The Power of Words in The Handmaids Tale, a Novel by Margaret Atwood
Diction, also known as word choice, allows authors to convey mood, atmosphere, and tone within their works. Word choice assists in conveying the story's message while continuing to intrigue the readers. In her novel The Handmaid'S Tale, Margaret Atwood's choice of wording plays a significant role in establishing the culture and personalities of those who inhabit the Republic of Gilead. The inclusion of religious and social neologisms allows the author to convey the religious values of society and manipulate those living in it. Moreover, by causing the protagonist to ponder and expand upon words, Atwood hints that Offred possesses a rebellious personality. Within the Republic of Gilead, Arwood incorporates a variety of religious neologisms in order to reinforce the cultural values. With Christianity as one of the unifying elements of society, the author wants to incorporate it into every facet of daily life, including speech.
The Eyes appear as one of the most notable neologisms within the Republic of Gilead. Referencing the constantly watching eyes of God, this term describes a secret police of sorts that maintains order and ensures that everyone does what they should. The Eyes evoke a fear of sinning against God and against the rules of Gilead as well. For instance, after discussing an illegal topic outside of Soul Scrolls with Ofglen, Offred spots the infamous black van of the Eyes and fear immediately runs through her veins, "I freeze, cold travels through me, down to my feet. There must have been microphones, they've heard us after all" (Atwood 169). In this example, the neologism achieves its purpose of arousing fear among the inhabitants of Gilead. Offred immediately regrets speaking negatively about God in her conversation with Ofglen as well as breaking the rules of society. Angels also serve as another powerful and religious neologism for the Republic of Gilead. In a religious context, angels typically watch over those on earth and embody a reassuring connotation. Yet, within the novel, Atwood twists this depiction to convey the exact opposite. As with the Eyes, the religious neologism Angels causes civilians to resent religious and societal sinning, "The Angels stood outside with their backs to us.
They were objects of fear to us, but of something else as well" (4). In the end, in order to strengthen the cultural principles of Gilead, Atwood sprinkles a variety of religious neologisms throughout her novel The Handmaids Tale. Similarly, through the addition of neologisms that indicate class status, the author not only establishes the culture of society, but also dictates how individuals live their lives. By assigning each person into a designated class, the Republic of Gilead portrays a sense of order as well as perfection as everyone performs their allocated duty within the parameters, From the narrator, readers learn of many different class levels. Throughout her interactions with Rita, Offred explains the role of the green dressed Martha in society, "But even if were to ask, even if I were to violate decorum to that extent, Rita would not allow it. She would be too afraid, The Marthas are not supposed to fraternize with us" (11). In order to seem like a true dystopian society, "citizens must conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are bad" (readwritethink.org). By demanding that each individual assimilate into one class tier of society. the founders of Gilead successfully created a sense of unity and control as each sphere of the social hierarchy performs a specific job for the benefit of society, thus the civilization's perfection.
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All in all, in order to institute Gilead's culture and control how inhabitants live their daily lives, Atwood involves neologisms that indicate societal status within her novel. In addition to neologisms, the author manipulates words even further by causing her protagonist to consistently ponder words as well as their meaning in order to display her rebellious nature. forbids women to read and write, attempting to difter any type of resistance by replacing words with pictures and symbols. However, since Offred has not lived in Gilead for all her life, according to the Historical Notes, "[Offred] appears to have been an educated woman, insofar as a graduate of any North American college..." (305). As an educated individual, she tends to dwell on the meanings of certain words and their origins. For instance, when Ofglen introduces the word "mayday" into their conversation, Offred secretly ponders that word in her mind, "Mayday used to be a distress signal, a long time ago, in one of those wars we studied in high school. I kept getting them mixed up, but you could tell them apart by the airplanes if you paid attention. It was Luke who told me about mayday, though. Mayday, mayday, for pilots whose planes had been hit, and ships - was it ships too? - at sea... It's French, he said. From m'aidez. Help me" (44).
Offred's long contemplation reveals her disobedient as women should not even think about such matters because, in theory, they should have not have detailed knowledge of words. Each time Offred ponders words, she breaks the rules of society. Furthermore, most of the terms that the protagonist expands upon reminds her of Luke and the old life, which society forbids her to dwell on. Gilead represents her new life, so Offred should only worry about matters that pertain to it. Despite this forbidding law, Offred continuously thinks about her old life through contemplating certain words, again, hinting at her rebellious attitude. For instance, near the beginning of the novel, the protagonist deliberates on a word that Luke once taught her, "Fratemize means to behave like a brother. Luke told me that. He said there was no corresponding word that meant to behave like a sister. Sororize, it would have to be, he said. From the Latin word. He liked knowing about such details. The derivations of words, curious usages. I used to tease him about being pedantic" (11).
Not only does Offred break the societal rule of possessing knowledge of words, she also continues to think about her old life. All in all, the deliberations of words that the protagonist dwells upon reveal her personality as a slightly recalcitrant individual. Overall, the words that author Margaret Atwood incorporates into The Handmaids Tale, serve a variety of functions throughout the novel. The religious neologisms not only ascertain the culture of the Republic of Gilead, but also provide a sense of unity and order. Likewise, through the use of neologisms that describe societal standing, the society radiates a stability and perfection. The rebellious nature of the protagonist, Offred, unveils itself whenever she muses over words as repeatedly resists the rules society sets for her.
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The Power of Words in The Handmaids Tale, a Novel by Margaret Atwood. (2023, Apr 16). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/the-power-of-words-in-the-handmaids-tale-a-novel-by-margaret-atwood/
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