Comparing and contrasting two characters from The Handmaids Tale

Sexual slavery and feminism are two of the main themes in Atwood’s dystopian book The Handmaid’s Tale (1986), in which she portrays a society called Gilead in which women are deprived of their civil liberties. In Atwood’s dystopian society most women have become infertile and the few ones who can still bear children are turned into handmaids, i. e. sexual servants who are brainwashed for the mere purpose of breeding healthy children for the elite. This novel is an account of Offred’s musings and her fragmented perception of reality. It is Offred who introduces two antithetical characters: rebellious Moira and submissive Janine. Although these characters employ different strategies to either escape or accommodate respectively, they end up being subdued by Gilead’s regime, metaphorically losing control over their own body. I will outline both characters’ personalities, their subjugation to Gilead and the loss of connection with their own bodies. Moira is a rebellious lesbian who is admired by the Handmaids, but as the story unfolds, she subdues to Gilead. Moira’s boisterous behavior is displayed by her actions and speech, which is highly colloquial, as when she states, â€Å"I’m borrowing five bucks off you, okay? † (Atwood, THT, p. 32) and when she refers to the Red Center[1] as a â€Å"Loony Bin† (THT, p. 61). She constantly defies the Gilead system and even tries to escape twice succeeding on her second attempt and as a result of this Moira never becomes a proper handmaid. Even when Moira has disappeared from the scene, she makes a dramatic impact on the Handmaids, who admire her: â€Å"Moira was our fantasy (†¦) she was with us in secret, a giggle† (THT p. 17). But her power over Offred seems to cease when Moira appears in scene at Jezebel’s, a place in which improper Handmaids such as Moira are forced into prostitution: â€Å"I am shocked by them (the women in Jezebel’s) I recognize them as truant. The official creed denies them, denies their very existence, yet they are here † (THT p. 213). There, Moira lets herself be used by men once and again in order to accommodate to this new reality, even minimizing the gravity of the situation: â€Å"it’s not so bad, there’s lots of women around. Butch paradise, you might call it† (THT p. 28). Thus, her once rebellious identity fades as she loses control of her body. In this way, it can be deduced that even the most rebellious personality subdues to Gilead. Unlike Moira, Janine is seen as a straight-laced, submissive character who is constantly trying to accommodate to Gilead, but in the end, she gets subdued as well. Her submissive behaviour is clearly displayed when, at the Red Center, she blames herself for having been gang-raped in the pre-Gilead society, as a strategy for accommodation: â€Å"It was my fault, she says. It was my own fault. I led them on. I deserved the pain† (THT p. 62). Soon, the aunts consider Janine an â€Å"example† (THT p. 62) for the rest of the Handmaids. But whereas Moira is admired for her courage, Janine is depicted by the handmaids in a derogatory sense, calling her a â€Å"whiny bitch† (THT p. 98), and even â€Å"sucky† (THT p. 98). Their hatred for Janine grows when she becomes a spy for the Aunts: â€Å"We (the handmaids) avoided her when we could (†¦) She was a danger to us†. Similar to Moira, Janine ends up working for Gilead, although Janine does it legally. She is able to bear a child for her Commander’s wife, but soon after the birth the baby dies: â€Å"(The baby) was a shredded after all (†¦) My God, (†¦) to go through all that, for nothing. Worse than nothing† (THT p. 192). As a result, Janine becomes insane as she cannot tolerate the loss: â€Å"she’s (Janine) let go, totally now, she’s in free fall, she’s in withdrawal† (THT p. 252). But her insanity is also due to the loss of connection with her body she gets â€Å"legally† raped, which comes as a revival of her pre-Gilead’s traumatic experience. For her, losing the relationship with her body implies losing her mind as well. In conclusion, Janine had done everything to accommodate to this society: she pleased the Aunts, she became a spy, and she even bore a child; but she never accomplished her purpose of becoming accepted and, as compared to Moira, she is subjugated to Gilead, metaphorically losing both mind and body. As I have already stated, Moira and Janine present both differences and similarities. The boldest differences between them are their personalities and their strategies to either escape or accommodate to Gilead. But even these antithetical characters have a similar destiny: their subjugation to the society and the metaphorical loss of connection with their own bodies. The implication that arises from this comparison is that were a society like this be established, women would not only be morally affected, but they would also lose their own identity. Another line of research worth pursuing further is to study the effect that a society like this could have on today’s world.

Explain Marx's 'general law of capitalist accumulation' and discuss Essay

Explain Marx's 'general law of capitalist accumulation' and discuss its contemporary relevance - Essay Example Marx’s earliest writing reflected a critique of the relationship between civil society and the state and progressively builds up to his dire prediction that capitalism would result in the rise of proletariat/working class and the ultimate reversal of fortunes as expressed in The General Law (Gurley, 1980). Ultimately, Marx’s The General Law predicts that capitalism would grow and expand to a point of self-destruction (Marx & Engels, 2007). The 2008 global financial crisis can therefore be seen as an example of the contemporary relevance of The General Law’s contention that capitalism would eventually dig its own grave by overproduction, greed, exploitation and alienation. This paper examines The General Law and its contemporary relevance. In order to put The General Law in its proper perspective, this paper will first identify and examine Marx’s political ideas culminating in The General Law and identify its contemporary relevance throughout. ... 187). For Marx, as reflected in The General Law and earlier writings, the forces of production, historical materialism and social relations would create conflicts which would lead to destruction rather than reconciliation (Elliot, 1978-78, p. 148). The 25 year old Karl Marx’s response to Hegel’s Der Philosphie des Rechts (Philosophy of Right) provides some insight into how Marx would eventually come to view the destructive forces of capitalism in The General Law. Marx honed in on Hegel’s â€Å"political science† (Jackson, 1990, p. 799). In this regard, Hegel defended the state and its constitutional structures claiming that this amalgamation of power was necessary for order in civil society (Depew, 1992, Chapter 2). Marx was quick to point out that the constitution should be nothing more than a reflection of man’s consciousness and this could only be accomplished if man was â€Å"the principle of the constitution† (Marx, 1977, p. 20). Marx (1 977) also sets the stage for the articulation of his critique of capitalism in The General Law and in general. Marx (1977) criticized Hegel’s reference to the state is far too abstract and that Hegel seems to forget that the state’s activities are carried out by man and reflects man’s own social qualities. According to Easton (1981), Marx was setting up his later argument that the state was nothing more than an instrument of control by the ruling classes. This argument would balloon into the neo-Marxist contention that the state was commandeered by those with â€Å"economic leverage† (Nordinger, Lowi, & Fabbrini, 1988, p. 875). The significance of economic gain in the ordering of society is a major theme in The General Law and the idea of economic

Cultural Barriers for Women in Education in the United Arab Emirates Research Paper

Cultural Barriers for Women in Education in the United Arab Emirates - Research Paper Example Building and developmental activities within any country requires collective efforts by both men and women. It is of profound importance that women participate in productivity without being left behind since this leads to an unbalanced rhythm of life.In this case, women considering their education and employment opportunities are considered well-placed to impact country’s development within political, economical, educational as well as social sectors.Currently, the world is experiencing a rise in the population of women as well as gradual educational opportunities that coincide economics in traditional attitudes towards women role in the society. The works of Al-Adhab (1992), asserts that the rapidly changing needs of the UAE as a country calls for involvement of women who are required to broaden their understanding of work and active participation in the planning of development activities and careers.  Ã‚   This study focuses on understanding of barriers that limit national women’s entry, as well as career progression. Such knowledge is important since it can be used in empowering national female educators. This ensures that women are considered as integral part of the workforce making their leadership roles a key factor towards realization of UAE government goal of Emiratisation.This research study complements earlier researches by other authors by providing an additional dimension in considering cultural barriers that surround women education and participation in national development.  Ã‚  

Book review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Book review - Essay Example he author’s intention is clear from the start that she wants an apology from the Japanese government and a repatriation for the comfort women whom she believed were aggrieved and should be justly paid. Her paper is also a subtle way of pronouncing that she is supporting the advocacies of pro-comfort women rights. It is addressed to an audience that is working for this commitment. Her articulation of events and history of comfort women agrees with other written articles about the matter. She wrote about the number of about 200,000 women in brothels, and the pains and sexual diseases they have contracted, in the same way it is reported in the Encyclopedia article for comfort women. Author is able to uncover events beyond World War II and takes us to the recent scenarios of confessions of comfort women, investigations and hearings in order to convince the Japanese government to apologize. She was able to unearth researches relevant on the matter from archives and incorporated it in her study that could be useful to other interested researchers. Other topics that she wrote about international responses like that of the US, Canada, Dutch Parliament and EU are also found in numerous articles of research, but nevertheless, a confirmation of evidences. This also shows that the argument Choi had written is backed up by evidences from primary sources. The author is a graduate student at the Bologna Center of the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. Her areas of concentration are International Relations and International Law and

English as Second Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

English as Second Language - Essay Example In the first day of class, I realized that there were 6 essays which I had to write in order to pass this class. In the second day of class, we started directly to write the first ‘in class’ essay. When I got the feedback from my professor about the first essay, I was told that I had a few weaknesses: a lot of grammar issues, no position statement, no driven thesis relevance, and weak examples. After that, we started working on the first ‘out of class’ essay. The out of class essay required 3 draft processes. I needed to bring the first draft to meet with the professor in the conference. I got feedback from my professor for my essay. My first draft also had a lot of grammar errors and other technical corrections. I was directed to structure shorter paragraphs and cite when I paraphrased. I had noticed from my professor that I had some improvement as well - I had a thesis statement in this essay and had also stated my position statement in the essay. Moreover , I had enough examples, explanations, and valid reasons to illustrate my position statement. I know that my weakness in writing is always grammar and technical errors. Therefore, I bought my first essay to the SCAA for help in grammar and technical issues. After that, I used my time to fix the papers. I learned why I went wrong in grammar structures. I looked carefully at the word forms that I chose and why these were wrong the word forms. Overall, I had come up with the third draft with the minimum of grammar issues.

What factors will be relevant in resolving this dispute and how will Essay

What factors will be relevant in resolving this dispute and how will they be applied by the court in this case - Essay Example Of course, Kev does hold ownership of the mansion and can enjoy the profit from it if any. However, he is not entitled to sell it or insist Agatha to vacate the mansion. Also, section 12 of the Act states that â€Å"beneficiary is entitled to an interest in possession in land subject to a trust of land is entitled by reason of his interest to occupy the land†1. Section 14of the Trust of Land and Appointment Trustees Act 1996 specifies court’s power in preventing the disposal of property. The law further denotes that selling the property should be â€Å"free of any equitable rights† which does not apply in this case. Similar to this case, a recent judgment on a case study of Jones v Kernott (2011) UKSC 53 reveals the fact that the person’s interest on the property should be recognized and fulfilled as he has 50:50 share or ownership on land or property2. Hence, in this case Agatha has to make only certain amount of compensations if Kev does not experience any benefit from the property. No law of the country would ever prevent her from staying at the mansion for the rest of her life. A jury would always observe a person’s state of mind, intension, and whether it hurts any of the partners in some ways or other. In this case, Agatha’s desire to remain in rambling mansion has to be accepted, because she as the co-owner and an aged woman deserves caring consideration for every cause. On the flip side, when one considers the demand of Kev, his claim does not point to any loss he experiences because of Agatha’s stay. Since he does not have a clear reason to support the immediate sale of the mansion, his argument would not sustain in the court of law. TLATA always intends to ensure peace and harmony. Agatha may have to make certain level of compensation if Kev proves that he does not get any benefits from the mansion. But such claims of Kev should have valid proofs and

European Union problem question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

European Union problem question - Essay Example The â€Å"freedom of work† through European Union countries is a fundamental right which encompasses a region without internal boundaries where independence is guaranteed in agreement with the endowment of the treaty. This right is applied under certain conditions and also approved to the family members, regardless of the nationality. However, the description of â€Å"family member† must comprise the registered companion, if the law of host country treats registered companion as comparable to marriage. In the context of free movement, marriage partners who are not nationals of an EU member country must obtain visa while crossing the border unless they have acquired the residence card . As Juanita was Columbian national from the beginning, she should acquire permissions from the â€Å"Secretary of State† in order to get visa. The immigration rule to enter UK depicts that a couple, in this case Roger and Juanita, must be capable of representing adequate original documented proofs which can specify that they have enough money, acceptable housing facility, and have not any supplementary resources for the non UK partner. However, there are other particular exemptions in this regulation which should be pursued by Roger in order to make Juanita enter in the UK . 5. Marriage in overseas nation takes place after mutual authorisation. The legal structure practiced in foreign states can act together with the law of UK in a complicated manner, and therefore the direction of ‘surrogate or registrar’ is essential in order to avoid complications in marriage and immigration problem in the UK or Netherlands. In present days, the laws regarding marriage and national immigration obligation are different in the UK and the Netherlands. The reason why Juanita faced problems while entering in the UK was due to its strong immigration policy system and its continuous development or transformations. There are increased concerns about the purpose of marriage, because some couple might conduct agreement marriage exclusively for immigration reasons. As marriage to someone authorises to live or work in the UK, it can considerably enrich the right for the foreign person. Therefore, a mutual authorisation is required for Roger and Juanita. It is obligat ory for Roger and Juanita to confirm that marriage authorisations are not settled, as there is a strong probability of viewing their marriage as fake and only a means to enter in the UK. The key issue is whether they seek genuine marriage in the sense that they are undertaking a promise to lastingness. Simultaneously, when the appeal for marriage ascends out of genuine