Cultural Criticism In The Handmaids Tale By Margaret Atwood

Cultural criticism is a broad technique that puts emphasis on the culture that contributed to the production of a work. This approach is an eclectic, interdisciplinary study that utilizes a wide range of topics to analyze literature. Cultural criticism considers a variety of perspectives and branches of knowledge to discover the compilation of beliefs and customs that characterize a group of people. For a cultural reading of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, a cultural critic would consider the historical background paired with theories such as Marxism and feminism to make assumptions about what culture engendered the creation of this novel. (104 words) Cultural criticism is oftentimes affiliated with historical criticism, more†¦show more content†¦. .† (304). The pervasive fear during this time in history regarding the falling birth rates was heavily reflected in The Handmaid’s Tale. Atwood depicts the punishment given to those who engaged in activ ities such as abortions throughout her novel. For a women in Gilead, more specifically a handmaid, not to reproduce was taboo. This society placed a heavy emphasis on procreation due to the fear of declining birthrates previously mentioned. Overall, Atwood wrote a book regarding the controversial subject, women and fertility, in the 1980s because of its intense cultural relevance at the time. One of the theories to which cultural criticism is linked is Marxism. Marxism was an ideology created by Karl Marx that focuses on struggles between social classes. This theory questions topics such as economics, social classes and the conflict that occurs between them, and oppression (including how it is overcome). Although Marxism is traditionally associated with an economic division between classes, The Handmaid’s Tale entails more of a social division because of the economy in Gilead. One aspect of this economy is that there is not a true monetary system in Gilead; instead, the peopl e use coupons. The social classes are not divided by conventional criteria such as income, but are divided by gender. The men retain the highest, most powerful ranks in society.Show MoreRelatedA Modest Proposal And The Handmaids Tale1592 Words   |  7 PagesSatire is used to criticize and point out society’s flaws. The criticism is usually masked in humour. The irony is commonly used in satires to expose flaws, an effective example is John Smith’s A Modest Proposal, he effectively uses irony, to communicate his argument about the poverty in Ireland at the time. Similarly, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale criticizes the society that women have to live in. Atwood uses allusions to the Old Testament and historical events to satirize the oppressionRead MoreA Summary Of The NovelThe Handmaids Tale1179 Words   |  5 Pages Published in 1985, Margaret Atwood’s satirical novel The Handmaid’s Tale explores the dystopian world of Gilead thro ugh the eyes of Offred, a handmaid. As Offred acclimates to her role as handmaid, she discusses the political developments that led to her current circumstances, and the path that she was forced through as a result. Formerly known as the United States of America, Gilead was established after a massacre of the president and Congress, when a Christian fundamentalist group seized powerRead MoreFeminism And The Feminist Theory1942 Words   |  8 Pagesway, the feminist theory can be used to analyze a variety of texts, including the poems, the â€Å"Siren Song† by Margaret Atwood and â€Å"It’s a Woman’s World† by Eavan Boland. Both poems display connections to the feminist theory, particularly in how gender roles and inequality between the sexes influence the poets’ purposes to address male and female stereotypes and encourage change. Although Atwood did not initially intend to debate political and ethical questions in her works, many of her books and poemsRead MoreRelationship Between Men and Women: Jane Eyre and The Handmaids Tale1775 Words   |  8 Pages Charlotte Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Jane Eyre entails a social criticism of the oppressive social ideas and practices of nineteenth-century Victorian society. The presentation of male and female relationships emphases men’s domination and perceived superiority over women. Jane Eyre is a reflection of Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s own observation on gender roles of the Victorian era, from the vantage point of her position as governess much like Jane’s. Margaret Atwood’s novel was written during a period of conservative revival in theRead MoreElements of the Authors World Present in Utopian Fiction Essay1796 Words   |  8 PagesErewhon because it makes commentary on certain social issues of his time, disguised as a story about a different culture. George Orwells 1984 and Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale were also written based on the societies in which the authors lived, but these stories take place in the same society at a different time, so they serve more as cautionary tale s than social commentary. Erewhon satirizes many aspects of Victorian English society, including elements of religion, social injustice, andRead MoreStories2682 Words   |  11 Pagesseriousness of the signalman, though, which gradually convinces the teller of the story. The signalman himself is a storyteller, and the difficulty he has in relating his story demonstrates his psychological unease. Dickens balances the oddness of his tale and his strange actions with the affirmation that he is a sane and rational man carrying out great responsibilities on the railway; he is termed ‘the safest of men’ by the narrator, and another railway worker at the end of the story says of him ‘No