Expropriation Of Education And Body Image In The...

Dami Kalejaiye Oct. 17, 2017 Literature and Controversy Prof. Kristian Kahn Expropriation of Education, and Body Image in The Handmaid’s Tale. Education is one of the greatest tools available to the advancement and development of humans. It comes as no surprise as to why in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, we are introduced to a patriarchic theocracy, this society heavily subjugated women, and one of the means to install these methods of subjugation of women was to ban the literacy of women, reading or writing for women is forbidden. The social construct in Gilead revolved with men playing the function of financial contributor to the family and wasn’t really to be involved in home life, raising kids, and being an emotional support†¦show more content†¦It can also mean the leader of a meeting. It can also mean a mode of execution. It is the first syllable in charity. It is the French word for flesh. None of these facts has any connection with the others. These are the kinds of litanies I use, to compose myself (110). To remain powerful over the powerless, a useful strategy utilized throughout history is controlling the source of information, and who is it to interpret these information. For example the Chief Commander is the only one who is allowed to read the Bible on the night of the Ceremony, and the government of Gilead writes its own history. Having knowledge is viewed as a danger to mainstream society, a power that women weren’t to possess and this sometimes has been displayed in a life or death context. What women were taught more often were ideas or functions that maintained the status quo. For example, with the Handmaids training at the red center whose primary function is categorized as being a â€Å"two-legged womb† (136). Armbuster summarizes in â€Å"Memory and Politics? A Reflection on The Handmaid s Tale† the education taught to the Handmaids in Gilead â€Å"First, they teach forgetfulness. Then they teach that women s