The Handmaid's tale is a story about power structures existing in life Essay

The Handmaid's tale is a story about power structures existing in life and relationships. Discuss - Essay Example The story was written in the 1980s in the wake of revived conservatism and religious awakening that superseded the turbulent 60s and 70s when the battle of the sexes was at its peak. The feminist movement had enabled women to take control of their lives and there was a shift in the balance of power between the sexes. Consequently there was concern about declining morality, sexual freedom and its implications and the plummeting birth-rate due to increased birth control, infertility due to pollution and other factors and the legalization of abortion. Religious conservatives raised their voices in protest and lots of people where brought under their sway. The Handmaid’s Tale was written by Atwood in order to explore the consequences of fanatical commitment to the intolerant principles espoused by religious extremists. The story is set in the future, where the United States is overrun by extremist Christian revolutionaries. What follows is a reign of terror, narrated by Offred, a lowly handmaid in the newly developed power structure. Handmaids exist for breeding purposes and their worth is measured by the viability of their ovaries. They are assigned to elite couples, in the upper echelons of power, who have been unable to conceive. Their menstrual cycles are closely monitored and at the right time, the handmaids must have sex, in a bizarre ritual where they lie between the legs of the wives’ who clasp their hands, while their husbands do what is necessary in order to procreate, in keeping with biblical precedent. Women have absolutely no freedom in the Republic of Gilead and lead severely restricted lives. In the course of her chilling narrative, Offred deviates from the present in order to talk about the past and in doing so helps the reader reconstruct the events that led up to the present state of affairs. She talks about her love affair with Luke and their marriage which was nullified by the new regime as it does not condone

What are the motivations of people who become volunteers at major Essay

What are the motivations of people who become volunteers at major sport events - Essay Example The purpose of the research was explained and the authorities were assured that names and information would not be shared. Once the University authorities granted permission, their help was sought in identifying students that had worked as sports and non-sport volunteers. The Universities came forward will all support. Once the participants for the focus group was identified, informed consent of the participants was then taken. The responses and communication over Skype was fairly stable although at times the researcher did have to ask the respondents to repeat their answers. Connectivity being good, all the participants could express their views clearly, except for two participants who had some issues with the English language. To combat this, efforts were made to make them repeat their views so that minimum distortion in understanding takes place. Care was taken to ensure that all the participants to the focus group were between the age of 20 and 25 years, since this was focused on students’ motivation in sports volunteering. Out of a total of 12 participants in three different groups, 4 were female students and 8 male students. Students were all of Chinese nationality and hence this was a homogenous group, which enhances the responses and participation in focus group studies. This helped the researcher to make the group relax with light comments about sports and general discussions about volunteering before steering the group towards specific questions. This was an effort by the researcher to guide the group. The first group that was interviewed comprised of those who volunteer for sports. More than 50% respondents agreed that they volunteer for sports based on their interest in sports such as football. In fact some of them even play while others are sports enthusiasts. However, one of the participants in the focus group admitted that he ‘did this to help others’. Strong correlation has been found between volunteering and career prospects.