"You pick the one you want, punch in the number, then punch in your own number so your account will be debited, and punch in the number of times you want the prayer repeated" (167).
Religion is traditionally a rather personal thing, with prayers being considered a direct way of communicating your wants and need to God. But in Atwood's utopia religion is a mandated way of life, with prayers no longer being said from the soul, but being said by a machine after the prayer is payed for. Although the entire book is centered around religion and the Bible, Atwood creates the religion in such a way that it is never focused on for any reason except understanding the political theology of the Eyes of God. Essentially, Atwood is removing all spirituality from Offred’s world. Atwood may do this to point out how organized or forced religion can actually cause people to turn away from spirituality, rather than become a firm believer; Atwood could also be addressing her concerns about religious fanaticism and the way a religion like that can ignore human rights.
feels like it needs one more sentence -- one more bit of explanation -- why does she create it this way? why does it matter?; and present tense
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ReplyDelete"Religion is traditionally a rather personal thing, with prayers being considered a direct way of communicating your wants and need to God. But in Atwood's utopia religion is a mandated way of life, with prayers no longer being said from the soul, but being said by a machine after the prayer has been payed for. Although the entire book is centered around religion and the Bible, Atwood created the religion the religion in such a way that it is never focused on for any reason except understanding the political theology of the Eyes of God."