This is an Online Internet Book Club on The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel by Margaret Atwood. Discuss this book, share your thoughts, make comments, ask questions, offer responses...
Description
In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies?
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable.
Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now....
Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.
Book Club Questions for The Handmaid's Tale (Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel (Fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on The Handmaid's Tale:
- Did Margaret Atwood emphasize any specific themes throughout The Handmaid's Tale? What do you think Margaret Atwood is trying to explain with this theme?
- What was unique about the setting of The Handmaid's Tale and how did it affect the storyline?
- Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
- How do characters change or learn throughout The Handmaid's Tale? What events caused these changes? Have you or someone you know experienced the same thing?
- How does The Handmaid's Tale reveal Margaret Atwood's own perspectives about people and the world? For a lively discussion, describe why you think Margaret Atwood is liberal or conservative.
- Did certain parts of The Handmaid's Tale affect you emotionally? Why did it evoke those emotions?
- Did Margaret Atwood's point of view on things lend new perspective to your own view of the world?
Book Club Questions for The Handmaid's Tale (for Non-Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel (Non-fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on The Handmaid's Tale:
- Did Margaret Atwood make persuasive arguments in The Handmaid's Tale? Did The Handmaid's Tale change or reinforce your opinion on the subject?
- What did you learn from The Handmaid's Tale?
- How does Margaret Atwood present the information and did you enjoy it?
- How is Margaret Atwood biased within The Handmaid's Tale? Is there a political slant to what is being discussed and how does it impact the book?
- What, if anything, does The Handmaid's Tale make you want to read next? Why?
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