"The Handmaid's Tale" Analysis: Intro, Pt. I, Chapters 1 & 2
Is it healthy to have an obsession with such a depressing dystopian novel? I guess it’s no more depressing than the political news of today. What is this morbid fascination with disturbing alternate futures that attracts us? Well, in the case of The Handmaid’s Tale, it is definitely the succinct, intricate weaving of narrative and subtle reflections of the real world’s problems. Too many dystopian works these days are written as polemics and agendas, or are cliché and uninspired. But The Handmaid’s Tale is a classic work of literature that builds its plot around one singular character, knowing only what she’s told of the world she lives in, whether it’s word-of-mouth, propaganda, or both. Because if you did live a life like Offred’s, in which the act of reading anything is a crime, you would only have your wits and memories at hand.