The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is about a woman named June who is living in a dystopian future. Her only job is to try and bear children in a household that does not want her. The bigger and more picture though is how the new country works. In the book a radical group of terrorist killed the government and the army took control making the society how they saw fit. This makes a scary image of a future where personal freedoms are lost in a need for complete security. All the people need passes and identification to move around and they live in constant fear. However it is not from enemies of the government but of the government themselves who are corrupt and evil. They get rid of who ever they think is not part of the society and there a mass suicides do to the oppressive feel of the country. This shows my big idea that security is not better than personal freedoms in the world. By being so secure you can't have feelings, you lose your humanity.
The book helped me understand my question by showing me the true evils of complete security, where as a book like Lord of the Flies would show me how bad freedom is. Also it showed me how the human spirit could be affected by no freedoms. June and the other handmaids are constantly depressed and angry at how they are treated but cannot do anything for fear of being caught. They are too secure in their own minds.
I don't know if I would recommend this book. It is written wonderfully and has great vocabulary and imagery but the story can be hard to follow and convoluted with flashbacks mid paragraph. However you really get to know June in the book and begin to sympathize with her. That said the book is absolutely depressing and dark and won't be for most readers because it never lets up through the 400 pages. If you are a fan of dark dystopian books like 1984 or Brave new world I would suggest reading this however it probably won't be for everyone.
