Source Evaluation

Beauchamp, Gorman. "The Politics of The Handmaid's Tale. " The Midwest Quarterly 51.1 (2009): 11-26. Research Library Core, ProQuest. Web. 25 Jul. 2010.

This article by Gorman Beauchamp talk about the reaction of England, Canada, and the United States to Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale according to an interview Atwood had with the New York Times. While it talks about how all the countries view it differently, it also adds an insight to what Atwood was thinking while writing the novel. She said that England had the most relaxed response saying that her book was simply fiction while Canada was worried that the United States could one day turn into something similar to that of Gilead. Interestingly, most people’s response here was how long do we have?

The article also talks about Gilead and the religious connections it has which directly relates to my topic. Beauchamp talks about how Gilead is a theocracy where religion is a common denomenator in the way the society is run. He also says that Atwood used Iran as an inspiration for creating Gilead. At one time Iran was very similar to Gilead and prosecuted its citizens for religious crimes frequently. This is an example I can use in my own paper because I was finding it hard to find examples of places like Gilead. Atwood said that nothing she put in her book had not happened somewhere or is already happening in our world today. This is very interesting because it makes one think, could this really happen? This article will be very helpful to me when writing my essay.

Turner, Dr. Nick. "Margaret Atwood". British Council. 7.23.2010 .

This article by Dr. Nick Turner is a credible source because of the author and the website it came from. Dr. Nick Turner got his degree from the University of Manchester in post-war British women literature and has done extensive research on female authors. He has a background in women’s literature allowing him to talk about Atwood because that is what he is educated in. The website is a collection of biographies and analysis of different contemporary writers and is a scholarly site.

The article gives a biography on Atwood and also talks about some of her political beliefs and her feminism. The article talks about how feminism is a main focus in many of her works. The article gives an overview of many of her works and the different awards they have won.

Essay #3 Proposal

What I want to know more about in the book is the way they use language and religion as a form of power. Throughout the book people are referred to as “Sons of Jacob” or “Children of Ham”. When researching these terms they are referring to Jews and African Americans. These titles separate them from the other people in Gilead. Even the women have ranks that separate them from each other and these ranks are part of a vocabulary created by Gilead.

I plan on researching how language, especially religious language, is used as a form of power and a way to oppress people. Gilead is a totalitarian society but also a theocracy, there is no separation of church and state. I think there are examples of this in our society and in other societies throughout time.

I chose this topic because it is such a reoccurring theme in Atwood’s book. At first I did not understand what the book was about and the names of the women and the way the society was set up made it confusing. I thought Gilead was some sort of magical place but once I read more and more it made sense that she was trying to explain what our world could come to. I think this will help me understand what Atwood really thinks about how our government works because she obviously thinks that one day we could become this totalitarian, theocratic state.

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First Half Check Up

The biggest challenge for me so far in this class has been doing the reading and being able to transfer what I have read into my work. Reading is not something I feel like I am good at and something I do not do often. There are some readings that I can remember and write about it right away but most of the time I have to.
The most successful part of the class for me right now I being able to stay on top of my work. In most of my classes that are online you have all your work due on one night. So I really have to make sure that I constantly look at the assignment folder.
I think the reading in the class are very interesting and powerful. I was a little skeptical at first about them being about war. I have found the reading very interesting and have given me a completely different view on soldiers. They go through a lot in a time of war and have a lot of emotional ups and downs.
Literary analysis is a lot different from other writing I have done in college because it is more in depth. The other writings are either research papers or simply writing about something I read from more of a summary standpoint. I think that literary analysis will help my other writing because I will be able to give a more in depth response readings.
My goal for the second half is to finish strong. I want to be able to turn in better work because I am used to the formats and I know how all the assignments work. I think this will help in finishing strong. I also want to keep improving my essays. I think being more familiar with literary analysis will help.

For information about literary analysis:http://www.goshen.edu/english/litanalysis.html