Cruelty,a behavior that causes pain or suffering to a person or animal. In the handmaid’s tale you witness first hand acts of what in today’s world, people would find overly cruel. Throughout the twisted novel there is mental cruelty towards the handmaids. For example, Offred talks about how a fellow handmaid Janine, expressed how she was ganged raped at the age of fourteen. Sobbing and truly broken about the travesty. During what the Aunts of Gilead called “testimony”. Offred goes on about how the aunts basically manipulated the situation and made it as though Janine had deserved it and egged on the men who had raped her, that it was God’s will. The Aunts then had everybody turn on her, taunting her, chanting that it was indeed her fault. Handmaid’s Tale, “But whose fault was it? Aunt Helena says, holding up one plump finger. Her fault, her fault, her fault, we chant in unison. Who led them on? Aunt Helena beams, pleased with us. She did She did. Why did God let such a terrible thing to happen? Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson”, (page 72). The worst part is that Offred states that, the other girls and her knew what they were doing, they knew it was wrong; but for some odd reason they meant everything they said. Eventually Janine later blames herself of the awful experience and states, Handmaid’s Tale, “It was my fault, she says. It was my own fault. I led them on. I deserved the pain.”, (page 72). The Aunts had mentally abused both the handmaids and Janine by first putting the illusion in their minds that, the terrible tragedy Janine had experienced at such a young age was her own wrongdoing, that she was her own downfall. At first the girls felt sorry for Janine, then as time went by they begin to despised her, and then actaully beleiving that Janine’s rape was justifiable. The Aunts used sadistic mental techniques conditioning the girls to feel as if they are not worthy, that the terrible obstacles they overcame , or tried to live past was no ones fault but there’s. Gradually weakening their conscious and identities. Word Count: 367.
Offred is a very complex character, she’s rebellious, conniving, intellectual, a survivor. Torn between knowing what needs to be done in order to survive. And her need to feel alive, to be herself, to break free from the suffocating chains of the Divine Republic’s laws and regulations. Time and time again she thinks about disobeying rules, as in taunting the guards on the way to the market, due to her knowing she holds a certain power over them. Her physical attributes. Handmaid’s Tale, “ As we walk away i know they’re watching, these two men who aren’t yet permitted to touch women. They touch with their eyes instead and I move my hips a little, feeling the full red skirt sway around me. Its like thumbing your nose behind a fence or teasing a dog with a bone held out of reach, and I’m ashamed of myself for doing it, because none of this is the fault of these men, they’re too young..”, (page 22). But don’t be duped for Offred is no fool. She thinks about every outcome of the situation, what makes her so dangerous is that she is aware of everything she is doing,all of her actions have a purpose. The Handmaid’s Tale, “ Then I find I’m not ashamed after all. I enjoy the power of a dog bone, passive but there. They will suffer, later, at night, in their regimented beds. They have no outlets now except themselves, and that’s a sacrilege. There are no more magazines, no more films, no more substitutes; only me and my shadow, walking away from the two men, who stand attention, stiffly, by a roadblock, watching our retreating shapes.”, (page 22). Then there’s another side of Offred the one who is very careful about what she does. She’s haunted by her past, that being her loved ones. Still hanging on to hope that maybe her little girl is out there somewhere alive. That her husband luke survived as well, and is living in the free land. That one day they will be united. But in order to become one with them once more, she has to contain herself every witch way possible, to live for them or all the pain she’s been through was for nothing. Handmaid’s Tale, “There’s nobody here i can love, all the people I could love are dead or elsewhere. Who knows where they are or what their names are now? They might as well be nowhere , as i am for them. I too am a missing person.”, (page, 103). This statement is very interesting. Due to it showing that Offred battles herself to withdraw any emotional feelings towards her daughter and husband, it’s the only way she knows not succumb to an overwhelming feeling of sadness. She has to stay strong for them and herself. Offred will not let anyone witness any of her moments of human weakness, emotions. Even though at times Offred puts herself in risky situations due to temptation and the feeling of having the upper hand, That can later get her killed if she’s not careful enough, she also is internally trying to survive and contain herself for the sake of being one step closer to finding out what really happened to her family.
Word Count: 543
Offred the protagonist of the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, was one out of many alienated women in the Republic of Gilead.. Women lost all their equality. Now living the traditional outlook on life. Men are superior, women are inferior. Though they’re still levels of importance of each woman depending on their roles in the Republic, they were all slaves and tools into the mass construction of a man’s world. Or so the Republic thought. Offred being alienated gives her a sense of paying attention to detail even more. Eyes are rarely on her, never too long. She can slip into the shadows and look within. She can go undetected, a true threat in disguise. Offred knows that the Gilead way of life is run by a bunch of loonies who have gone into full insanity. She is aware and cautious of the morals they hold. Knowing what they are doing isn’t natural, rather more of a forced artificial nature. The ways about getting rid of what the republic seems unfit is inhumane. The Handmaid’s Tale, ‘These men we’ve been told, are like war criminals. Its no excuse that what they did was legal at the time; their crimes are retroactive. They have committed atrocities and must be made into examples, for the rest. Though this is hardly needed. No woman in her right mind, these days, would seek to prevent a birth, should she be so lucky as to conceive. What we are suppose to feel is hatred and scorn. This isn’t what i feel. These bodies hanging on the wall are time travelers, anachronisms. They’ve come here from the past …what i feel is that i must not feel.”, (page 33). The Divine republic use violence and death to install fear into “their people”. They execute threats however they’d like and whenever they like. People are begging to grow accustomed to the way of living in terror to keep your head down and live as blanked bodies for the rest of their miserable lives. However, Offred is holding on for dear life to her humanity, the person who has an average moral compass, she fights battles of either giving into Gilead customs or revolting against the system every day and staying true to herself secretly.Even though the commander holds the official power granted his title in the household , Offred is always 4 steps ahead of him. She knows that if he fails then all fails, the Marthas, Offred, and Serena Joy also known as the commander’s wife will eventually lead to their demise. For they have no purpose into the Gilead society. Handmaid’s Tale, “To be a man, watched by women. It must be entirely strange. To have them watching him all the time. To have them wondering, what’s he going to do next? To have them flinch when he moves, even if it’s a harmless enough move…To achieve vision in this way, this journey into a darkness that is composed of women,a woman, who can see in darkness while he himself strains blindly forward. …But watch out Commander, I tell him in my head. I’ve got my eye on you. One false move and I’m dead.”, (pages 87, 88). Even though the commander holds the official power granted his title in the household , Offred is always 4 steps ahead of him. She knows that if he fails then all fails, the Marthas, Offred, and Serena Joy also known as the commander’s wife will eventually lead to their demise. For they have no purpose in Gilead society.
Word Count: 591
At night the same nightmare plays over and over. I tell myself that women shouldn’t think, not even alone at night, – throughout history women were often not allowed to think for themselves, men didn’t think they were capable and that even when they are alone they depend on a man.
but the nightmare still prevails. – she could be having a nightmare of her sexual assault
I am sweaty and panting. My legs are sprawled o pen. I am pushing so hard I feel my veins burst and my blood might finally be still. – the author is giving birth – she is thinking she is going to die because of how hard she is pushing
All the men who have ever invited themselves to touch my body are here. They are all caressing me. I am screaming and pushing. – it seems like she is recalling her sexual assault as she is giving birth
Finally I feel my insides rip open. – her insides “ripping open” is the baby finally coming out
I hear crying, but I don’t see who it is that’s crying – she hears the crying of her baby, but she could also be crying at the same time so maybe she can’t differentiate who’s crying is who’s
My eyelids flutter and I fall into a deep sleep. So deep that I never wake up. –This could be metaphorical, but it could also mean she did die during childbirth, or maybe that it feels as if her life is passing by before her eyes?
I have only one other wish.
I pray it’s not a girl. – she prays the baby is not a girl so she does not have to go through the same things she did
Offred had been with two other families before the one she is with during the novel , using her body as an instrument to other infetile families was in her words a choice – Offred could’ve chosen death being that was the only outcome if she refused the ‘Divine republic”. Offred does not define what she is partaking with these men as sex it is more like a duty, her way of surving to live another day.
This poem relates to the novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ in multiple ways. The overall theme of this poem is the subject reflecting on her experiences with sexual violence. This is also a prevalent theme in The Handmaid’s Tale, Though this theme is presented differently throughout the novel than how the poem presents it, it is still a prominent theme. The Handmaid’s Tale focuses more on sexual violence in the aspect of womens bodies being used as political object and the government having complete control over a womens body. Offred states on pg.94 “I do not say making love, because this is not what he’s doing. Copulating too would be inaccurate, because it would imply two people and only one is involved. Nor does rape cover it: nothing is going on here that I haven’t signed up for.” Offred is explaining how even though she did choose to do this, she really did not have much of a choice and it was either this or death. The things she goes through can still correspond with sexual violence and especially the fact that in this dystopian setting a woman does not have the rights to her own body. The whole purpose of forming Gilead was due to the lack of fertility, this government’s main goal was focusing on reproduction and they did this by regulating women’s bodies. The poem also says “all the men who have ever invited themselves to touch my body are here” which is explaining that men feel entitled to a woman’s body. In the Handmaids Tale I am sure Offred would be able to relate to this statement as she has been “one with flesh” with other families before the one she is with now. Though Offred is able to seperate herself from the sexual violence she encounters, I am she can feel the struggle of not having control over how her body is used.
Word count: 318
Article
https://www.verywellmind.com/understanding-groupthink-2671595
This article relates to the Handmaid’s tale as it is talking about mass hysteria in society and how often the government goes through a term called “groupthink.” This is described as “a psychological phenomenon that occurs when a group forms a quick opinion that matches the group consensus, rather than critically evaluating the information.” In the Handmaid’s Tale, the Republic of Gilead is formed because of a mass hysteria over infertility. The aftermath of the hysteria led to Gilead forming and then came the regulations of women’s bodies. On pg.61 Offred says “Give me children, or else I die. There’s more than one meaning to it.” This quote shows the seriousness of the hysteria in Gilead. If a woman is unable to have children they were seen as practically worthless in the others eyes. On pg. 61 Offred says, “I almost gasp: he’s said a forbidden word. Sterile. There is no such thing as a sterile man anymore, not officially. There are only women who are fruitful and women who are barren, that’s the law.” This shows how the government made it seem as if only women were the only source of this problem of infertility, not men. When she says “it’s the law” it can show the seriousness of this hysteria in Gilead and how they were practically brainwashed into thinking these things. On pg.88 the handmaids are forced to say a prayer, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. Then comes the moldy old Rachel and Leah stuff we had drummed into us at the Center. Give me children, or else I die. Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? Behold my maid Bilhah. She shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And so on and so forth.” The government uses this prayer to spread the propaganda of fertility and how these women’s only duty is to have children. By Gilead using this propaganda it further shows the mass hysteria instilled when it comes to fertility.
wordcount : 345
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when a group forms a quick opinion that matches the group consensus, rather than critically evaluating the information. Mass hysteria can be seen as an extreme example of groupthink. – This is just explaining the meaning of groupthink and how it is linked to mass hysteria, groupthink is basically when a group of people such as the government tries to form a quick reaction to a situation instead of taking time to think about it from different point of views.
Groupthink seems to occur most often when a respected or persuasive leader is present, inspiring members to agree with his or her opinion. Groupthink is sometimes positive but is more often seen in a negative light, particularly in the U.S. and other countries that value individual opinion. – groupthink is often associated with persuasive leaders or members in a group that people respect and this is why we often associate it with the government. Groupthink is mostly seen in a negative way though it can be positive
The History of Groupthink
Groupthink is most often associated with business, politics, and policymaking, but it also relates to the psychology of collective phobias and mass hysteria. – this is just explaining different times we may see groupthink and how it often ties in with mass hysteria due to the psychology behind it
The term “groupthink” was coined in the early 1970s by psychologist Irving L. Janis. In 1972, Janis published his book Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions and Fiascoes. – This is history behind the term groupthink and who came up with it. Janis based his book on problems with foreign policy decisions and things of that nature
Janis defines “groupthink” as “a psychological drive for consensus at any cost that suppresses dissent and appraisal of alternatives in cohesive decision-making groups.”
Janis identified eight symptoms of groupthink, which included illusions of invulnerability, self-censorship, and direct pressure.- groupthink often happens because of the need we have for agreement on issues, so instead of thinking cooperatively we just agree to try and resolve the issue as quick as possible
Janis blamed groupthink for such political “fiascos” as the Bay of Pigs invasion, the failure to prepare for the attack on Pearl Harbor, the escalation of the Vietnam War, and the Watergate coverup. – times in history when groupthink happened
Scholars have gone on to blame such later events as the decision to launch the doomed space shuttle Challenger, the Iran-Contra affair, and the Enron scandal on groupthink. – more examples of groupthink in history
Groupthink and Mass Hysteria
It’s believed that groupthink increases as group cohesiveness increases. This may help to explain the psychological phenomenon of mass hysteria. – so when a bigger group is in agreement this is when it can lead to mass hysteria
Mass hysteria is also known as epidemic hysteria, mass psychogenic illness, and mass sociogenic illness. According to a 1997 review of research by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, mass hysteria is “a constellation of symptoms suggestive of organic illness, but without an identifiable cause, that occurs between two or more people who share beliefs related to those symptoms.” It’s “seen as a social phenomenon involving otherwise healthy people.” – this is explaining mass hysteria, it’s a psychological illness that happens socially but there’s not really an identifiable cause
Some psychologists believe mass hysteria is a form of groupthink. In cases of mass hysteria, the group members all develop a common fear that often spirals into a panic.
The group members feed off each other’s emotional reactions, causing the panic to escalate. – mass hysteria is basically an escalated version of groupthink causing panic and more emotional reactions
The Salem witch trials and the panic over the War of the Worlds radio broadcast can be viewed as examples of mass hysteria related to groupthink. – examples of mass hysteria related to groupthink in history
A widely publicized case of possible mass hysteria occurred in 2011 in upstate New York when teenage girls from the same high school began exhibiting an unexplained twitching disorder. – another example of mass hysteria that was highly publicized
