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Sarah McClue
Ms. Yap
A Level English Literature
15 February 2016

How The Handmaids Tale Plays Into the Role of a Dystopian Novel

In this present day, it is challenging to categorize books into set genres. When asking
ourselves if a mind-opening book such as The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, fits into
one category such as a dystopia, it is first logical to explain what a dystopia is. A dystopian novel
has two main characteristics that appear in most dystopias. One characteristic is identifying a
social or transverse issue and asking the reader what should be done about it. Another is to show
the reader a possible negative outcome to the problem and whether or not everything will
collapse. If a novel is a dystopian novel, does that mean that all it has to do is point out what
could happen if something keeps going on or does it need to as specific as if society keeps doing
this one thing, something big and beyond our dreams, that weve never seen before is going to
happen? The problem is that there are no rules and boundaries for genres, therefore all is based
on point of view. John Adams writes in an introduction to dystopian fiction, whether or not a
society is perceived as a dystopia is usually determined by ones point of view; what one person
may consider to be a horrible dystopia, another may find completely acceptable or even nighutopian. (Adams) This explains that its all a matter of perspective.

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The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood is a novel about a future world. A world where
fertile women are uncommon and the government and traditions have gone back to following the
Old Testament from the Bible. The narrator, a girl called Offred records her life as a Handmaid, a
woman who is fertile and goes to serve a Commander and his wife in order to bring them a child.
The novel continues with Offred not being able to have a child because the Commander is not
fertile. So Offred goes to Nick, the driver, and gets pregnant with him. However the Commander
gets closer to her and Offred discovers errors in the corrupted system. The level of oppression in
this novel allows the reader to assume or consider this a dystopian novel. A dystopian novel is a
novel that shows all the things that could go wrong in the world to show what humans must
avoid before oppression is brought to its peak. John Crowley, an author and professor, suggests
that dystopian works shine a light on what people are worrying about. They reflect society's
insecurities. Based on this proposal by Crowley and the definition of a dystopia, The
Handmaids Tale is not a dystopia because in the story everything has already happened. The
authors purpose in writing the book it to warn humanity not to repeat the past. In a dystopia, the
purpose is to warn us about what could happen based on what is happening in the present.
First of all, The Handmaids Tale is not a dystopia because everything in the book has
already happened. Adi Robertson writes in her essay, dystopias that are suppose to tell us about
the human condition. But all you have to do to recreate The Handmaids Tale is go back a few
hundred years or move to the right country, (Robertson). Here, Adi Robertson is declaring that
because The Handmaids Tale is solely made up of actions that have already happened, it cannot
be considered a dystopia. For example, hanging people to punish them is nothing new, it has
happened before and for a long time. In the novel it says: better never means better for

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everyone. It always means worse for some. Here, Offred is with the Commander of her house
and he is telling her about the differences in Gilead versus what it was like before Gilead. All the
changes, the hangings of those who are rapists or homosexuals or the wrong religion, all of that
has happened before. The Commander is telling Offred that whatever changes made in the
world- nothing is going to be equal. According to Robertson, a dystopia must include anything
that human beings had not already done in some other place or time, or for which the technology
did not already exist.(Robertson) Margaret Atwood herself writes, all had precedents, and
many were to be found not in other cultures and religions, but within western society, and within
the Christian tradition, itself. (Atwood) Here, Atwood is describing the Handmaids Tale as
more of a commentary on Christian practices. Therefore, everything in the book, all the
wrongdoing and the fairness, it has all happened before. Atwood wants to point out to the reader,
however, that no matter what justice is brought about, nothing will be completely fair.
Secondly, The Handmaids Tale is not a dystopia because it is not warning us about the
future. The novel says: In the novel, when the Japanese tourists came to visit, their culture or
experience didnt seem to be changed compared to those in Gilead. This shows that the author is
focusing on what is presently happening, not what could happen in the future. Adi Robertson
says: Beyond this book is unmistakably a product of its time in a way I hadnt originally
realized, full of references. Here, Robertson could be implying that because the book is
connected to so many issues in the present day, in a way that shows what is happening right now
is bad, that the book is talking about present day, not about the future. Later on in the novel is
says: We thought we had such problems. How were we to know that we were happy? Here,
Offred is talking about her and her husbands affair before they were married. She wishes she

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could go back to the times when she was with him instead of being in the present where she is
the property of a couple for the purpose of her fertility. Atwood isnt implying that we should be
aware of the future, she is saying we should be aware of the moment we are living in. Shes not
warning us about something that could happen, shes telling us not to get caught up in justice
now.
On the contrary, The Handmaid's Tale could be seen as a dystopia because it points out
many controversial issues and negative possibilities that could happen and plays them out. In the
novel it says: I want her back. I want everything back, the way it was. But theres no point to it,
this wanting. Here, Offred is thinking about her mom and that even though they had their
differences, she wishes she could have her back. Atwood could be implying that if we dont
treasure what we have now, it could be gone. She could, in a sense, be warning us about the
future, making it a dystopia. We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived at the
blank white spaces at the edge of the print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps
between the stories. Here. Offred is talking about the difference between the country before and
Gilead. She explains that before, when she wasnt given a specific title, and she wasnt
important, she had more freedom. Here, Atwood is telling the reader to hold dear the present
because if we keep up making sure everyone has the same ideas and morals, our freedom could
disapear. The Handmaids Tale has lots of themes that a lot of other dystopias have: constant
surveillance, control over reproducing.(Adams) In the book, it talks about Moira being lesbian
and the issue within the Gilead community. The Gileads have a problem with gay rights and
therefore it is an issue within the boo and within the world today. Another thing the book talks
about religion all the time. There is an issue of whether or not the religious practices they have in

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Gilead are right or not. The entire book was based off of Atwoods idea that some Christian
practices arent correct. They are too much based on rules. Atwood replies to her own novel : It
is not against Christianity, just some Christian practices. Here, it is clear that Atwood places
religious practices as a big issue in the book. Therefore, because the issues in the book are
relevant, it could be seen that this book is a dystopia. The book could be showing what happens
if these issues, such as christianitys unfair practices keep happening, our world will be like the
world of the Handmaid's Tale. Adams says: "In a dystopian story, society itself is typically the
antagonist; it is society that is actively working against the protagonists aims and desires.
Here, its saying that characteristics that dystopias have, the Handmaid's Tale does have. In the
Handmaids Tale, Offred is being attacked by the societys expectations around her. This book
could be a dystopia because of the structure and issues within the book.
Overall, this book is not a dystopia. The only reason it would be a dystopia is if the issues
shown in the book are trying to convince the readers that if we dont change these issues, our
world will become the world of The Handmaids Tale. It is not so however because Atwood
expresses that the book is a commentary on the issues. The book is telling us an issue we need to
solve, not something were doing that could lead to an issue in the future. Everything in the book
has already happened. The Handmaids Tale is not a dystopia; its not about avoiding the future,
it's about stopping an issue in the present.

Works Cited
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. Print.

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Birzer, Bradley J. "A Decadent Hell Hole: The Dystopia of "A Handmaid's Tale"" The Imaginative
Conservative. 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2015/06/the-dystopia-of-a-handmaids-tale.html>.
Kate. "The Handmaids Tale. A Feminine Dystopia." Walworth Sentiments. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
<https://oldnewortrue.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/the-handmaids-tale-a-feminine-dystopia/>.
Robertson, Adi. "Does The Handmaid's Tale Hold Up?" The Verge. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/20/7424951/does-the-handmaids-tale-hold-up-dystopiafeminism-fiction>.