Society’s painful reality

Insofar, reading the novel has me thinking about the influence of society over one person. For instance, if you don't follow a trend, you have “no taste”, if you have a different opinion, you have “no brain”, if you look different, you are a “rebel”, and if you don't have the same values, you “don't know what is important”. It seems no matter how hard you try to be  different or to be true to yourself, you will always be rejected by society. Reading chapter 10 of The Handmaid's Tale just strengthen my opinion, proving that society’s ideology has the power to coerce one to change in fear of being rejected, revealing the dangerous power of collective belief.

Initially, this chapter shows us the difference between the past and the present, especially the contrast in freedom. Afterwards, we realise that the lack of freedom in powerless citizens, like the handmaids, demonstrates the power of the regime over an individual’s mindset. For example, no one can sing old songs anymore: “such songs are not sung anymore in public. Especially the ones that use words like free.” (Atwood 67). It almost seems like the regime took away the citizen’s freedom of speech because their opinion did not align with Gilead’s ideology : freedom is not something impotent people can have anymore. Furthermore, those in power even forbade women from reading and writing. They only gave Offred a cushion with “FAITH [written over it]. It's the only thing they've given [her] to read.” (Atwood 71), and even this, was most likely an oversight. Therefore, not only do the rulers take away women’s freedom of speech, they also take away their freedom of knowledge. In contrast, since Offred says: “Is that how we lived, then? But we lived as usual (...) by ignoring. Ignoring isn't the same as ignorance, you have to know the difference. ” (Atwood 70) She declares that she knows they took her freedom and her rights away. Despite her knowledge, she is resigned to the new order and tries to forget what she lost. In either case, she was once a girl who smoked, partied and generally acted as she wanted. Actually, “If [Offred] could spit, out of the window, or throw something, (...) [she] might be able to hit [the commander].” (Atwood 71) She still has moments where she is her true self, where she can be free of all judgment and all repercussions. Where she doesn't fear rejection, or abandonment, and where she can clearly think. Yet, she returns to her false appearance: a simple handmaid, becoming a silent girl obeying the law and the new rules because it is their new reality. A reality where you have to follow the rules or you are thrown out of it.  Above all, she must now “live in the gaps between the stories,” (Atwood 70) almost as if she, herself, is not living a life, but living a space between time. She knows it's not her story, yet, she still lives it. It pains me to see that someone can abandon themselves for something that they don't really believe in, to simply follow as a sheep to slaughter.

To summarize, the way Atwood uses the concept of individuality versus society triggers such strong emotions in the reader. It is particularly frightening to see Atwood’s ability to make such drastic change seems inevitable. She shows with her work how someone can and will certainly change to fit society's vision, destroying a person's values along the way. Not only does she discuss the past, she also foreshadows the future. Therefore, implying that suppression will destroy individuality. Altogether, with Atwood’s warning: “Nothing changes instantaneously; in a gradually heating bathtub you'd be boiled to death before you knew it” (70).