Banned Book of the Month: The Handmaid’s Tale
Book cover image from Barnes & Noble.
Emersen Cwiklinski
About the Author:
The Handmaid’s Tale is by Margaret Atwood. Atwood is a Canadian author, born November 18, 1939. Atwood is known for her feminist perspective in writing. She writes with a common theme of women being oppressed by society which is apparent in many of her books. Atwood received a master’s degree in English Literature from Radcliffe College. After college, she wrote a variety of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction books. Some of Atwood’s best awarded books include The Handmaid’s Tale, The Blind Assassin, and The Circle Game.
Summary:
The Handmaid’s Tale follows the story of a woman during a dystopian era, named Offred. Women during this time period do not have personal names, or individuality. Handmaid’s are named as being “of” their male commanders, such as Offred (“of” Fred). Offred is a handmaid who lives in a male dominated, totalitarian society called The Republic of Gilead, formerly known as the United States of America. She tried fleeing to Canada with her husband and daughter when the new republic began cracking down on women’s rights and reproductive freedoms, but she was captured and forced to learn the new ways of society. The Republic of Gilead claims that women cannot own property, lack the right to fair trial and must be muzzled when being charged, cannot read or write, and are forced into intercourse in order to bear children once a month when they are “fertile.” Handmaids like Offred are responsible for bearing children for the wealthy elite commanders that they are assigned to. Offred develops relationships with other characters in the book and starts to rebel against Gilead, but any rebellions result in physical punishment or death. Offred’s goal is to reunite with her family and try to survive the horrific ways of life.
Why it’s Banned:
The Handmaid’s Tale is being banned from many schools in Florida, Texas, and Oregon. The influence for banning The Handmaid’s Tale is because of “human sexuality,” “material that may discomfort students,” and “the discussion of feminism and extremism.” The Handmaid’s Tale also includes profanity and has aspects of sexual nature, causing some schools to feel the need to ban it.
Although the topics may be more mature, the story of The Handmaid’s Tale hits close to home. The setting takes place in The United States, and involves laws against women’s rights and freedoms which isn’t an extreme stretch from laws that women face in society from the past and even the present. Some parents, teachers, and education faculty feel that The Handmaid’s Tale is disruptive to students’ learning and deemed “highly inappropriate.” It is important to provide the opportunity for students to open their minds to issues in books that can also be connected to the real world. Margaret Atwood dedicates her life to writing about significant causes that can also be applied to learning and teaching.
If looking at where to find copies of The Handmaid’s Tale, Pauline Haass Public Library, as well as other libraries nearby have it available.
