Final Blog Post
Through the analysis of "The Handmaid's Tale" from a feminist perspective, I was presented with many themes regarding feminism. A particularly interesting theme that the novel indicates, is that women cannot escape from sexism and misogyny. Even if it is not in the Republic of Gilead, there is still sexual abuse and women are still faced with sexual insults.
For my portfolio, I have decided to write a persuasive essay regarding the following thesis:
In Margaret Atwood’s riveting and provocative novel “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Atwood indicates that women cannot successfully escape from sexism and misogyny, which can be seen through the breakdown of Moira, the death of the previous handmaid and the unknown fate of Offred. Despite being a feminist reading, Atwood weaves a hidden and darker truth to the tale.
I have chosen a persuasive essay to convey my thesis because I want to convince the reader on my opinion that "The Handmaid's Tale" actually conveys a deeper theme than just the consequences of female oppression. I want to persuade the reader that the novel actually indicates that women do not have escape from sexism and misogyny. I think that the persuasive essay will help my convey my opinion and convince readers to agree with this opinion as well.
I have also decided to select a concept map as one of my assignments for my portfolio because I am a visual learner, and a concept map is a visual representation that also illustrates the way in which a concept can be broken down into smaller and smaller components, and shows the connections between these components. Therefore, I think it is easy to organize my thoughts and ideas of the novel, as well as the actual events of the novel through a concept map. I am able to explore more ideas and lessons learned throughout the novel as well as see how they are linked with each other. These ideas, lessons and events make the novel significant, so by being able to remember them clearly through the concept map I think this will help increase the understanding.
Another media text that I am going to for my portfolio is a blog post. I want to convey my ideas about "The Handmaid's Tale" through my blog because it allows the use of an informal, interactive and engaging tone with the audience, which helps to establish that relationship between reader and writer. Through a blog, I can spark discussion because people can comment on my blog and provide insight. This insight can help further my knowledge and fuel critical thinking as well. "The Handmaid's Tale" deals with a lot of intricate and complex themes, so it will be helpful for me to have other opinions on these different themes. Blogs can also be easily shared through a variety of social media platforms so that more people can share their ideas on the blog. This media form is also unlike other media because blog posts are more visually appealing. There can be use of colour and images, the layout can be easily configured
and there are themes, which allow the addition of a personal touch. In addition, blog posts are very versatile because they can incorporate a variety of different media forms into one. Blog posts can have text, images, video, music, audio and multimedia and I think this will increase my understanding because I will be able to convey my ideas in many different ways. A blog post allows communication through all three basic types: verbal, written and non-verbal, which can engage all kinds of audiences who may have different learning styles. Both visual and auditory learners can process the information provided in a blog and since I am a visual learner, a blog post will most likely help me to convey my ideas better as well.
Finally, the third media text that I am doing for my portfolio is a webpage. I believe that a webpage is similar to a blog post but I can be more creative with a webpage by having more ease to maintain and design my webpage.