The Handmaid’s Tale
discussion
What grade would you put it in?
I read this book about 20 years ago and I am re-reading it now (almost finished) I would say it is best at the college level. It is not an easy read and some points are quite disturbing. I have daughters 24 and 40 years old -- I would feel comfortable with either reading it. I'm not sure that I would feel so comfortable if they were still in high school.
I agree college level. Older like 20 years of age.
I would do anywhere from Grade 12 (senior year) and up. I read it again this year, but I first read it in my early 20s I think.I wouldn't mind highschool kids reading it. It deals a lot with sexuality, the place of a woman in the household, and male dominance along with religious extremism as well. I think they're good themes to explore in high school ... but the college level would really enable you to go further in depth with them.
Yeah, I'd say college level.I read this in the past of couple of months for the first time (I'm in my early twenties). I actually picked it up because of the current political climate surrounding reproductive rights.
I think the age bracket for this book would be 20 and older.
This wasn't my fav dystopian book concerning women's rights. I thought it lacked character depth, the plot was thin, and there were just too many plot holes for me to ignore. Interesting premise. Disappointing execution.
I read it in middle school summer between 6th and 7th I believe. But maybe I'm not the best judge because I read 1984 in 4th grade. I'd say upper high school junior/senior I doubt it would ever be taught at level though because of the sex so probably freshman college. The format of mismatched transcripts would make it harder for most middle schoolers and that's why I place it at high school.
i read it in grade 13 (age 17) and found most of the class *got* it, and were profoundly affected by it. other books in the curriculum were 'not wanted on the voyage', 'macbeth' and short stories like 'the lottery'. it was my fave book of the year!
I read it for a college sociology course, but I think high school would be fine. These are important issues for teens to be learning about.
I would teach it to upper level high school students and above. I do not think it is appropriate as a class text in younger grades. If my daughter wanted to read it as personal reading I would be enthusiastic, but as a teacher I'm not sure that it would work for middle level or younger high school students.
Definitely not middle school, probably the upper high school grades (11 and 12) and also college. I don't quite remember how old I was when I read it, but I was between 13 and 15.It probably would make the most impact to me in the same age range. When I was 13-15 it was different because I didn't really follow international news and know about the different women's issues at the time. At an older age I'd be able to understand more the ties to what's actually happening in the world and it would mean more to me. Plus I'm more the age now (20) where these things would affect me if they happened in my life.
If my child read it when they were 12, fine. I'd answer any questions they had about it, and I'd be happy that they want to open up to different, higher-level books. I just think that it might be better for older grades in school because they can analyze it more.
I read the book the first time when I was in 11th or 12th grade. I went to an all girls private high school though (and Catholic too). I think it is an important book for our young women to read. I am looking to read it again (I'm 26 now) to see if I have a different perspective on it.
I wouldn't have anyone below High School read it, no so much because of any objectionable content, but because I think younger students wouldn't understand the themes. Even then I would only put it in for freshmen or sophomores in advanced or college prep courses and save it for on-level juniors or seniors.
Linda wrote: "I read this book about 20 years ago and I am re-reading it now (almost finished) I would say it is best at the college level. It is not an easy read and some points are quite disturbing. I have dau..."This book is on the summer reading list at my daughter's school.She is a rising 9th grader. I read it years ago and do not find it objectionable. We often forget that all religions have extremists; the danger is mixing religion with politics. Jefferson was right about the "wall of separation."
The Handmaid's Tale is a very sharply observed, highly controlled and ingenious dystopia. Through the spare telling of a simple, domestic story--a warped love triangle, come to think of it--and a deft use of flashback, Atwood manages to tell us a great deal about an entire society. It is amazing to consider that there is very little movement in this plot, yet it carries the reader along, backward and forward in the heroine's life. The claustrophobic setting mirrors the confinement of the protagonist in her nun-like costume, and the oppressive authoritarian society which she tries to survive and ultimately to escape. The story is also greatly helped by compelling images of controlled violence, of the kind Shirley Jackson used to great effect in "The Lottery" and by the quiet, but intelligent voice of the protagonist. This is not Atwood's best book, in my view. "Surfacing" deserves that ranking. But it features some of her dominant themes--a woman's quest for identity (self-definition), independence (self-determination), and moral agency (self-governance)in a female body that often betrays her and a male society that often controls her and attempts to reduce her to her sexual and reproductive component.
In an odd way, Atwood has captured the very origins of American society, "the city on the hill" envisioned by the Puritans of Boston. It might make a very nice companion to "The Scarlet Letter"--also about carnal sin--and "The Crucible."
I would definitely introduce it before college. Many students do not go on to college and I think this book is important enough to have a broader audience. Curriculum wise, I would place it in the last two years of high school, but I think there are a lot of younger readers (middle school) who are capable of handling the material on their own.
Maybe I read this one too young. I just did not like it. I think it was 6th grade. I more a fan of her short stories and The Blind Assassin.
Thanks so much for your (wonderfully varied) opinions! It goes to show that everyone is different, and optimum age really depends on the reader.
I would state this would be a excellent book for upper high school classes. I think we try much to hard to hide things from our kids. Rather than give them an idea of all the bad that not only is but could be if they are unaware.
I did a paper on this for my 11th grade Honors English Class... which was about 14 years ago. I don't think it is very graphic, at least not compared to what most people see on TV nowadays and there is a movie that can help with understanding. I love the way this book was written, to me the thing that really struck me that the language used starts out very bland and as the main character reclaims herself, the language of the book really comes to life. That parallel was really interesting to me.
I would say upper high school as well, although I don't remember when I read it. I like Eric's idea of pairing it with the Crucible or The Scarlet Letter... I read the Crucible for school in grade 11 and I think the Scarlet Letter was on our "optional" reading list that year as well. I think it is a little "disturbing" but deserves to have a public forum, and I agree that it deserves the wider audience of high school english class, where not many may go on to University level english classes.
Also, on a slightly unrelated note, I find the guys (and girls!) who could most benefit from some feminist literature are often slightly undereducated. Maybe introducing this in high school would help that?
Late high school - grade 11 or 12 would work.
I read this book as an adult and didn't like it. I really can't imagine enjoying it as "required" reading for a class.
To get the most out of the book, I would recommend upper lever high school classes or college. I think the sexuality contained in the book may be a distraction from the real message of the book for younger readers.
Jan wrote: "I read this book as an adult and didn't like it. I really can't imagine enjoying it as "required" reading for a class."I did.
Agree upper grades of high school. It is a great book especially for young women,who are nearing voting age, who may think that politics does not matter to their lives. If any group lets extremists get into power, all of our lives are changed forever.With this past year, we saw many radical anti-female politicians calling women who use birth control, "sluts" and trying to supress our access to healthcare.
This books shows what can happen when we don't speak up.
I read this when I was fifteen and then again in my early twenties. I got much more out of it when I was older, and I think having read it too young made me view it negatively for too long. I missed out on years of Margaret Atwood because of that.
Dianne wrote: "Agree upper grades of high school. It is a great book especially for young women,who are nearing voting age, who may think that politics does not matter to their lives. If any group lets extremists..."couldn't agree more! It was one of the most influential books I've read in grade 10!
i read this my senior year of high school in an AP lit class. i dont think its too graphic just a bit disturbing; however picturing each scene seemed to me that it was pretty much left up to the reader.
It is a must book for an adult. The world is looked differently and there are very sharp criticisms on religion and government. Such criticisms can be better understood by a person who is out of his/her school. Or else, the novel would look vague and tiring for the very young mind. Whereas it is a delight - both the language and the observations - for the adults.
I teach high school English and think this book would do well (and be really well received by) junior or senior students. It's not that graphic, and we teach a pretty agressive curriculum at my school. I'd feel confident teaching this book to an unleveled (non-honors) course. We also teach The Glass Castle, Ellen Foster, and the Kite Runner so it's a pretty mature expectation for our senior readers. I think this book would be something they could read and enjoy.
I had to read this my freshman year of college (my first college English course). My husband read the back cover of it the other day and said he would think it's a middle school story if the sex wasn't in it. lol
I think I read this novel about 25 years ago. In my opinion, given the topic matter, the style of writing and, of course, the sexual references, I would place this as appropriate to college level reading. I would posit that a true understanding and appreciation of the book requires the reader to have a certain level of maturity and have a well rounded reading background. As a former high school English teacher, I would not recommend this for my junior or senior students. Students at that level should be exposed to some of the classics of literature so that their thought and comprehension processes may be developed properly. Then, at the collegiate level, they may have the maturity to undertake and appreciate this work.
Levi wrote: "First of all, Stephanie - you're brilliant for posting this question on Goodreads. Just pure brilliant. My answers are below: ---
If you were to place the novel in a curriculum, which years of m..."
Levi, I agree. I think this book would do well in a junior or senior English class (public school, can't speak for private or parochial because I don't know anything of their curriculum). At my school we expose the students to pretty mature literature to prepare them for college, and because they relate to a more modern novel than a classic.
Sadly, and I am passing judgment here, sex is part of their lives. I'm not a fan of this, but then I'm not their parent, I'm just their teacher. So it feels silly that I would say "oh, don't read this book, it's too mature for you" when they have a lot more experience than I can know about. If their bodies mature, we should push their minds to follow, and books like this are a great step.
Ronove wrote: "This book was (and probably still is) one of the set texts for AS Level English Literature in the UK. I'm not sure which American grades relate to which ages but we are 16 going on 17 when doing ou..."I agree with you Ronove. It did seem a bit too easy for College level (I read it my first year of college).
Late high school, I would think, due to the sexual context. The sex isn't particularly graphic, and the examination of gender roles and power are arresting and very interesting--timely right now, too. I believe I was seventeen or eighteen the first time I read it (can't remember for sure), and I suggest it for my daughters at about the same age. This is not because of subject matter or difficulty--it's actually one of Atwood's most accessible novels--but because being able to read the words and being able to emotionally understand the text are two different things.
we did this book for literature this year (year 12- I'm not sure what grade that is in America sorry), at which at the start I was 16. I didn't find it a particularly hard book to read in terms of answering your question on what level to pitch it at. As for the sex, it's only really chapter 16 which is a bit disturbing. If you tell the students that the novel is a bit graphic then at least it is then expected. Also it depends on the maturity of the class, a top level group of 15/16/17 year olds I would say is the right age. Also at this age we are young and open to new concepts and ideas; reading the book as a middle aged teenager allows us to have the opportunity to think about dystopian worlds and compare it to the world around us nowadays as well as leaving us with the distinct impression that the Republic of Gilead is indeed a bad place to live; but especially as a female it hits home the truth that this could have once been a reality for women had rights not been won.
I would say highschool. The book has mature themes. To discuss the ideas in a classroom would require a certain level of maturity that you will not find in middle schoolers.
I read it in upper high school, loved it then. I opted to read out a particularly, um, vivid extract for my theory of knowledge class on evocative language. The teacher went boggle-eyed and said perhaps I should've given the class (and him) a warning beforehand about the very strong language... but I thought 'That would have defeated the point'. I didn't realise it was so controversial at the time, it was largely water off a duck's back to the rest of the class.
I read this in grade 12 (I was 17). Other works in the course included 1984, Brave New World & Macbeth. I thought that we all definitely got the novel. & perhaps the class I was in was particularly mature (though let me assure you, it wasn't), but we didn't focus so much on the sex as we did the gender roles. I mean, sure we had a little giggle about the sex scene ... but I also remember a discussion we got into about how everyone would've felt: (view spoiler) Even at 17, we got what Atwood was trying to describe.I think as adults we like to think that teens & tweens can't handle certain material, when in fact, it's withholding said material from them that has a negative effect on their attitudes toward sex.
Personally, I must have been about 15 when I read it. It was simply on my mothers book shelf. She never censored anything I read. But then, I would be the one lying to my friends in high school, "sorry, my mom says I cant hang out with you tonight". I would rather read than go out.....maybe I was odd....but the story scared me. Made me think about what freedom I had and how terrible it would be to lose it. Made me think is what the important part is. The whole sex thing was not funny. It was wrong. Thats the point of the story, losing all personal freedom.As I said, this book scared me and made that 15 year old think about what was important. I think we should give credit to all those "kids" out there.
Jennifer wrote: "Personally, I must have been about 15 when I read it. It was simply on my mothers book shelf. She never censored anything I read. But then, I would be the one lying to my friends in high school, "s..."Jennifer, I have to agree with you. I think we don't give high schoolers enough credit on what they can and can't handle. This book is really mature, and pretty darned scarry, but if we don't encourage young people to read at a more mature level than what they are already at how will they improve as readers and as people? I liked this book, and I love Atwood's style. I think this book would do really well in high school.
Let me begin by stating I haven't read the entire thread, and that I am only replying to the original question. I don't think this should be required reading until someone has reached the university level. The themes are too much for most high school students to handle and understand, and would ultimately lead most high school students to misunderstand its content without having an appreciation for what the novel achieves. On an individual basis, I think that it is fine reading for a middle school or high schooler, however, that is based on individual maturity and understanding. There are some adults who can handle the Hunger Games, but would never pick up the Handmaid's Tale. (I'm not slighting the Hunger Games.)
As a mother of a gifted child, there are subjects that I don't want my daughter exposed to at nine (like the sexual complexities of the novel), despite the fact that she is capable of reading it. I would permit her to do so in the eighth grade with some hesitancy. I'm not sure that young readers can fully grasp the oppression and fear that the Handmaid is placed in. If a parent has an issue with a novel, he should read it first and then make the decision of its appropriateness for his child. I did this with the Hunger Games, which is why I used it as an example earlier, because I wanted to make sure she was emotionally capable of handling the themes and darker segments of the novel. There was nothing that I found to be too much for her, though, I still felt unsure how she would handle the gruesomeness of some of the deaths, as she is a particularly sensitive child. I want my daughter to read literature, good literature independent of her high school curriculum, and I expect her to do so, as I did, otherwise, I would have missed out on a wealth of literature and many lessons about life and society and the human condition.
All of that being said, I do feel literature is falling to the wayside in the high school curriculum in most of the country. I don't know many educated Americans who continue to read anything outside of the realm of genre fiction, if they read anything at all. I've heard from more than one person that they read so much in their master's program that they never want to read again. Literature is being lost on most of our society, being replaced by technology. Perhaps continually dumbing it down makes it worse.
I think that I was the only person in high school who loved Shakespeare and read it for fun. I took two college courses in Shakespeare even though it was not required for my fields of study. I am the exception not the norm. Most of Shakespeare was lost on my adolescent peers. An appreciation for literature has to begin at the earliest levels of literacy. Much of what is being read as early chapter books are easier reads than Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, E.B. White, and many classics. Most children today have never heard of Treasure Island and Swiss Family Robinson. The vocabulary and themes are much simpler in the current fiction being written for children.
This book was taught in my junior year high school English class and everyone was pretty mature about the sexuality as I recall.
I never read this book until I was in my mid 20's. I think it is an important book for people to read at some point in their younger years. How young though, I am not sure. Middle school is definitely too young, I don't think they would understand enough about what is going on. Maybe mid-way through high school. The only problem I see with doing it then is that in high school they may just read it because they have to simply to get it over with. I would definitely agree that college would be OK. That is where I read it and because I pay for college, want to be here and decide mostly what classes I want to take, I was very interested in paying attention to it. I will say though, that in my high school, we read a lot of "hard" books (at least by today's standards). Our English department was excellent. Almost all of those books I am glad I have read, was engaged enough to understand them and ultimately did enjoy them at the time. I think it might also help HOW the book is taught. With good teaching I think high school might be the place to introduce it.
I studied this book for my GCSEs (I'm English) which is 15 - 16 years old.It had a huge impact on me, and really influenced my ideas about feminism, women in society and sex.
I think that was a great age to read and study the book - at a formative time in your life when it can really challenge your views.
This was assigned to me in my high school Honors English class when I was a Senior. I remember the class reception and discussion as being productive and respectful.
I think this would be an appropriate book for any student of high school age. As I remember freshman, I probably would choose to teach it with sophmores or above. I've read the book as recently as a year ago. There is nothing particularly sexually provocative about the book. It is about the role of women in a theocracy, and there is no way around talking about sex, marriage, fertility and child bearing and the role of educating women under those circumstances. These are appropriate topics for a teenager who will probably become sexually active, vote and be subject to the draft by the age of 18.
I studied this book for English exam book when I was 15/16 at my state High school in New Zealand as it was one of the set texts.Of course there was giggles at the sex scene (it was also a co-ed school)
The language was challenge and brought about a large discussion of how society would get to this point and the apathy towards politics within our current society
I think that is the perfect age group for it, It seems to easy for Uni/College level.
I found Night the previous years book more confronting.
I didn't like this book.
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I'm writing a paper on The Handmaid's Tale and its censorship history. I would like some outside opinions on its age-appropriateness.
If you were to place the novel in a curriculum, which years of middleschool/highschool/college would you put it in (and why)?
At what part of your own life do you think it would have the most impact on you (and why)?
If your child wanted to read it, at what age would you allow it? What age is just too young, in your opinion?
Any other comments/reflections would also be helpful.
Thanks!