Language in The Handmaid's Tale

Language has a powerful influence in fictile how people think, a fact that is fully exploited by the rulers of Gilead. Since this is a theocratic society, the strongest influence on terminology is the Bible. cost drawn from the Bible or from the Christian religion be generate to create certain impressions in peoples minds, which argon very different from the reality. Gun-toting paramilitary men at the ubiquitous checkpoints be called Guardians of the Faith, for example, when in truth they are the enforcers of the political power structure. force divisions and battalions are rechristened, Angels of the Apocalypse and Angels of Light. Racial minorities are referred as the Children of Ham. This is a reference to a passage in the book of Genesis, when sense impression of the children of Ham is cursed by Noah and told that he will be a slave. In Gilead, calling certain groups Children of Ham performer that they can be uprooted and forced into homelands on Biblical auth ority. (In late years this practice of driving ethnic groups from their homes has become make love as ethnic cleansing, which is itself an interesting example of the use of linguistic process to disguise what is taking level.) Not all the language use to control the populace in Gilead is Bible-based, however.

The most disturbing examples are the terms Unbaby and Unwoman, which deny the humanity of those who have no side in Gilead society. Once this has been done, the authorities can do some(prenominal) they like with such individuals without having to justify themselves, since the victims are by report sub-human. Women in particular are the ! victims of the way the Gilead authorities apply control through language. The term Handmaid, for example, is a pleasant-sounding Biblical book of account that completely disguises the fact that the Handmaids are stripped of their humanity, used as virtual reproductive slaves, and forced to commit adultery. Their domination by men also extends to their name, since they are identified by the call of the...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

If you want to get a full essay, visit our page: write my paper