100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Previously searched by you
Previously searched by you
logo
Summary Comprehensive study resource: 'The Handmaid's Tale' CA$17.32   Add to cart
Quickly navigate to
Preview
  2.  
  3. AQA
  4.  
  5. English Literature A
  6.  
  7. 7712B

Summary

Summary Comprehensive study resource: 'The Handmaid's Tale'
 13 views  0 purchase
  • Course
  • 7712B
  • Institution
  • AQA

A/A* resource providing an exceptional guide for understanding Atwood's novel, 'The Handmaid's Tale' - covering every assessment objective required for A Level English Literature! It offers perceptive, assured, and sophisticated notes. The resource delves deeply into Atwood's authorial methods, ...

[Show more]

Preview 2 out of 12  pages

Document information

  • June 27, 2024
  • 12
  • 2023/2024
  • Summary

Subjects

  • the handmaids tale
  • margaret atwood
  • identity
  • patriarchy
  • prose
  • analysis
  • gender
  • political upheaval and change

Written for

  • A/AS Level
  • AQA
  • English Literature A
  • 7712B
All documents for this subject (4)

Seller

avatar-seller
JennyNotes

Content preview

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ (1985) Revision by Jenny He

1

AO5

Paul Gray - ‘Handmaids are slaves to their own biological possibilities’; like a
‘parable’* (like F.G.) or ‘rallying cry’; disagree that ‘Atwood’s novel lacks the direct,
chilling plausibility of ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four**’’; Offred’s narrative = ‘record of an
observant soul struggling against a harsh, mysterious world’


*Parrinder refers to novel as ‘a Science Fiction Fable’


**Atwood - ‘Science fiction has monsters and spaceships; speculative fiction could
really happen’


Barbara Rigney - Nick is ‘a kind of Orpheus to her Eurydice’ - he saved Offred, which
may have cost him his life


Alanna Callaway - ‘women’s hated of women’


Irvine - Moira at Jezebel’s ‘stands for the irrepressible return of everything the
Republic has attempted to obliterate’


Psychoanalytical approach would consider: interplay between life-affirming aspect of
biological fertility, as handmaids’ ability to conceive crucial for survival of regime, and
destructive force of denying women autonomy over their bodies - phallic morality


Marxist approach would consider/scrutinise how role of ideology in maintaining
status quo: ruling class uses religious ideology to justify + perpetuate its power &
employed to manipulate the masses, diverting attention from economic inequalities


Feminist: Atwood’s gender likely informs her ability to articulate nuanced
experiences + challenges faced by women, contributing to authenticity of narrative;
Comprehensive feminist analysis would consider intersectionality, acknowledging
that oppression experienced by women in Gilead is not uniform: factors such as
race, class

, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ (1985) Revision by Jenny He

2
+ sexual orientation intersect with gender to shape characters’ experiences
differently;
Atwood wanted to create cautionary tale about consequences of extreme patriarchal
control + dangers of totalitarianism


Ecocriticism: careless treatment of environment can destroy future of human race;
although Gilead is draconian (excessively harsh+severe) + inhumane, it does
attempt to provide a solution to securing the future of humanity, albeit a
radical+desperate one; Historical notes inform reader that prior to Gilead, genetic
deformities + plummeted birth rates were due to ‘nuclear-plant accidents’,
‘toxic-waste disposal sites’ + ‘uncontrolled use of chemical insecticides, herbicides’


Today’s readers may utilise Queer Theory to examine: heteronormativity is enforced
through surveillance, punishment, and social ostracism, and how queer desires and
identities are suppressed and marginalised;
Moira embodies queer resistance against the rigid, prescribed gender roles;
Executions for ‘Gender Treachery’ show that Gilead forces men + women to conform
to traditional ideas of gender norms; rejection of heteronormativity



AO4

Ishiguro’s ‘Never Let Me Go’ (dystopian science fiction) - reproductive control +
manipulation of bodies - characters are clones whose organs are harvested for
transplantation + their entire existence revolves around serving as donors; loss of
agency; retrospective narration - inevitability of loss + attempt to make sense of her
memories; desire to maintain hope for future; Kathy acquires a cassette tape of the
Judy Bridgewater album - song symbolises fear of losing loved ones


Speculative dystopian novel Lynch’s ‘Prophet Song’


McCarthy’s dystopian novel ‘The Road’ set in post-apocalyptic America caused by
environmental disaster - both use unorthodox punctuation, i.e. lack of speech marks
(vs some occasional quoted speech) create continuous flow of prose, blurring

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller JennyNotes. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for CA$17.32. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

75632 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now

Start selling
CA$17.32
  • (0)
  Add to cart