The Handmaid's Tale Summary
Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Born in 1939 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Margaret Atwood worked as a cashier, waitress, market research writer and film script writer before publishing her ow... Read more

One of Canada's most distinguished literary figures, Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born 1939) is an internationally famous novelist, poet, critic, and politically committed cultural activist.Margaret Elean... Read more

One of Canada's most public literary personalities, Margaret Atwood has made her reputation as much as by being versatile as by being controversial. As a poet she has to date produced ten volumes of v... Read more

In the following essay, Mahoney examines how women challenge male authority and inherited gender stereotypes in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and Vlady Kociancich's The La... Read more

In the following essay, Feuer discusses ways in which Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale both partakes of and extends the dystopian genre, focusing on Atwood's questioning of c... Read more

In the following review, Davidson offers a favorable analysis of The Handmaid's Tale. I once watched Margaret Atwood try to pass unnoticed through a crowded conference center where she was t... Read more

In the following essay, Templin examines the significance of symbolic, generic, and biblical names in The Handmaid's Tale. One element in the highly wrought art of Margaret Atwood, and one t... Read more

In the following essay, Staels examines modes of resistance and creative self-expression in the language and poetic imagery of Offred's narrative in The Handmaid's Tale. According to Sta... Read more

In the following essay, Howells discusses the presentation of female self-identity, memory, sensual experience, and Offred's resistance to patriarchal authority in The Handmaid's Tale. ... Read more

In the following review, Gray offers qualified praise for The Handmaid's Tale. Canadian Author Margaret Atwood's sixth novel will remind most readers of Nineteen Eighty-Four. That can... Read more

In the following review, Stimpson offers a positive analysis of The Handmaid's Tale. Politics, Margaret Atwood once said, means “who is entitled to do what to whom, with impunity; who... Read more

In the following essay, Freibert provides an analysis of satire, Western patriarchal stereotypes, and the application of French feminist theory in The Handmaid's Tale. According to Freibert, &#... Read more

In the following essay, Ketterer examines the cyclical structure and historical perspective of The Handmaid's Tale. According to Ketterer, Atwood breaks from traditional dystopia conventions by... Read more

An oppressive world, a world without freedom, without choice and without opinion. In the totalitarian regime that governs the society of Gilead, women are not worthy of anything - they don't even hav... Read more

Authors often write novels based on a dystopian society in order to forewarn the reader about the dangers of a chaotic, oppressive society. Certain political and social elements create an anti-Utopian... Read more

AP English Literature and Composition 25 November 2003 Escape and Variety Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale tells of a futuristic, dystopian society named Gilead in which women are no lo... Read more

In many books, there is a warning against the main character. Do not trust this person, or do not go that route. But in dystopian novels, the warning is towards the society as a whole. They are wri... Read more

Religion and the state are far from separate in Gilead. Religion has become an event for all Patriots to enjoy. Freedom of religion is of course not allowed and those who are found guilty of blasphe... Read more

Have you ever stopped to think, "How would my life change if someone was in total control of it"" How do you think it would change? Do you think it would be difficult living this way? Would people ad... Read more

Margaret Atwood's Novel "The Handmaid's Tale" is all about a change in society. The narrator Offred describes her experience in the years before Gilead and the early years of Gilead. Gilead evolves fr... Read more

Throughout the novel, we are presented with two different handmaids that accompany Offred on her shopping expeditions. One of these is Ofglen, who works for the Resistance movement and eventually kill... Read more

The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel in which a small part of America is subject to a religious coup. The life of the main character, Offred is greatly altered by this new society. Before the take... Read more

What are the effects of the first person narrative on the reader in chapters 1-12" The Handmaid's Tale is written in the first person narrative by the main character Offred. It is written in an autob... Read more

A Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood is novel told from the view of Offred, a Handmaid in Gilead. She tells the story in the immediate present tense but frequently shifts to past tense for flashback... Read more

Moira is presented through Offred as the novel is written in first person narrative. The readers get a very biased view of Moira because we only got Offreds view of Moira. This is important becaus... Read more

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a dystopia about a world where unrealistic things take place, it is set in the futuristic Republic of Gilead. Sometime in the future, conservative Christians ... Read more

Both worlds of The Handmaid's Tale and 1984 are governed by a party or group which strictly monitor most aspects of the lives of its civilians. This imposing form of government is generally described ... Read more

What is the purpose and function of the `Historical Notes' and how do they assist your interpretation of the novel" The historical notes are not part of Offred's narrative, they are a transcript of a... Read more

Introduction The main character of the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood is the mid-aged woman Offred. Offred lives in the Republic of Gilead, a future dystopian society in ... Read more

The Handmaid's Tale Book Notes is a free study guide on The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Browse the summary below:   Author Biography / Context of the Work   One-Page Plot Summary... Read more