Gileadean regime Essay Example for Free

Gileadean regime Essay research the way in which Margaret Atwood presents Moira The Handm sanctions Tale. Refer closely to any literary and linguistic approaches where necessary. Within The retainers Tale Atwood presents us with many offices that are emotion all toldy weak Janine, Offred and even the Commander residing in the higher echelons of society all possess a deprivation of spirit brought about by the oppressive and restrictive nature of the Gileadean regime.In contrast to this we are presented with Moira and by her Atwood is able to create tension, conflict and a rebelliousness that is otherwise only seemn in the recollections of Offreds mother. Moira acts as a representative for independence and liberty in the novel, she defies her oppressors and is seen by Offred as a role model that she finds impossible to aspire to. Moira constantly battles the status quo she parades her lesbianism and manages on two occasions to batter the system at the disgrace of the much-hat ed Aunts.She is confidant in both manner and speech. Dont move said Moira or Ill stick it all the way in The boldness of this imperative paired with the violent connotations link up to theverb stick gives Moira the sinister tone she needs to intimidate Aunt Elizabeth. Moira is portrayed as an activist, she does not and contemplate the possibilities of freedom as Offred does and Offred recognizes this with dissatisfaction as she muses the prospect of what she domiciliate do with the fan that she has been given. If I were Moira I would k straightway how tot take it apart, reduce it to its cutting edges. I have no screwdriver but if I were Moira I could do it without a screwdriver. Im not Moira. This quote clearly outlines the practical nature of Moira juxtapositioned with themore suppositious approach that we would associate with Offred who loathes herself for it. The syntactic parallelism If I were Moira but if I were Moira points to the irony that Moira, in the resembling sit uation as Offred could use the fan to aid her escape. When we first learn of Moiras disappearance in chapter 22 we are not fully informed as to the details of her flight the thought of Moiras freedom make the other Handmaids feel dizzy. Atwood purposely withholds this information to let the proofreader share in this feeling of distrust the mystery surrounding Moira at this pointenhances her charisma.Offred recalls the Handmaids feeling a sense of victory over the aunts Moira had shown that they could be defeated and so easily too, through Moiras actions the Aunts agency was diminished. Having belittled the enemy she is seen to have great power, Offred refers to her as a loose woman a clichi connoting sexual freedom but cleverly a indorsement implication of the characters unbridled power promptly that she is free. When Moira escapes, the future seems to hold promise for the Handmaids.The thought of what Moira could do now that she is free gives them a sense of presence, apressur e reaching its climatic point. Moira was like an elevator with unbuttoned sides. She made us dizzy This simile poses threat and the sense of freedom that Moiras escape gives the other women. some(prenominal) of Moiras character is revealed to us through direct speech This is a loony bin, Moira said. Im so glad to see you, I said Where can we talk? said Moira. The used of direct address here brings the reader closer to the story and builds tension and suspense through the feeling that they are present at the fourth dimension of conversation.The colloquialism loony-bin reveals that Moira is a non-conformist Atwoodcreatively uses her as a reminiscence of the time before. Moiras interrogative response Where can we talk? conveys that Moira does not linger over sentimentalities as Offred would it shows that she is active rather than passive. The clipped syntax reflects the step on it exchange of spoken discourse giving a nervous quality to both characters and reminding the reader of the erratic situation that the Handmaids are in. Moira is incredibly blas throughout the novel her nonchalance shows even in her response to running(a)s at Jezebels which will lead to an impending death in the Colonies.Youd have three or four good years before your snatch wears out and they send you to the bone-yard. The vulgarity of the expletive snatch comparable with the verb wears describes the female body in a manufactured way, dispensable for male pleasure and just as easily disposed of. It is this taboo language that Atwood uses to familiarize us with Moira. Her reference to the Colonies as the bone-yard is further tell apart of Moiras ability to perceive things in a brutally realistic way.The fact that she is graphically aware of the inevitable doom she faces and does not react over-sentimentally show Moiras unwavering courage. When Offred reflect on her student support in the time before we see that Moiras attitude to sex was thence just as relaxed and large as i t is under the Gileadean rule Im giving an under-whore party Tarts stuff, lace crotches, snap garters. Bras that push your tits up here(predicate) the three-part list indicates the casual attitude that Moira has towards sex, she is comfortable with her sexuality and her taboo language reflects this.The portmanteau under-whore adds humour to Moiras character and so contrasts with the presentwhere humour is essentially forbidden. Moira is irreverent and shows contempt to every aspect of injustice chumminess shit How much do you want to bet shes got Janine down on her knees I bet she got her working away on that dried up, hairy old wi in that locationd This quote is evidence of Moiras unorthodox beliefs there is a linguistic shock between the positive noun Camaraderie and the negative expletive noun shit. This shows the complete disrespect that Moira has for those who blindly follow the theocratic regime. Offred sees her irreverence as a source of power.There is something in the whispering of obscenities about those in power it deflates them, reduces them to the common denominator where they can be dealt with. Here Atwood uses visual language examine those in power to something that can be deflated. This gives connotations of a balloon filled with air and its course is whence precarious and fickle as to where it could blow. This is allegorical to the regime Atwood makes the point that wherever there is oppression there is unavoidable rebellion.Moira sees through all aspects of the regime with explicit cynicism, in Jezebels sheanalyses the actions of all the men in power with insulting accuracy. Its like screwing on the altar, your gang are supposed to be such unblemished vessels they like to see you all painted up. Just another cheesy power trip The pre-modifier crummy reduces the Commanders who perceive themselves as omnipotent to mere perverts. The use of the expletive screwing is further evidence of Moiras iconoclastic views. The use of the collect ive noun all painted up reduces the Commanders desires to petit and perverse, there is a linguistic shock to aid Moiras criticism in the antithesis of screwing and chaste vessels.Through Moira Atwood reminds us that Jezebels is a prescribed world for those in power. The architects of this new society who claim their actions were to protect women from the world by eradicating pornography and prostitution are now seen as absolute hypocrites. Jezebels exposes the hypocrisy of the men who prate about sexual morality and then extend their evenings sleeping with prostitutes in a club, purpose built. The most poignant aspect of the novel is absorbd through the change in Moira.In their last encounter Offred learns that the spirit of both Moira and her mother, bothfigures of transgression and opposite in the Handmaids life, have been broken. Throughout the novel, Atwood has set up a heroine in the eyes of both the Handmaid and the reader who believe that if there is to be a fortunate end to this grim tale then it will be accomplished through Moira. In their last meeting at Jezebels we disappointingly realise that this is not so She is frightening me now because what I hear in her voice is indifference and a lack of volition.It is the abstract nouns indifference and volition that indicate the chance in Moira, the woman who, in propagation of need, Offred looked to as a source of hope has now become just like her, instead of embodying defiance Moira now embodies Gileads ability to crush even the strongest of spirits. I dont want to be like her as furthest as something I lack. Give in, go along, save her skin I want swash-buckling heroism from her, angiotensin-converting enzyme handed combat. Something I lack. This three-part syndetic list describes Offred who has romanticised and projected on to Moira the qualities she wished she possessed and is here, along with the reader, sorely mistaken. I dont know how she endedBecause I never saw her again What has happened to Moira is an anticlimax we do not waitress to be left unknowing, the novel now seems closer to real life than fiction and this brings the starkness of Offreds reality to the readers attention. Moiras spiritual demise and erasure is an elaboration of the full force of oppression Margaret Atwood presents us with, once a courageous, outspoken woman has become a despondent pessimist with no hope of escaping Gilead. It is this change in Moira that makes us realise the true awfulness of the situation so many women in the novel are in.