intentional. The personality of the narrator in this novel is almost as important as the task bestowed

upon her. Atwood chooses an average women, appreciative of past times, who lacks imagination and

fervor, to contrast the typical feminist, represented in this novel by her mother and her best friend,

Atwood is writing for a specific audience, though through careful examination, it can be

determined that the intended audience is actually the mass population. Although particular groups

may find The Handmaid's Tale more enjoyable than others, the purpose of the novel is to enlighten

the general population, as opposed to being a source of entertainment. A specific group that may

favor this novel is the women activists of the 1960's and 1970's. This group, in which Offred's

mother would be a member, is sensitive to the censorship that women once faced and would show

interest to the "possible future" that could result.

Offred is symbolic of "every woman". She was conventional in prior times, married with one

daughter, a husband and a career. She is ambivalent to many things that may seem horrific to the

interjected into a new society. She is stunned and almost numb. She barely shows signs of life. She

Janine, another character, is a "brown-noser" who uses flattery and praise to achieve a virtually

Offred gradually reveals the story, which we are to eventually discover is on tape. Atwood

evident, and through the scholarly dictation in the "Historical Notes", the reader can comprehend the

though unlikeliness, that this could actually happen.

repressed. This is both a combination of past times and past movements, with a blending of

the past, and the narrator's decisions to withhold certain details, they understand the possibility,

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 954
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)