Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Creating an "it" - HT IV

"That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before" (192-193).

The entire philosophy of the Eyes of God relies on creating an "it." Atwood uses Offred's story to show how the handmaids have been made the "its" whose sole purpose in life is to repopulate the Republic of Gilead, and who can be gotten rid of extremely easily if they prove infertile. Atwood may also be speaking out about losing one’s personal identity and one’s human rights; all a person has is their own self and their right to choose. If one of these gets taken away, even the choice to die no longer exists (although it theoretically never does). Atwood is likely sending a message in her novel about the importance of human rights, and how hard life would become without them.

2 comments:

  1. for what purpose? what's the bigger point Atwood may be driving at?

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  2. Original:

    "The entire philosophy of the Eyes of God relies on creating an "it." Atwood uses Offred's story to show how the handmaids have been made the "its" whose sole purpose in life is to repopulate the Republic of Gilead, and who can be gotten rid of extremely easily if they prove infertile."

    ReplyDelete