Literature Help: The Handmaid's Tale

By Students' Academy

The story is set in the near future. The place was formerly the United States of America, but now it is called the Republic of Gilead. It happens to be a theocratic military dictatorship. The Republic lies within the borders of what was formerly the US.

As the book opens, an organized terrorist attack takes place. The Islamic extremist terrorists are blamed for the attack.

The president and most of Congress members are killed in that fatal attack. It transpires that the movement has been started by a group that calls itself the “Sons of Jacob.”

Literature Help: The Handmaid's Tale
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Jul 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311264749

Students' Academy

Easy study guides for the students of English literature.

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Literature Help: The Handmaid's Tale

Students' Academy

Copyright

Literature Help: The Handmaid's Tale

Students' Academy

Copyright@2014 Students' Academy

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Chapter One: Introduction

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood was first published in 1985. It is a dystopian novel. It is also categorized as a work of science fiction or speculative fiction.

Canadian author Margaret Atwood was highly admired after the book was reviewed by reviewers and critics around the world.

The story is set in the near future. The United States government has been overthrown by a totalitarian Christian theocracy. The story explores the changes the society experiences after this huge change.

The Handmaid’s Tale fundamentally explores the themes of subjugation of woman and the means and methods which cause women to gain agency.

The novel’s title The Handmaid’s Tale is said to have been inspired by The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer. There is a series of related stories in ‘The Canterbury Tales.’

In the year of its first publication, The Handmaid’s Tale won the Governor General’s Award. It also won the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987.

The book was also nominated for the Nebula Award in the year 1986. It was also nominated for the Booker Prize in the year 1986, and the Prometheus Award in 1987.

The book has also been adapted into a movie. It has also been adapted for stage, radio, television, and opera.

The popularity of the book has been on the rise since its first publication.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

The story is set in the near future. The place was formerly the United States of America, but now it is called the Republic of Gilead. It happens to be a theocratic military dictatorship. The Republic lies within the borders of what was formerly the US.

As the book opens an organized terrorist attack takes place. The Islamic extremist terrorists are blamed for the attack.

The president and most of Congress members are killed in that fatal attack. It transpires that the movement has been started by a group that calls itself the Sons of Jacob.

The Sons of Jacob begins a revolution in

Reviews for Literature Help

[melissanouchi8995 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Unfortunately, I only read the first three or four pages before becoming disappointed. There are printing errors( "and" instead of "an") and even grammatical mistakes! Hard to place much confidence in a literary interpretation when the difference between "there" and "their" is not understood.