Jayan Oommen

Mr. Howard

ENG4U-01

July 2022

Is Freedom Taken For Granted?

“There is more than one kind of freedom, freedom to and freedom from” (Atwood 28).

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale, poses the question in today's society, what freedoms

do people have and more importantly what freedoms do they have access to. Freedom allows

people to live happy, fulfilling lives, but when that freedom is taken away, aspects of an

individual's life can fade. The term “freedom”can be defined as “the power or right to act, speak,

or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint” (Oxford Languages). The Handmaids Tale,

written by Margaret Atwood, and the film, 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve Mcqueen, both

demonstare the negative effects of a lack of freedom and both media displays the theme of

freedom through individuals, society, and symbols.

both media displays the theme of freedom and through individuals, society and symbols,

the negative effects of a lack of freedom.

Every individual should have the right to freedom. It allows each individual to express

themselves anyway they want, as well as live their own unique life. However, in both The

Handmaid's Tale and 12 Years A Slave, it is clear that people who have control over the

protaginist, abuse their power, and take freedoms away. In The Handmaid's Tale, the protagonist

,Offred, deals with being a handmaid under the control of her Commander. Handmaids are seen

as the Commander’s property as they try to produce a child for him and his wife. Offred is laid
on a bed while the Commander thrusts, trying to get her pregnant. “Below it the Commander is

fucking. What he is fucking is the lower half of my body. I do not say making love, because this

is not what he’s doing” (Atwood 107). Offred clearly does not enjoy this as she does not feel any

emotional connection towards him. The Commander continues to oppress Offred, only needing

her to conceive a child. This connects with the theme, as her position as a handmaid restricts who

she is allowed to be with emotionally. Being forced to only have sex with the Commander, drives

her crave for a sexual encounter involving a man she is attracted to. Not having the ability to

control her own body, Offred's freedom is taken. The freedom to have control over her own body

is lost, something women have been fighting for centuries. This makes the reader see how Offred

is forced to obey her Commander, for if she does not, she is punished. Similarly, 12 Years a

Slave shows the relationship between African American and Caucasians. Solomon Uprnoth, the

main character, is a free man who is kindapped and sold into slavery. After preforming a show,

Solomon is drugged by two business men and sold into slavery. “ ‘Hamilton! Nothing more we

can do for him.’ ‘Such is the pity’ ” ( 12 Years A Slave). Hamilton and Brown, the two

businessmen used there friendship with Solomon to sell him into slavery. This betrayal of trust is

what causes Solomon to end up as a slave. This relates to the theme of freedom as Solomon's life

completely shifts, creating the biggest tragedy in his life. Stolen from his family he breaks down

emotionally screaming for help and is mentally distraught. Through both these stories, powerful

people are seen taking away the freedom of innocent people for their own personal gain, for

reproduction or money.

Equally important, both media portray how groups of people have their freedom stolen by

society. Whether it is the government or a higher status group of people, these societies control

the majority of the population, taking away almost all their freedom. Looking at The Handmaid’s
Tale, we see how the Republic Of Gilead, have complete reign over all the women in the country,

specifically handmaids. After overthrowing the United States government, Gilead forced

unmarried women to become handmaids to conceive children with couples who could not. Due

to the country’s practices based on old testament passages, handmaids are considered nothing

more than a set of ovaries and a womb, reduced to nothing more than their fertility. “I’m taken

to the doctor’s office once a month […] the same as before, except that now it’s obligatory”

(Atwood 66). This portrays how the government is watching the handmaids, making sure they

are still able to fulfill the government's needs. The government also regulates the speech which

the handmaids speak. “ ‘Blessed be the fruit’... the accepted greeting among us […] ‘May the

Lord open […] the accepted response’ ” (Atwood 21). Handmaids’ voices have been suppressed

by the government as they see it as a threat to their society. This relates back to the theme,

demonstrating how the government’s ideologies prevent Handmaids from maintaining their own

freedom. The government is dictating how much freedom women are given. The restrictions the

government enforces, places society back in time to when women were seen less than men. It is a

complete violation of human rights for women to be treated this way and be subjected to do what

the government demands regarding their personal freedoms. Likewise, 12 Years A Slave depicts

how, white men control the freedoms of black people on their plantations. Forced to cut trees,

pick cotton or chop sugar cane, they scared black people in order to make them do work. “No

slave has escaped here with his life. You're here to work, n-words, so let's commence” (12 Years

A Slave). Tibeats, the slave master, ensites fear into the slaves, saying that you can not leave and

must work. He takes away their freedom, forcing hard labours onto them. However, the slaves

acomplish more than work. On Edwin Epps planation, Epps would make his slaves dance and

play music for him in the middle of the night. “Get up! Get up, we dance tonight! We will not
waste the evenin' with yer laziness. Get up” (12 Years A Slave). It is shown that slaves are willing

to complete every command, fearing for their life. Relating back to the theme of freedom black

slaves are worked tirelessy to the needs of the slave owners and masters. They do not want to be

there at all, rather living free with their families not having to fear pain and suffering. Without

their freedom, most black slaves live meaningless lives, spending it all in slavery. Whether it is

forced labour or forced pregnancy, the societies in charge exploit the people they rule, taking

away their freedoms, making it unbearable to live a quality life. Seeing how society controls

those in the public, it makes many people wonder, do they have their best intentions at heart and

if not, what are they really planning. It is important to always be watching the government and

those in power, to protest ideas they have that will affect personal freedom.

Furthermore, lack of freedom can be shown through a variety of symbols. The

Handmaid's Tale displays a number of symbols, but none are more prominent than the “Eyes of

God”. The “Eyes of God” are Gilead secret police who spy on civilians looking for potential

rebels. If they do the Eyes kidnap, torture and kill them in order to keep Gilead safe from

rebellion. After leaving from shopping, Offred says goodbye to another handmaid, Ofglen

“Under His Eye,” she says. The right farewell. “Under His Eye,” I reply, and she gives a little

nod” (Atwood 49). Offred and Ofglen, hold this conversation since it is the proper farewell that

has been taught to them. The saying is so that the handmaids remember that just like God, Gilead

is always watching over them. This is very true since the eyes are constantly looking for

violation, even acting under cover. Their entire lack of freedom is symbolised by this farewell.

Their statement explains that, should they choose to disobey the law, they will always run the

possibility of being caught, regardless of where they go. In The same way, 12 Years a Slave,

contains lots of symbols found int the film, During the night while all the slaves are asleep, until
interuped by their drunk master, Epps. Epps with a whip in hand makes the slaves get uo in order

to preform for him. “Solomon strikes up a tune; Henry joins in with a pan flute and the slaves

dance. They do so very wearily.” (12 Years a Slave). Solomon's violin is a symbol of Epps

domination in the household rather than his love of music. Following scenes later we see a

disheartened Solomon destroy his violin. This symbolises his lack of freedom as he continues to

work at the plantation, subject to the hatred and violence he receives regularly. Seeing no hope in

escaping, he breaks down showing how the lack of freedom has destroyed his life. Both these

situations show how some symbols represent more than the actual event. Some symbols hold the

purpose of representing lack of privacy, while others which originally brought joy, lead to

displaying the unfair condition they are under. Lack of freedom is displayed through many

symbols, some easier to spot than others.

To conclude, The Handmaid's Tale written by Margaret Atwood and the film 12 Years A

Slave directed by Steve Mcqueen both show the negative effects of lacks of freedom. Through

individuals, society, and symbols, it is clear that both media captivate the true meaning of living

with no freedom. Both the book and the film, shows the audience just how lucky they are to have

freedom and reminds them “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum” (Atwood 169).

Works Cited
Atwood, Margaret. “The Handmaid's Tale”. McClelland & Stewart, 2014.

Follows, Stephen. “12 Years a Slave Screenplay PDF .” StephenFollows.com, 2014,

stephenfollows.com/resource-docs/scripts/12-Years-A-Slave-Screenplay-Pdf.pdf.

McQueen, Steve, director. 12 Years a Slave. 123movies, Searchlight Pictures, 2013,

ww5.0123movie.net/movie/12-years-a-slave-3134.html.