Handmaid's Tale Essay Sexual relations are a major theme throughout The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. In order to make sexual relations more normal the Republic of Gilead tries controls them but in doing so makes these relationships incredibly bizarre. By attempting to control and normalize sexual relationships and sexual tension, the Republic of Gilead made all types relationships and the sexual tension all the more strange. The majority of the relationships in The Handmaid's Tale are strange such as Offred's relationship with the Commander and Nick, and Serena Joy's relationship with the Commander and Offred. Sexual tension in Gilead is increased due to the disappearance of pornography.
Women as castrators, society’s destruction of natural impulses, and false diagnoses of insanity are some of the themes which are reinforced by the Chief’s madness and hallucinations in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The main weaknesses of using Chief Bromden as the narrator of the novel are due to the fact that the Chief continuously describes his hallucinations as if they were present and constantly has flashbacks of his past which can be confusing. Additionally, his opinions on the events and characters that take place at the ward can be a biased opinion of the Chief. This particularly interferes with our knowledge and understanding about what is actually happening at the ward. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, one very confusing thing that interferes with our understanding of reality and fantasy is Chief
Discuss the significance of irony and humour to Postmodern practice Irony and humour is used in many post-modern artworks to reflect upon the issue it is addressing. The integration of irony and humour often signifies the artist’s reaction to the modernising world. In Ursus Wehrli’s best-seller, ‘Tidying Up Art’, he has attempted to bring order and structure to many famous artworks. For example, in his rendition of Van Gogh’s artwork ‘Bedroom’, Wehrli has decided to clean up the mess in the room and transform it into a tidy space. This idea was brought to life through his own experiences of immaculate hotel room service and his wonder as to how Van Gogh’s cluttered ‘Bedroom’ would look like if it too, had undergone the room service present today.
The Lady Justice, as portrayed by the graffiti artist Banksy, is a stark contrast to the traditional madamn of fairness. Normally, Justice is portrayed in a floor length robe, holding a sword in one hand, and the scales of Truth and Fairness in the other, whilst donning a blindfold, so as to remain objective, and not give favor to anyone, regardless of wealth or identity. She is a symbol of integrity, decorating courtrooms and judicial buildings the world over. This version however, gives a feeling of paranoia, making one feel that despite the symbols of integrity, she is not playing with a full deck. Maybe someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes?
The girl-poets wonder, to themselves of course, why the Marilyn Monroe would be browsing through used books, when she could be walking through the Waldorf-Astoria (80). By showing that even a dressed-down Marilyn Monroe seems out of place, Oates gives more of a feeling to the homeliness of the Strand. There is almost a tension between Marilyn Monroe and the Strand, because they are essentially portrayed as polar opposites. Oates does this to dramatize the girl-poets relationship, because their true relationship is reveled to the reader at the end of the story. This building tension between the setting and Marilyn Monroe sets the reader up for the surprise ending.
Intentionally or otherwise, entertainment condones violent behavior and downplays its significance. Modern entertainment lays sex and violence on dangerously thick. By excusing brutality and equating promiscuity to beauty, it distorts the moral values of society. Additionally, it encourages a personally dangerous lifestyle. STDs, fighting fatalities and injuries, and jail time are real threats to those who choose to live in the false grandeur of a Hollywood life.
For whereas American democracy is based on the idea of equality among people, the truth is that social discrimination still exists and the divisions among the classes cannot be overcome. Myrtle's attempt to break into the group to which the Buchanans belong is doomed to fail. Taking advantage of her vivacity, her lively nature, she seeks to escape from her own class. She enters into an affair with Tom and takes on his way of living. But she only becomes vulgar and corrupt like the rich.
The way John creates a sudden fear in his wife which provokes her to startle and hide her journal speaks volumes of his influence over her life. Gilman’s use of symbolism first begins to take flight when the woman in her story suddenly begins to notice the wallpaper. It becomes evident only through her use of symbolism that controlling men trap women from all of their potential. The wallpaper in her story symbolizes women who have long been repressed by such men, and by society. Gilman demonstrates this very notion in the slightest ways, such as when the woman first describes the wallpaper as if it had been used by a room of boys: “The paint and paper look as if a boy’s school had used it.
The public-houses were just closing, and dim men and women were clustering in broken groups round their doors. From some of the bars came the sound of a horrible laughter. In others drunkards brawled and screamed.” The unexplained supernatural is a regular theme in gothic novels and in A Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian’s bargain with the devil and the magical effect of this on his portrait is the novels most important gothic element. In the first chapter when Henry manages to convince Dorian that beauty and youth is everything and that without these two things a man is worth nothing, Dorian’s subconsciously, in the pursuit of absolution says ‘I would give my soul’ . And for the next eighteen years his wish is fulfilled, not a hint of a crease marks his face.
Traditional imagery of the once nurturing housewife has been overridden in the media with frequent depictions of women as sexual objects. These objectifications are solely based on their physical appearance and sexual appeal (Caruthers, 2006). The socially constructed myths and ideologies in modern day society implant onto woman that they are or should be concerned about their appearance. This is what influences a guy’s impression. However we all acknowledge that one should just pay enough attention to her physical beauty because inner beauty is most important.