For this formal assignment, you will connect Margaret Atwoods The
Handmaids Tale to our course work. Drawing from Fetterleys discussion
of womens exclusion in literature, Cullers Reading as a Woman,
Johnsons work on Patriarchy, and/or another academic text youve
encountered in this course, closely analyze Atwoods novel using the guiding
questions below to help shape your synthesis.
Approaching to the assignment:
Since this course has invited you to explore how literary and cultural texts
participate in the social construction of gender, to see gender as
compulsory performance, consider what the novel means or represents.
Consider its application in popular culture, including the use of its
characters costumes in political protests and the film and television
versions of the novel.
AND NOW.
Relate the novel to one or more of the works we discussed in class (Culler,
Fetterly, Johnson). Be sure to draw direct connections between the texts in
the synthesis.
Consider:
How are the characters gendered?
How might societal gender norms affect how we read the novel?
What kinds of cultural or ideological work might this novel be
performing?
Now that you know what you know, what is the book really saying?
How might Fetterley, Culler, or Johnson read The Handmaids Tale?
Where would they see their theories in action?
How does your reading of these texts influence your
understanding of the novel?
How does the novel change or deepen your understanding of the
theory?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
An effective response should:
Demonstrate a clear grasp of the novel
Demonstrate knowledge of the theoretical concepts from one or more of
our course texts
Engage in a close analysis of The Handmaids Tale through the lens of
one of the Unit 2 theory texts (Fetterly, Culler, Johnson)
Address specific moments in the novel (do not summarize the entire
novel; remain focused. Less is more)
Include direct quotes from texts (both the novel and the essay(s) of
your choosing)
Achieve a length of:
2-4 pages, double-spaced, MLA style
THE FILE ATTACHED GIVES A SUMMARY OF THE THEORY OF TEXT FOR JOHNSON’S WORK FOR PATRIARCHY. I WILL BE USING JOHNSON PATRIARCHY FOR THIS ESSAY AND RELATE IT TO THE HANDMAIDS TALE. I ALSO ATTACHED THE JOHNSON ARTICLE AND I TOOK NOTES SO HOPE THAT HELPS.
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