handmaid’s tale

Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Handmaid’s Tale
The dystopian novel of Margaret Atwood follows the account of Offred, a handmaid serving a home of a high-ranking commander. As a prisoner, the handmaid is prohibited from reading, writing and contacting the outside world. She is only allowed to bear children with her master and can be killed for failing to do so. In the end, the handmaid leaves the house of the commander, which some readers view as salvation while others see it as doom. Atwood’s epilogue about Offred’s oppression is set in the future when people advocate for unbiasedness, which plays a vital role in understanding the novel as a whole.
After historical notes of the tale referred to as a transcript of the Gileadean studies twelfth symposium, readers are pushed to the future past the Gilead days. A female professor, Maryann Crescent Moon of Denay University delivers a lecture in the symposium. With the scene of a woman holding academic positions readers understand that society has changed. After Maryann, the author introduces Professor James Darcy Pieixoto, the keynote speaker. Pieixoto begins by giving a remark on Gilead’s looks, which indicates that sexism is still present in the post-Gilead future.
Professor Pieixoto asserts that handmaid’s story might be false or exaggerated using different pieces of evidence such as gaps and sources of the story. As a neutral person, the professor suggests that readers should not criticize the world of the Handmaid since its morals were different.

“We must be cautious about passing moral judgment upon the Gileadeans,” says Pieixoto, “Our job is not to censure but to understand.” (Atwood 383). The professor also tells the audience that the Handmaid’s story was written by two male professors who discovered in tapes. Suddenly, judging the repeated assault of the Handmaid by the commander using the modern-day morals appears flawed again. Pieixoto’s perspective seeks to avoid unfair judgment on the Old Gilead Empire, whose primary impact is a feeling of disregard of the ancient sufferings of women. The gut-wrenching ending leaves readers with questions about their place in judging actions in the society with a notion that taking a neutral position presently implies standing on the side of the oppressors of the past.
Works Cited
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1986.