A discussion of Margerat Atwood's use of shock in 'The Handmaid's Tale, and how it relates to current issues.

Atwood says Gilead is "a logical extension of current trends. There is nothing in the text that hasn't happened already." How does the novel work to shock readers into a recognition of the dangers of our contemporary world? 2637 words with quotes Shock in 'The Handmaid's Tale' is used to keep the reader from being complacent with the text, to avoid the comfort that reading a 'good story' allows, and is also used to heighten the …

…er being silenced. Bibliography 1Justin Healey, Volume 110, Issues in Society, 'Adoption' 2Anthony Babington, The English Bastille 3http://www.koreascope.org/newdocs/english/sub/2/nk8_4.htm 4http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/81784.stm 5http://www.saradouglass.com/bridge.html 6http://www.letsgo.com/PAR/03-Life-244 7http://www.chem-tox.com/infertility/ 8http://www.ncfmc.com/lit.htm#clom 9http://www.chernobyl.com/health.htm 10http://christianity.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID4859%7CCHID101227%7CCIID333362,00.html