The manipulation of power within The Handmaid’s Tale is very evident within the household. The power resides in position one is in at that household. Atwood uses figurative language, word repetition, and symbolism to explain the power. What use to be called the United States of America, is now the Republic of Gilead. Due to low birth rates, a society was built to try and turn around the reproduction issue. The society is set around a hierarchy. This hierarchy revolved specifically around the household the hierarchies, beginning with the Commanders and the Commander’s wife, and then going into the Handmaids, aunts, and Marthas. Each job plays an important role in the novel to form a supposed unity throughout the house.
Offred is the protagonist of the story, and everything told is through her point of view. She will tell many of her experiences and memories in …show more content…
“There’s someone standing in the hall, near the door to the room where I stay” (Atwood 49). She continues to use words like flag, country, attack, and territory. The words she is using sounds like fighting words used in a war. Offred is scared yet, confused. The Commander is a completely new entity to her but she knows his mysteriousness is power. Atwood continues to display his autocratic power by the use of figurative language, next she uses animals. “The signals animals give one another…” (Atwood 49). Offred is still questioning his intentions, but feels the danger lurking within it. Atwood uses the Commander’s body to demonstrate his threat. Offred then follows up with questions about what might have happened, outlining her nervousness. The language used clearly depicts the Commander as the predator and Offred as the prey. The Commander being the predator has every advantage in this situation; at worse he could have had her killed, leaving her completely at his
Offred is the protagonist of the story, and everything told is through her point of view. She will tell many of her experiences and memories in …show more content…
“There’s someone standing in the hall, near the door to the room where I stay” (Atwood 49). She continues to use words like flag, country, attack, and territory. The words she is using sounds like fighting words used in a war. Offred is scared yet, confused. The Commander is a completely new entity to her but she knows his mysteriousness is power. Atwood continues to display his autocratic power by the use of figurative language, next she uses animals. “The signals animals give one another…” (Atwood 49). Offred is still questioning his intentions, but feels the danger lurking within it. Atwood uses the Commander’s body to demonstrate his threat. Offred then follows up with questions about what might have happened, outlining her nervousness. The language used clearly depicts the Commander as the predator and Offred as the prey. The Commander being the predator has every advantage in this situation; at worse he could have had her killed, leaving her completely at his