ECOCRITICISM
Definition: Ecocriticism involves the relationship between literature works and the environment. This theory also observes ethical questions rising from the depiction the natural world.
Ecocriticism in The Handmaid's Tale:
The example of ecocriticism in The Handmaid's Tale is a negative and destructive one. Margaret Atwood uses the example of almost all women becoming infertile because of the dooming environment. By using a cause and effect techique, Atwood is able to show that our actions deeply impact not only the environment, but our own well-being. There are several examples of this on page 112. The first example is Offred's own thoughts on the major pollution. "The air got too full, once, of chemicals, rays, radiation, the water swarmed with toxic molecules, all of that takes years to clean up, and meanwhile they creep into your body, camp out in your fatty cells. Who knows, your very flesh may be polluted, dirty as an oily beach, sure death to shore birds and unborn babies. Maybe a vulture would die of eating you. Maybe you light up in the dark, like an old-fashioned watch. Deathwatch." (112). The other example is how the pollution actually occured due to our own actions. "Women took medicines, pills, men sprayed trees, cows ate grass, all that souped-up piss flowed into the rivers. Not to mention the exploding atomic power plants, along the San Andreas fault, nobody's fault, during the earthquakes, and the mutant stream of syphilis no mold could touch" (112). Both of these quotes are great examples of ecocriticism because they show how our own simple and everyday actions could cause a huge falling of events. Margaret Atwood is successful in bringing the attention of the environment and our actions to the world. Although this is a work of fiction, ecocriticism in The Handmaid's Tale allows a very realistic look at how our future could be affected with our continued harmful actions.