Participant’s name: Carolina Petryszyn

Participant’s ID Number: 27.822.780

Practical Work 10: Dystopia in the “The Handmaids Tale”.
Literatura Norteamericana del Siglo XX
Deadline for submission: Thursday, July 18th
MARK:

TASK:
 Read chapters 1 to 5 of the novel by Margaret Atwood “The Handmaid’s
Tale”.
 Watch the TED-Lesson “Why should you read The Handmaid’s Tale”
 Work on the questionnaire

1. What kind of societies do Utopias generally represent? (2p)

Generally speaking, Utopias represent imagined places where everything is
perfect; the term refers to sites, societies or ideals considered unattainable.
Essentially, a utopian society is ideally perfect regarding politics, legislation,
customs, and lifestyle.
In contrast to utopian societies, we can find the dystopian societies,
characterized as imagined universes in which oppressive societal control and
the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic,
technological, moral, or totalitarian control.

2. Which is the novel’s physical setting? (2p)

The physical setting of the novel is the so-called Republic of Gilead, also known
as the "Divine Republic", set in the United States. It is a totalitarian, theonomist,
and neo-Puritanical regime.
3. The novel’s setting draws a parallel to the theocracy established by the
Puritans during colonial times. What characteristics do Gilead and the
Puritans share? (2p)
In general terms, Gilead and the Puritans share the reign of strict moral and
dressing codes, as well as rigid social structure, but the most relevant parallel
would be the position of women in society, viewed as inferior than men.
Both the people of Gilead and Puritans during colonial times had to fit into very
specific roles based on their gender and social status; for instance, married
women were expected to follow the edicts of their husbands and were unable to
interact with the authorities on their own. In addition, women fulfilled a number
of different roles, namely: farm hands, gardeners, wives and mothers.

4. What does Offred’s place in the Commander’s household depend on?

(2p)
It depends on her capacity to carry and give birth to his children.

5. How does Offred begin to resist the totalitarian regime of Gilead?

(choose one) (2p)
She becomes a terrorist
She tries to infiltrate the regime
She withstands the regime’s indoctrination of her thoughts
She publicly protests the regime’s actions