If you are a fan of George Orwell's 1984,this is the right book for you. You are drinking coffee with your husband on a porch during a calm night unaware that the peace you are feeling is not going to last. That is what happened to Offred. After a usual work day she was told that she could not come back to her job nor use her bank account. But that did not happen only to her,no woman was allowed to have behave or dress the way they wanted. The world you knew suddenly disappeared into thin air. Offred tried to escape with her husband and child but they caught them and she does not remember a thing. All she knows that her family is gone and a new republic was established. The Republic of Gilead is characterized by a strict regime based on the total rule of men. A man is allowed to marry but only if he serves the country well and has a higher rank in politics. Other men are single,poorly paid and working tirelessly. Women on the other hand,have no jobs or rights. The constitution divided them into four groups: The Wives,Handmaids,Aunts and Marthas. They have strict rules when it comes to what they can and cannot do. Even their dress color is regulated. The Wives are dressed in sky blue and are wives of Commanders,Handmaids in red and have a hat to protect their eyes from men preying on them,Aunts in brown and Marthas in green. Wives take care of the garden,Aunts are responsible for cooking and taking care of the house,Marthas raise children while Handmaids are sexual objects literally. Their only purpose is to give birth to Commander's children. They serve such purpose and so does Offred. The sexual interaction is called "The Ritual" and the Wife is present. They can not have relationships with nor fall in love with them. But her Commander is starting to fall for her,every night inviting her to talk with him even tho it is strictly forbidden. Offred is not getting pregnant for a while now and her time is ticking. If they kick her out,she has only two more tries. If she is not able to give birth,they will send her away where they do terrible things to women like her. Sinners,criminals and rebels. The Wife sets her up with Nick,in hope of a child she is dying to raise. Having no choice,she had to listen to both Commander and his wife. Either way she would lose her head. One day the Angels (guardians of the Republic and highest rank) come for her without explaining to her for what she was being accounted for. Offred hopes that she will be with her husband and child,together again. She sets foot into darkness or light. The rest is unknown and is up to the reader to continue the story for themselves. What firstly caught my attention while hearing about this book was Atwood's vision of what would happen if women got rid of all their power. Rights ensure you freedom and freedom gives you power. Power to chose what is best for you and when to walk away if something is not serving you anymore. Atwood is debating feminism and showing us a world ruled by sexist leaders where religious and radical visions were its compass. Imagine a world where you are not able to buy the clothes you want to wear,date the man you want,to touch the person you love or have children of your own? This new regime was not only a threat for women but for men,too. Do not you think that it is a basic human right to chose who you want to love,who you want to marry,number of children you are going to have or your job profession? The outrages things Handmaids had to do are unforgivable,merciless and cruel. They were treated gracelessly,as if they were not human beings but only robots of their leader's wicked plans. The whole regime was a chaos and slowly coming to an end. There will always be a leak in the system and someone is going to find it. Human beings have needs of sexual nature where they should be allowed to chose their sexual partner by themselves. That is a basic human right which everyone has to have. However,in Gilead it is different. The only people who are allowed to have sexual relationships are Handmaids and Commanders but only for the sake of the republic-giving birth to a new generation. Even talking between men and women were forbidden. You could only talk to the same sex and language was restricted. All words of sexual nature were forbidden and forgotten forever. Even the language itself was restricted,only to a few words. You were never allowed to talk to someone too long or have eye contact for too long. Emotions are a powerful weapon against the government. Books and language feed the mind with rebellious ideas and something such as that was a crime. The leaders wanted you to be stupid and uninformed,the power had to be in their hands. Being ridden of any democracy,this book strongly relates with 1984. In 1984 their every move was watched,the number of meals,furniture and clothes was regulated. History was being rewritten every year and fit how the Big Brother wanted. Gilead feeds their nation with lies and intrigues. There is a strong resemblance when it comes down to these two books. Both have a dark and hopeless tone with their narrators feeding on hope and wishing for a better tomorrow. Both books at the end are unfinished,where Orwell and Atwood give us a chance to finish their story lines how we readers want it. Do we want them to be happy and united with their families again or do we want them to rot and be slaves of their cruel regimes? Decide for yourself. For me personally,this was a dark and twisty experience while reading this book. It made me realize what would happen if we would let someone else decide and control our own bodies. Our free will and the right to choose what we are going to do with our lives and bodies is such a blessing and we are sometimes taking for granted. Margaret Atwood's official site:http://margaretatwood.ca/ Margaret Atwood on Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3472.Margaret_Atwood Order the "Handmaid's Tale" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Handmaids-Tale-Classic-Collection/dp/1480560103 "The Handmaid's Tale" as TV Show: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5834204/
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