The Handmaid's Tale as a Warning to Society Margaret Atwood's famous science fiction novel The Handmaid's Tale was written in 1986 during the rise of opposition to the feminist movement. Atwood, a Native American, was a strong supporter of this movement. The battle between the two sides over the issue of women's rights inspired her to write this book. Because it was unclear what the end result of the feminist movement would be, the author begins from the beginning to make his reader think about the end of the story. Her goal in writing this serious satire is to warn women of what the female gender stands to lose if the feminist movement were to fail. Atwood envisions a society of extreme changes in governmental, social, and mental oppression to make her point. From the beginning, it is evident that the authority of this society has changed from a theocracy to a totalitarian government. The first sentence reveals that the current living quarters of the main character, Offred, are located in "what was once the gymnasium" (3). The narrator recounts the last fifty years in this place, from the felt skirts of the fifties to the green spiked hair of the nineties. She then describes its transformation into what looks like a military barracks but actually functions as a sort of prisoner of war camp. In these few short sentences, Atwood described the conditions of a place called Gilead, located in what was once called the United States. In chapter four, the author reveals that the current government is waging a war against the Church. This is proof that this society no longer recognizes God as its supreme authority. The narrator then mentions this church song...... middle of paper...... the past, Offred continues to hope that her husband, Luke, is still alive. She reveals this while observing the bodies hanging on the wall and comments that she feels relieved because "Luke wasn't a doctor. He's not" (44). Not only does she defy the system by refusing to accept this society as the end all be all, but she also persists in hoping that she will one day wake up from this nightmare and things will go back to the way they were before. intentionally lacks direction because the author wants the reader to think about their ending. If we, the readers, did not know that Offred lives to tell her tale, we would be left like the people of Gilead, without hope. However, Margaret Atwood's view is that just as naturally as a caterpillar spins its cocoon to develop wings and fly freely, women's wings must also be free..