Pitting The Lower Class Against Each Other
For as long as there has been a divide in the rich versus the poor, there has always been a public opinion that gives higher respect to the people in upper-class circumstances, versus people who are considered to be lower class. People with money often worked hard for what they got, and it is idolized as the American Dream. Even if someone is living below the poverty line, and they are also lower-class themselves, they will still dislike and distrust someone on their same financial level. Even in modern times, the Los Angeles Times took a poll on public opinion. White people who work blue-collar jobs call poor people who need public welfare to survive “lazy”, even though they are only one paycheck away from being in the same situation.
This can be seen at the beginning of The Handmaid’s Tale when June, or “Offred” is afraid to speak openly about her feelings with “Ofglen”, or Emily. The same distrust and careful testing of the water continue for June throughout the book, until she realizes that nearly all of the women are feeling equally trapped and terrified and that none of them actually want to be there because they believe in the religion.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
Why The Handmaid’s Tale Is So Relevant Today. Jennifer Keishin Armstrong. BBC Culture. 25th April 2018
The Handmaid’s Tale Is a Warning to Conservative Women. Sarah Jones. New Republic. April 20, 2017
Margaret Atwood On The Dystopian Novels That Inspired Her To Write ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. Joshua Barajas. PBS. Sep 9, 2019
Margaret Atwood On The Real-Life Events That Inspired The Handmaid’s Tale And The Testaments. Penguin UK. 09 September 2019
What We Can Learn From Romania’s Complete Abortion Ban. Ilana Gordon. Medium. Mar 9, 2017
The Handmaid’s Tale’ Author On Anti-Abortion Legislation In Texas: ‘It Is Really A Form Of Slavery To Force Women To Have Children They Cannot Afford. Kirsten Acuna. Business Insider. Jun 4, 2017
Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale Sales Boosted By Fear of Trump. The Guardian.
Our Evolving Black American Naming Systems. Elisabeth Pearson Waugaman. Psychology Today.
Sect Causes Split in Jersey Parish. New York Times. 1986.
Decree 770. Wikipedia.
Canada’s Fertility Rate Continues To Put Pressure on Immigration. Cheryl Ubelacker. The Star. 2017.
Soviet Prisoners Exposed to Fatal Radiation in Uranium Mines. Associated Press. 1986.
An Appeal to Fallen Women. Charles Dickens.
Theonomy in the Middle Ages: The Case of Thomas Aquinas. Marc A. Clauson. 2005.
Key Points About Mormon Dress Code. Eastessence.
Pregnant Cambodian women charged with surrogacy and human trafficking. The Guardian.
Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage Or Violation of Rights? International Perception on Public Health. 1997.
A Canadian Perspective on the War of 1812. Victor Suthren. PBS.
Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work, Volume 1. Melissa Hope Ditmore. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2006.
How do Americans view poverty? Many blue-collar whites, key to Trump, criticize poor people as lazy and content to stay on welfare. David Lauter. Los Angeles Times. 2016.
Mayday. Wikipedia.
Native Americans Expose the Adoption Era and Repair Its Devastation. Stephanie Woodard. Indian Country Today. 2011.