Handmaid's Tale Quotes

Words: 494
Pages: 2

The novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood focuses on the manipulation of religion in Gilead and how they are controlled to abide the laws of the bible and the false interpretation of the bible. The quote by Salman Rushdie applies to the novel because religion is the absolute power in Gilead. This is because the government decides what should be taken from the Bible and turns it into absolute law to control the people and gain more power.
The quote also applies to the novel because in Gilead, the people were fundamentalist due to their approach to religion and their barbaric doctrines and how these beliefs are so strictly enforced. The religious beliefs in the fictional city of Gilead are so preposterous that they are not compatible with the real-world as it is today. The uncompromising and brainwashing attitude of the government toward the handmaids, aunts, is so psychologically rooted that are unwilling to defy the system. The government in Gilead intentionally seek out areas of conflict between their own values and the values of the people in order to publically highlight their own
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For example, the women, especially the handmaids and Marthas’ are restricted from having open conversations about their personal lives or identity; they communicate with each other through their body language and whispering in the dark. In Gilead, the women’s voices are dictated by the government and what they deem is the right thing for them to say. The handmaid’s wellbeing is put in the hands of the commanders, wives, and the aunts. Offred also believes her voice, thoughts, and memories are keys to her being set free mentally and emotionally. The narrator also recalls memories of her friendship with Moira, who becomes a Jezebel. Offred envies Moira’s tenacity and her ability to voice her opinions, and how she always tried to escape the red