The Handmaids Tale Essay Example for Free

The Handmaids Tale Essay The Handmaids Tale is a novel that consists of more than one genre it falls in the categories of being a dystopian science fiction, an autobiography, a love story and even a feminist novel. There are many narrative techniques used here in the Handmaids Tale that make it very complex and original such as the use of flashbacks and the very fragmented narrative structure, all of which I will be discussing in this essay. The significance of the epigraphs at the beginning of the novel I feel set the readers up for the story about to be told, as the first epigraph (Genesis,30:1-3) talks about the use of the Handmaids by trying to justify the use of them by quoting from the bible. The second epigraph (A Modest Proposal) shows the cold-heartedness of people, the controlled sincere tone of this mad scheme he talks about parallels with the earnest fascination of Gilead, giving us a rough clue of the tough regime of the Gileadean society. The third epigraph (Sufi proverb) claims that no one needs to forbid anything that is undeniable even when in a desperate situation, the undesirable could be the solution. The deliberate confusion of the opening chapter where Atwood had chosen to hold back large amounts of information causing the reader to become curious and wanting to read more into the story, the narrator of the story who we are unaware of at this stage is not bothering to introduce to the readers what is happening around her, it seems that the narrator is not just telling the story but merely reminding herself of that specific moment in the past We folded our clothes neatly and laid them on the stool at the ends of the beds this gives us a clue that the narrator has gone through this experience already and is speaking from elsewhere in the future. We can see also that the narrator is fully aware of the changes that have occurred since the time before maybe explaining why she only remembers and doesnt feel the need to explain at first, again a technique used to make the readers wanting more so they can understand what has gone on to cause such a rapid change in their lives. Judging by the atmosphere of the surroundings the readers can see a desperate yearn of the past and the act of physical contact where the girls lean out of their cots just to touch each others hands giving us a sense of oppression and a society with rules and order. There are many characters and themes introduced in this very first confusing chapter but it will have left the readers with a lot of guesswork leaving them gripped on wanting to read more this is why I feel that Atwood has started with a confusing opening chapter. The ordering of the sections just reflect the day to day routine of a handmaid such as shopping, check ups at the doctors etc. it also represents the narrow existence of a handmaid and the feeling of repetition, the ordering does go day, night, day, night and so on except for the napping section, but sleep also occurs here I dont understand why this has a different title? I feel that the night sections contribute massively to the structure of the narrative because this is where we learn most about Offred and of the beginning of the regime of Gilead. This is where Offred can have her time alone and vividly go over her memories of the past The night is mine, my own time, to do as I will. The night time is peaceful for Offred where she can be completely away from the oppression in Gilead. Here we learn of her past about her relationship with Luke, her family, her friends, her daughter and the rapidly changing society of Gilead. It again shows the readers how oppressive Gilead must be as Offred does not feel safe to reminisce in the day time while she is out shopping everyday it shows that the fear of the society is constantly on her mind causing her to be aware of everything that is going on. Through these night sections we learn about Offred herself we see that she is a determined woman, we also see that she is a sensitive because sometimes she cannot go on with her stories as they are too painful, but we also see a rebellious side to Offred because by telling her story she is breaking all the laws of the Gilead regime by going over her past and communicating her thoughts and feelings whereas in the daytime she comes across as agreeing with the regime, but here we hear about each time she breaks the law by having a love affair with Nick or seeing the commander plus remembering her past. The narrative technique of flashbacks is most obvious here, the flashbacks are used to tell us the reasons why things are the way they are, informing us throughout the novel of how the society of Gilead developed. Her flashbacks inform us of how she tried to escape over the border with her child and husband or how she suddenly lost her job at the library if these occurrences had been mentioned at the beginning of the story I feel that it would mean no significance to the reader as they wouldnt have known more about Offred but placing these events in the flashbacks throughout the novel creates mystery for the reader who will want to read on more to find out the endings to these fragmented stories. Also there is an importance to the position of the flashbacks for example when Offred recounts her first meeting with Serana Joy she then talks about her mother A motherly figure,someone who would understand and protect me. Another example is when Offred first kisses Nick in the downstairs living room at night and when she goes back up to bed she then thinks of Luke I believe Luke is lying face down in a thicket. Maybe associating her feelings for Nick with how she felt about Luke in the time before Gilead and even now Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Margaret Atwood section.

What Would it Be Like To Be A Rain Drop :: Essays Papers

If I were a raindrop, I would feel happy, sad and confused. There are many reasons to these feelings.Imagine that it’s a rainy day today! Coming down from the clouds, people sitting at their window, watching the beauty of nature is what I see. Sounds like a great sight, huh?! Most people love the scenes the nature has created today, others don't. Let me share it with you! Let's start off with why I would be happy! There are countless reasons to be happy. One is because i give life to a tree, a flower, whatever. To me, that's beautiful. I mean, who wouldn't enjoy being the reason something amazing and extremely helpful in nature was created? Besides creating something, i also have the fact that i make some people feel good, though not always.Millions of falling water droplets make the air cool and environment calm. When we start to fall, slowly, everyone rushes to find safe place to save them. Women rush to the roof tops to take their clothes down, to save from getting wet. Small children get excited. You can easily see them jumping and trying to come out to take a feel of rain, to take a feel of me. To some people, we're a form of relaxation. They enjoy laying in their beds to listen to the sound of us on their roof. Others enjoy sitting by their windows, taking time to reminisce, back when they were younger or to think about a loved one. The old ponders the rain scene and remembers their childhood and young days, reminiscing when he'd jump in puddles and spin round and round like a record. Yet he never forgets to guard his grandchildren waiting to jump in rain. Still, you see the eagerness of children if they could have been permitted to take a bath. Therefore, he lets them and we fall down around them, knowing that in their eyes we glow and sparkle and make them feel different and better and filled up and clean. We have that type of magic that one dreams of gaining and having. Have you watched the scene on roads when it starts raining?...ha ha it's a funny scene isn't it? Some people try to escape by running, some try to take shelter under other’s home. Some take bags or books or even magazines to put on their heads, just to try and escape me, a simple

Compare and contrast Oedipus Rex Essay

Compare and contrast Oedipus Rex and Faustus as tragedies.  The two plays Oedipus Rex and Faustus are both tragic  plays. Both of the plays end with the main character losing their  life, and actually even their afterlife. But as tragedies the two  plays have some similarities and some differences. The characters  themselves are different, and they both want different goals out of  each their own lives. Oedipus Rex and Faustus are two tragedies that  compare and contrast in many ways. The two main characters of the plays Faustus and Oedipus  Rex are very different from each other. Faustus, the main character in  Faustus, is not trying to save any civilizations like Oedipus is.  Faustus is really trying to make himself a better person by learning  black magic. He wants to learn evil to make himself more powerful as  a person. He signs his soul over to the devil in exchange for  twenty-four years of service by Mephistophilis. Greed is the main  reason for the fall of Faustus. He chose his own destiny; he knew  that when he signed that contract his soul belonged to the devil. Oedipus on the other hand, did not really have much of a choice in his  fate. He was pretty much damned from the beginning. He was  prophesized to kill his father and marry his mother, so his father and  mother tried to change fate. But as the story goes, the prophecy came  true. All Oedipus wanted to do was stop the plague from going through  his city. But it ended up that he was the cause, not the solution.  His eternity was not lived out in hell, but spent exiled from Thebes. Oedipus did not choose his fate as Faustus did. The characters of the  two plays both suffered in the end, but one chose his and one had to  live with his prophecy.  Smith 2  The plots of the two plays are different from each other also. The  plot of Oedipus Rex is for Oedipus to find out why the plague has  struck his town, and how to get rid of it. But the plot ends up  turning into what was prophesized to his parents a long time ago.  Oedipus ends up finding out that he has married his mother and that he  has killed his father. The whole play is a tragedy. There is no  comic relief in it, as in Faustus with his practical jokes. In  Oedipus the plot revolves around the fate of one man. In Faustus the  plot revolves around other people as well. There are other subplots  in the play not just the plot with Faustus. Faustus and  Mephistophilis go about causing trouble throughout different cities,  really trying to cause evil wherever they go. In Oedipus, there is no  other trouble in the play, just the problem with Oedipus killing his  father and marrying his mother. The plots have nothing in common  except how the end. In the end of Faustus, Faustus must spend all of  eternity in hell. His soul now belongs to the devil. In the beginning of the play he did not believe in life after death, I bet he  is hitting himself on the head now. In the end of Oedipus Rex,  Oedipus cuts his own eyes out and gets exiled out of Thebes. He  spends the rest of his life with out a home. The ultimate tragedy  really, he just got stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time. Both of the plays are different from each other, but both  end tragically. One of the similarities of the play is seen at the  end of Oedipus Rex when the Chargos basically says that even the  greatest of men can crumble to ruins; all humans are subject to  suffering and pain. This theme is true in both plays. Seen at the end  of Faustus, when Faustus was trying to stop the clock. Even the  greatest of men can crumble to ruins.

Iron Deficiency Anemia From Poor Dietary Intake And Or...

Iron deficiency anemia from poor dietary intake and/ or absorption of iron causes approximately 50% of global anemia. The relationship between HIV and anemia is not known though at times it is a side effect of some ARVs (Kenyan National Guidelines on Nutrition and HIV/AIDS, 2007). Persons with HIV who are anemic progress faster to AIDS than those without. 2.4.1 Weight loss and wasting in HIV/AIDS The relationship between nutrition and HIV/AIDS is best understood by considering the effect of the disease on body size and composition and the immune system. Body size and composition are used as indicators of protein-energy status, and are commonly expressed in terms of body weight and height (Piwoz and Preble, 2000). Wasting syndrome found in adult patients in Africa is the severe nutritional manifestation of the disease. Wasting is usually precede by changes in appetite, repeated infections, weight fluctuations and subtler changes in body composition, such as changes in lean body mass and body cell mass (Babameto and Kotler, 1997). Weight loss and wasting in PLWHA develop as a result of three overlapping processes (Piwoz and Preble, 2000): a) Reductions in food intake This may be due to painful sores in the mouth, pharynx, and/or esophagus. Fatigue, depression, changes in mental state, and other psychosocial factors may also play a role by affecting appetite and interest in food. Economic factors affect food availability and the nutritional quality of the diet. SideShow MoreRelatedThe Normal Values Of Ferritin2151 Words   |  9 Pagesyears: 7-142 mcg/L 1 mcg/L of serum ferritin corresponds to approximately 8 mg of stored iron† (p. 264). 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