were out of the question for women) it is easy of one to go insane.
Offred's situation is much like the one from the well known movie, Cast Away. Without anther person to talk to, to relate to the main character- Chuck Noland- is unable to hold onto his sanity. Noland feels alone, scared, and miserable. To solve this problem, he makes a friend in a beach ball- Wilson- whom he creates to substitute for the lack of human contact on the island. Wilson becomes his best friend whom he talks to and relieves himself of his stress and worries. Offred does a similar thing in her thoughts. She creates an audience, a friend, a reader, to keep her sane. By believing in the reader she is able to make it through. The reader becomes her closest and most trusted friend. Although she is not sure if we even exist, just the thought of letting her feelings go, of breaking the rules and coming into contact with another person is enough to keep her going.
Through this quote it also becomes apparent how important social contact is to humans. Without this contact one feels totally alone. To believe in other people is to believe in yourself. Everyone needs a buddy in life to make them feel good, to spill their heart out to. Offred is at the end of her rope. She desperately needs someone to believe in, to believe in her. Because we are there for her, she is able to go on. Our presence in her mind is enough to motivate her to keep going. Everyone needs a support system, and we as reader are that to Offred.
We- Analysis and Thoughts
Yevgeny Zamyatin's novel, We, has been by far my least favorite novel. I found the whole situation and plot of the book far fetched and irrational. Although it did do its part to show the ultimate failure of Utopias I did not like the novel because I could not relate to it. I find that in order to truly enjoy a book you must be able to relate to it. I am not saying however, that We was a bad novel, it was well written and got its point across, I just am not interseted in this genre. As for showing the unlimited failure of utopias, We is one of the best. While reading this novel it becomes clear that forcing people into a certain way of life, forcing them to abide by predetermined schedules, and forcing them to accept the laws set before them inevitably leads to a society's downfall. You cannot have happiness without feeling sorrow, and you cannot be free but have no free will. D-503 and the citizens of One State are forced to feel the way they do, and they cannot think on their own. Because of this, the society has already failed them, and as shown, this leads to a society's downfall. We has an important that we should all abide by- think for yourself, embrace who you are, because individuality can set you free and that is the best utopia there is.
As for an analysis, I found the Benefactor to be an extremely interesting character. The Benefactor is god in all but name. His name is enough to strike fear and praise into those that hear it. Very few people in One State have ever seen the Benefactor in person, yet all have heard about his ways and his persona and fear him. I saw this as a direct connection to God because very few people had ever seen and come into contact with him, yet people still follow and praise him with no hard proof that he even exists.
The Benefactor also has the power to create and destroy, much like god. The Benefactor is able to create fear, rules, and laws, and he is able to destroy life and anything he creates. This brings up another good point- the Benefactor is seen and refereed to as a male character, not just in the book but when discussed in class. I do not remember reading anything that stated that the Benefactor was a man, yet from the description of its hand and voice we are to assume that it is indeed, male. This goes the same way for god. Yes, we have the bible that says that God is a male, but what if it is wrong? The bible was not written by God himself, no picture of him was included, no one in our lifetime has seen him in the flesh, so how are we to me sure? Without even seeing God, people show their allegiance to him, much like how people showed allegiance to the Benefactor.
God is also able to create and destroy. He can create and destroy life, he can bring about or take away happiness, much like the Benefactor, he has ultimate control. People look up to the Benefactor of leadership and guidance, much like how people look toward religion today. In this way, I see the Benefactor as a reference to God and our spiritual connection to him.
As for an analysis, I found the Benefactor to be an extremely interesting character. The Benefactor is god in all but name. His name is enough to strike fear and praise into those that hear it. Very few people in One State have ever seen the Benefactor in person, yet all have heard about his ways and his persona and fear him. I saw this as a direct connection to God because very few people had ever seen and come into contact with him, yet people still follow and praise him with no hard proof that he even exists.
The Benefactor also has the power to create and destroy, much like god. The Benefactor is able to create fear, rules, and laws, and he is able to destroy life and anything he creates. This brings up another good point- the Benefactor is seen and refereed to as a male character, not just in the book but when discussed in class. I do not remember reading anything that stated that the Benefactor was a man, yet from the description of its hand and voice we are to assume that it is indeed, male. This goes the same way for god. Yes, we have the bible that says that God is a male, but what if it is wrong? The bible was not written by God himself, no picture of him was included, no one in our lifetime has seen him in the flesh, so how are we to me sure? Without even seeing God, people show their allegiance to him, much like how people showed allegiance to the Benefactor.
God is also able to create and destroy. He can create and destroy life, he can bring about or take away happiness, much like the Benefactor, he has ultimate control. People look up to the Benefactor of leadership and guidance, much like how people look toward religion today. In this way, I see the Benefactor as a reference to God and our spiritual connection to him.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
We- Quote
"What's going on? A soul? Did you say, a soul? What the hell! Next thing you know we'll have Cholera again. What did i tell you? I told you so... we should operate on all of them, on the imagination. Extirpate the imagination. Surgery's the only answer...nothing but surgery..."
When I first read this I found it rather comical. It's a funny thing to get worked up over, a soul, the imagination. But the more I started to think about it, the more it became clear to me that it could be a scary thing. I mean, its intangible, you cannot grasp it, you cannot touch it, you cannot see it. I can understand how it can be seen as a threat. A soul and an imagination make everyone unique, which in a Utopia where everyone should be equal, being unique can clearly be a problem.
It is also funny how a soul is being related to Cholera, a painful and deadly disease. A soul is neither painful nor deadly. Yes, a soul allows one to experience pain but it does not bring it upon them. Also, a soul is not deadly, your soul cannot come out and harm people.
This quote also shows how little the doctors really know and understand the human body. Yes, there are certain parts of the brain that do certain jobs, like create imagination, but that is not their only function. By operating on these people the doctors could be putting themselves at more risk down the road. Not only this, but taking away imagination does not take away the soul. They are two different things, yet the doctors see them as one. Soul is not something that can be removed. It does not have a specific location in the body, it is everywhere, it is you. Yet these doctors do not see it, or they do not want to see it, it is hard to tell which. Surgery cannot solve all of your problems, and not all of your problems can be solved by surgery.
When I first read this I found it rather comical. It's a funny thing to get worked up over, a soul, the imagination. But the more I started to think about it, the more it became clear to me that it could be a scary thing. I mean, its intangible, you cannot grasp it, you cannot touch it, you cannot see it. I can understand how it can be seen as a threat. A soul and an imagination make everyone unique, which in a Utopia where everyone should be equal, being unique can clearly be a problem.
It is also funny how a soul is being related to Cholera, a painful and deadly disease. A soul is neither painful nor deadly. Yes, a soul allows one to experience pain but it does not bring it upon them. Also, a soul is not deadly, your soul cannot come out and harm people.
This quote also shows how little the doctors really know and understand the human body. Yes, there are certain parts of the brain that do certain jobs, like create imagination, but that is not their only function. By operating on these people the doctors could be putting themselves at more risk down the road. Not only this, but taking away imagination does not take away the soul. They are two different things, yet the doctors see them as one. Soul is not something that can be removed. It does not have a specific location in the body, it is everywhere, it is you. Yet these doctors do not see it, or they do not want to see it, it is hard to tell which. Surgery cannot solve all of your problems, and not all of your problems can be solved by surgery.
Fahrenheit- Analysis and thoughts
In Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, I found one character to be especially intriguing. This character is none other than Montag's wife, Millie. Millie is a kind of 'comparative character', her main purpose in the novel is to show the reader how extremely different Montag is from the rest of society. Millie is also the only other person that we get to know with the same exact views and outlook on life as the rest of society. Because of this, it is easy to speculate that Millie represents society as a whole.
Millie is not her own person. She lives by what society says is right and wrong, and she views others who stray from this view as dangerous. Millie is nothing more than an empty shell of a human being, a drone if you will. She allows herself to be filled with what everyone wants her to be, not who she wants to be. Society is against reading and so Millie is to. Millie is in fact afraid of books and when in one scene she touches one with her foot, she cringes and pulls it away. Her reaction to the book is much like society's, utter fear and repulsion.
Millie is also devoid of most emotions, just like society wanted. She cannot comprehend certain aspects of her feelings, she cannot ascertain their deeper meanings. At one point in the novel she explains that when she is angry she likes to drive fast in the country, ans sometimes hit dogs or cats. To most readers this is horrifying since we have been brought up in a society that finds this action morally unsound we find it hard to understand how killing can make one happy. Millie has been brought up in a world that does not require human emotion, especially human sadness. Even the death of another person does not affect her, she just basically shrugs her shoulders and changes the subject, just like the society wanted people to be able to do.
Millie is a mirror through which society is reflected in the novel. Millie was shallow and heavy, holding Montag back. When Millie is killed at the end of the novel it is as if Montag has overcome society's hold on him, for society died with Millie's death.
Although this was not one of my favorite novels, i did not totally dislike it. I personally am not a big fan of sci-fi and so decided early on that i was not going to like the book, but once I started reading it I found it to be better than I had anticipated. I found that it contained many similarities to today's world, which in some ways was rather frightening. I also liked how the book was not so futuristic that it became hard to relate too. This is one of those books that the more you think about it, the more it seems to grow on you and you realize the similarities and importance that it has to today's society. Bradbury was able to find the weaknesses in society and effectively portray them and their consequences Fahrenheit 451.
Millie is not her own person. She lives by what society says is right and wrong, and she views others who stray from this view as dangerous. Millie is nothing more than an empty shell of a human being, a drone if you will. She allows herself to be filled with what everyone wants her to be, not who she wants to be. Society is against reading and so Millie is to. Millie is in fact afraid of books and when in one scene she touches one with her foot, she cringes and pulls it away. Her reaction to the book is much like society's, utter fear and repulsion.
Millie is also devoid of most emotions, just like society wanted. She cannot comprehend certain aspects of her feelings, she cannot ascertain their deeper meanings. At one point in the novel she explains that when she is angry she likes to drive fast in the country, ans sometimes hit dogs or cats. To most readers this is horrifying since we have been brought up in a society that finds this action morally unsound we find it hard to understand how killing can make one happy. Millie has been brought up in a world that does not require human emotion, especially human sadness. Even the death of another person does not affect her, she just basically shrugs her shoulders and changes the subject, just like the society wanted people to be able to do.
Millie is a mirror through which society is reflected in the novel. Millie was shallow and heavy, holding Montag back. When Millie is killed at the end of the novel it is as if Montag has overcome society's hold on him, for society died with Millie's death.
Although this was not one of my favorite novels, i did not totally dislike it. I personally am not a big fan of sci-fi and so decided early on that i was not going to like the book, but once I started reading it I found it to be better than I had anticipated. I found that it contained many similarities to today's world, which in some ways was rather frightening. I also liked how the book was not so futuristic that it became hard to relate too. This is one of those books that the more you think about it, the more it seems to grow on you and you realize the similarities and importance that it has to today's society. Bradbury was able to find the weaknesses in society and effectively portray them and their consequences Fahrenheit 451.
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