The time the world comes to an end is when it is ruled by a dystopian society. After reading “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood, it opened up another grim possibility of the future. I would highly recommend this book to anyone whether they love reading or not. It reminds us of how our freedom can easily be taken away and the world could submerge into the dystopian world in an instant just like in the novel. This novel affected me in many ways and tells us a lot about what society can become without a warning. 

 The novel opened up my eyes to what the future would look like if we were to go back to the period where Puritans and Protestants were the dominant religion. The suppression of women, and their lack of power and freedom was something I can not imagine in the twenty-first century. I realized the freedom we got from being born into the new world was being taken for granted. “We used to talk about buying a house like one of these, an old big house, fixing it up. We would have a garden, swings for the Children. We would have children. Although we knew it was not too likely we could ever afford it, it was something to talk about, a game for Sundays. Such freedom now seems almost weightless.” (Atwood 9).

Little things like having a little garden, children, and playing games were all something we thought was normal for us to have. However, it is what the world is today that gives us the freedom to even think that. If freedom was abolished, we would be like Offred, reminiscing about the little things freedom brought us. I frequently wonder about what I am doing right now is given to us because of the freedom our country gives us.

Sleeping on a comfortable bed or taking a sip of coffee is also a form of freedom. One of the most important freedom we have is knowledge. We have the option to go to school and educate ourselves while in a dystopian society, reading and writing are prohibited and illegal. This makes me immensely thankful for all of my teachers who help enlighten me. The novel also gives us an insight into modern society and the possibility of a dystopian society today. 

 Atwood gives us a glimpse of what the future may become and perhaps what society is right now. Communism can be classified as an early dystopian society. People are restricted to what they can say and do by the government. Their freedom and power are limited to whatever the government wants and one day they will make fiction a reality.

Recently, during September, two Japanese entertainers on Youtube were suspended from their activities when they were showing their viewer analytics. It displayed Taiwan as a country which angered the Chinese government. “One of the countries that they highlighted was Taiwan because it accounted for seven percent of viewers and they displayed the flag of Taiwan to represent the nation” (Everington). They demanded a sort of punishment which forced the company of the two entertainers to suspend them temporarily. The unintentional leak angered the Chinese government and forced punishment and censorship upon the two although they are not affiliated with China.

Atwood warns us about the possible dystopian world in the unforeseeable future although it may not be the type of dystopian in her book. Living in a dystopian society is something I can not see myself in. 

 If I were to be apart of a dystopian society, my mind would not be able to handle it. Say for example the United States turned into the new United States called Gilead like in Atwood’s novel, but men were suppressed instead of women. I rely on the freedom our country gives us, but in the world of Gilead, there are none. I would not be able to read, write, or do anything on my own without someone watching me.

My friends and family are a big part of my life and I would lose all of them just like Offred, the main character and our narrator. There would be no love in this world and everything would only be bland and fearful. Similar to Moira, Offred’s friend, I believe I would try to escape to another country or die trying. I admire Moira’s mechanical skills to deconstruct a toilet and her bravery to fool Aunt Elizabeth by making her believe there was a knife on her back. If I were to stay in Gilead, I would become restless and slowly grow insane. 

 Freedom is something everyone takes for granted and believes it as normalcy to be able to do what we can today. What is interesting about the ending of the novel is Atwood’s decision to make us the readers decide the fate of Offred. Was Offred taken by The Eye, or was Nick really a member of the resistance? Spoiler alert, it was shown in the Historical Notes on The Handmaid’s Tale. “The Handmaid’s Tale” was the written version of a recording found in a passage of the Underground Femaleroad.

Margaret Atwood’s novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” showed me how much people in the twenty-first century take their rights and freedom for granted. It made me appreciate more of the little things in life and what freedom brings us, but it also opened my eyes to the horror of a possible dystopian world today.