The Handmaid’s Tale

Personal Mini essay: Race, Gender, Class

Due end of period, 12:30 pm, 3/24
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Having read the first 85 or so pages of The Handmaid’s Tale and started a discussion on
feminism and the oppression of women, you will have 30 minutes of in class time to write a 350
word (about half a page) personal account of any experience you have had regarding race,
gender, ability, and class.

Think of all the different ways in which you either define yourself or are defined by the society
at large, and then how that definition has allowed you freedoms and advantages or possibly
curtained certain freedoms and caused you disadvantages. You may find in writing that you
have experienced advantages and disadvantages as a result of your race, gender, ability and
class. I’m less interested in how creatively you interpret this prompt than in how authentic you
will allow yourself to be.

Please write in full sentences, punctuate and spell correctly, and do your best to write openly.

Grading Rubric:

Content = 5 points Addresses the prompt clearly, consider race,

gender, ability, and class in some
combination
Sentence, grammar = 5 points Clear and concise writing; proper use of
punctuation; proper spelling

/10 total points