Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Pt 1

I have had a book on my bookshelf for awhile, one that I wanted to read in High School but never got around to reading. A book whose cover is simple, one with the silhouette of a female, dressed in a long red cape, with a white hat, one that reminds me of the old nursing hats. The book - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. One way to better understand a book, especially literature, is to explore the author, learn about them, as well as to try and learn a little bit more of the book. Then once the book is complete, seeing what others have thought of it and what conclusions they have drawn. I hope you enjoy learning some of the simple yet interesting facts about the book and author.

Well-acclaimed author Margaret Atwood was born on the 18th of November 1939, in Ottawa Canada. She has been married 28+ years to writer Greame Gibson. One of the books that Margaret is well known for is The Handmaid's Tale published in 1985, it's a story about a society where having children is difficult to achieve and the job of the handmaid has been established. Words and writing have been banned because it is felt that this gives the women to much freedom and time to think.

Margaret attended Victoria College, University of Toronto in 1961; Radcliff College in Cambridge as well as Harvard. Besides a very wide base for her education, Margaret has traveled the world while producing her masterpieces. Mrs. Atwood does not just write novels, but has published in the general fiction area, novels, poetry, children literature, nonfiction, as well as doing some reviews and television scripts. She has won numerous awards for her writing, among which was the Booker Prize in 2000. Her book the Handmaid's Tale won the Governor General's award in 1986.

The Handmaid's Tale is recommended in classrooms as a book to be read, a book to ponder, a book to learn by. One of the awesome ways that Literature and history intertwine is through the ability to think about what could happen should certain decisions be carried out.

The synopsis of the story taken from the paperback book published by Fawcett Crest publishing, states the following: " The Handmaid's Tale: Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States of America. She lives in a small, pretty bedroom in the Victorian home of the Commander and his wife. She is only permitted to wear a long red dress and a white hat with wings blinders to keep her from seeing too much. IN the world of the near future, the Handmaid's only purpose is to produce a child." The Handmaid's Tale is considered to be a science fiction book, as it takes a look at what could occur in the future. Margaret Atwood captures her readers by leading them through the life of the handmaid, all that it involves as well as flash backs in to the life previous to being simply a handmaid. The book makes you examine what life would be like without words, without being able to pick up a book and read it, how would life be different, how would you fill your time. More importantly why would a society feel the need to do away with women being able to read, a question to be pondered in this book. "You can see the place, under the lily, where the lettering was painted out, when they decided that even the names of shops were too much temptation for us. " (Pg. 33)

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