Compare And Contrast The Help And The Handmaid's Tale

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Comparative Essay In the books The Help written by Kathryn Stockett and The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Attwood we see two very different styles of novels. In both the books we see ways of life that are not as we know it. In the help the novel takes place in the 1960’s in a time of racism and sexism, where white males are the only people who get to live normal lives. In The Handmaid’s tale we see a very different setting and time period. This novel is very futuristic and also has some science fiction type qualities as it talks about a different kind of society wear woman are captured and are not treated as humans. They are only used for sex and to reproduce. Now the Handmaid’s tale is a version of the extreme and show sexism in…show more content…
This is how it is extremely similar to The Handmaid’s Tale. In The Help woman take on certain roles and they believe is there purpose in life. Black woman as said before are to be maids for white families and put their families needs above the needs of their own. In a white woman’s eyes the only way they can be successful is if they have kids. Celia Rae Foote is married to Johnny and they live together with aid from their maid Minny. Celia feels, “Oh, we’re gonna have some kids… I mean, kids is the only thing worth living for." (40) This shows that Celia feels like having kids is something she has to do. She has had multiple miscarriages and for this reason she feels as though she is a failure as a…show more content…
The United States was in a crisis due to the extreme decline in birth rates so in desperation to do something about this the Republic of Gilead formed. The goal of this State was based strictly on reproduction and they would take control of woman’s bodies, not allowing them to, read, write, vote, hold property, or even think for themselves. Handmaid’s would be assigned to married couples and there only job was to lie on their back once a month and hope that their owners, the commanders, would make them pregnant. Ever since Gilead began woman were forced to live with this way of life and for some of the younger Handmaid’s it was the only way they knew. “Ordinary, said Aunt Lydia, is what you are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary.” (33) Living in a life like this woman are treated as belongings and not as people. Gilead is a fictional example of how scary the world would be if it fell into the wrong hands and women are not treated as human. “At neck level there's another sheet, suspended from the ceiling. It intersects me so the doctor will never see my face. He deals with a torso only.” This quote shows how little the Handmaid’s mean to the commanders and how there is no emotions into the sex at all. It is strictly a means of making a child and nothing more than that. This entire book is based on a life that completely discriminates
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