Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale: Novel and Film Essay -- Compare

Marg bet Atwoods The Handmaids Tale Novel and FilmThe Handmaids Tale, a science-fiction novel written by Marg bet Atwood, focuses on womens rights and what could happen to them in the future. This novel was later made into a movie in 1990. As with most cases of books made into movies, there are some similarities and differences between the novel and the film. Overall the film tends to stay on the same track as the book with a few minor expatiate changed, and only two major differences.Atwood sets the story non too far into the future, and the women have lost almost all of their rights. The original g overnment was overthrown and taken over by Christian religious fundamentalists that believed that society was corrupt and women were not taking advantage of their biological duties. The society now is women staying at home, servants, or Unwomen, who are the women who are declared infertile and did not have any social status. The Unwomen are move to the colonies, which are toxic waste sites, to work, and the life expectancy there is slight than three years. The main character, Offred (Kate was her real name), is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. Handmaids are the few fertile women left in the United States, and are sent to households and become pregnant by the man of the house and are trained for giving birth at the Red Center. Offred is sent to a house of a powerful Commander. The Commander also has a Wife that lives in the house. The other servants in the house are Rita and Cora, the Marthas who do the cooking and housework, and Nick the chauffer, who later becomes Offreds lover. Offred is allowed to hand the house once a day to run grocery errands with a walking friend, Ofglen, who is another handmaid. Off... ...h the arranged marriages and Handmaids. He also says, Sometimes when you try to spring things better, its not better for everyone.In the movie, the reasoning is approached the same type of way. Offred tries to ask the Commander about why the government changed and he replies Nobody knew how to feel anything anymore...about respect, reverence, determine you can feel in your heart, or in your case, your womb. What the Commander says here is almost the same as what he says in the book some women could not fulfill their destinies because of how society had become corrupted. Generally, the film follows the storyline of Atwoods book quite well other than a few exceptions. The changes the movie made probably do work better just because of the fact that it is a movie. Some things are better explained in books than they could ever be explained in a movie.