The Power Of Power In The Handmaid's Tale

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In the book The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood tells the struggle of a woman in a society built for men. When the country of Gilead tore down what was once known as the United States and built a place where women were silenced and oppressed. I this place children are so rare that women who are fertile are forced to provide children for the wealthy that have none or die. All those who didn’t agree with the government are killed. Though while men might possess all of the power, it is not distributed equally. A lot of whom, the men in the book are, is based off how some men choose to operate in society. This is shown by the way Nick and the Commander act, what they stand for, and the way the professor acts at the end of the book. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood presents three different men to represent the differing power dynamics in patriarchal societies. The Commander is a man of great wealth, throughout the book he…show more content…
Long after the country of Gilead has fallen, Pieixoto goes on to speak about these tapes they discovered, and named The Handmaid’s Tale, and if they were truly authentic. While he disregarded much of what the tapes said, even going so far as to criticize them; and to speak about them so lightly to the point where he was making jokes, as if such things were completely impossible. He does not look at the tapes and ask what could be learned from this society, regardless of the authenticity of the tapes; instead he focuses on the smaller pieces missing the bigger picture. This professor represents what society will become if it does not change. More people like the Commander will rise up and mold society into self-beneficial structures, men like Nick will help tear it down, then professors will go on to criticise it without reflecting on the fact that their own society is only a few small steps away from becoming the same
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