Diana T. Otto
Your task is to allow your curiosity to be piqued by Atwood’s tale of ethnic violence and gender oppression. You will be writing a paper comparing
The Handmaid’s Tale
with fiction or nonfiction book of similar literary merit, and you will use supplemental academic sources to connect literary themes with historical facts or sociological trends. You will want to begin by selecting an idea or question:
What effects have political structures had on women?
How “equal” are women to men in our country, in other countries, eras, etc.?
How are power and resources shared among ethnic and religious groups?
What are the consequences of motherhood? Of fatherhood?
What are our norms regarding marriage, and why do these change?
Within religions, are expectations the same for members of both genders? If there are different expectations, what are the reasons for them?
What else?
Required Materials
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1) You must select another book to read with
The Handmaid’s Tale
. This novel or nonfiction book should connect with one of the themes in
THT
, such as sexism, religious intolerance, racism, etc.
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2) You must select supplemental sources for your projects. Consider using a variety of sources, including academic books, articles from journals and magazines, speeches, essays, and position papers from particular groups.
Organization
Introduction -- includes thesis statement, mentions both novels and suggests the use of supplemental sources. One paragraph.
Discussion of thesis as it applies to
The Handmaid’s Tale
. Four to six paragraphs.
Discussion of thesis as it applies to second nonfiction book. Four to six paragraphs.
Discussion of supplemental sources from history, other countries, sociology, etc. Four to eight paragraphs
Conclusion -- One paragraph
Bibliography. One page
Appendices. Photocopied texts too lengthy to be quoted within the paper, relevant diagrams, drawings, or photographs.