Speculative Fiction Atwood calls the novel a “speculative fiction” – ie. What could occur if society closes its eyes to what is going on in the world. If people are not paying attention, they may experience loss of freedoms; in the worst case scenario, they become slaves

The Setting The United States has been disassembled There is a continual state of war Sectors run by the fundamentalists have been rechristened the Republic of Gilead. The patriarchs of Gilead hang the bodies of traitors on the wall of Harvard Yard and control, with spies and secret police, the surrounding area, which locals once called the Republic of Cambridge.

The novel is a dystopian vision of a future in which Christian fundamentalists have executed the President, machine-gunned the Congress (blaming the assassinations on Muslim fanatics), suspended the constitution, and created a new social order in which women are, at best, commodities.

The Heroine She is guilty of moral cowardice—Atwood believes that often victimization is a matter of choice. The narrator’s physical safety is so important to her that she sacrifices her moral integrity. She attempts a withdrawal from circumstances for which she does not accept responsibility. Her voice is “a voice crying in the desert”—the reader feels her isolation. For the most part, she learns that she must make decisions from moment to moment on her own. She has many similarities in situation and character to Hamlet: They both are living in an evil, corrupt world which is masquerading as “good” and They both lack the strength to confront the evil in their worlds.

Fear Atwood illustrates how fear guarantees collusion – the individual is afraid to speak up or rebel; therefore, the individual shares responsibility for every aspect of the society, including its atrocities Through fear, a totalitarian regime is able to police itself. Its members--even the extremely oppressed--police each other as agents of the state. Friendship becomes obsolete as no one can be trusted—Who is a spy? The “Eyes” are always watching you. Totalitarianism: a from of government in which no rival parties are permitted. Total submission to the state is required.

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