"The Handmaids Tale" is a dystopian, futuristic novel in which Atwood presents a totalitarian theocracy that has forced a certain class of fertile women to produce babies for elite barren couples. These "handmaids," who are denied all rights and are severely beaten if they are uncooperative, are reduced to state property. Through the voice of Offred, a handmaid who mingles memories of her life before the revolution with her rebellious activities under the new regime, Atwood has created a terrifying future based on actual events.

Throughout the Handmaids Tale Atwood presents the theme of rebellion in a number of ways. Atwood contrasts subtle examples of rebellion, like the use of ordinary things to show rebellion to the Giladian society, with more obvious examples of rebellion like the Mayday underground resistance movement. Atwood also uses significant characters as veichles for the theme of rebellion alongside the portrayl of Offred's...