Essay on Margaret Atwood's Rape Fantasies
Damarcus Fitzhugh
Lenore Harris
ENG 001B
11/18/2012
In most short stories of the past there have always been Heroes and Villains; good vs. evil. Whether it’s the innocent Hansel and Gretel vs. the evil cannibalistic witch; authors tended to paint the line separating the two through their uses of certain writing tools. The point Atwood attempts to drive into the reader is women’s naivety and overall downplay of rape.
Margaret Atwood, author of Rape Fantasies, relies heavily on Irony and Characterization to get her point across. In the story Estelle, the narrator and main character, shares her rape fantasies along . In all of them she is a victim, later in the story, we find out that the reason she has these thoughts about being raped is so that if she ever is in a situation like one where she might get raped, she wants to be prepared to avoid it and protect herself. This shows an unrealistic and naive view on what rape really is. She imagines the rapist to be the victim instead of her. As mentioned in the text, all the rapists she fantasizes about are victims of some sort of mental or physical trait considered undesirable
Atwood uses characterization, specifically in Estelle, with whom she characterizes as condescending, sarcastic and negative at times. She is a young office worker who notes how popular the subject "Rape" has become in women's magazines. Estelle is playing a game with her co-workers over their lunch hour, when Chrissy, a woman from Estelle's office, brings up the topic of rape fantasies. Estelle would rather just continue playing, but instead, the small group of ladies decides to go around the table sharing their own rape fantasies. (1) Darlene, the oldest, and the only divorced women of the group finds these fantasies revolting and ends up turning her back on the other ladies.(later she returns, unable to resist the interesting taboo) (1) Chrissy and Sondra are very eager to share their "rape fantasies" but after they do Estelle informs
Lenore Harris
ENG 001B
11/18/2012
In most short stories of the past there have always been Heroes and Villains; good vs. evil. Whether it’s the innocent Hansel and Gretel vs. the evil cannibalistic witch; authors tended to paint the line separating the two through their uses of certain writing tools. The point Atwood attempts to drive into the reader is women’s naivety and overall downplay of rape.
Margaret Atwood, author of Rape Fantasies, relies heavily on Irony and Characterization to get her point across. In the story Estelle, the narrator and main character, shares her rape fantasies along . In all of them she is a victim, later in the story, we find out that the reason she has these thoughts about being raped is so that if she ever is in a situation like one where she might get raped, she wants to be prepared to avoid it and protect herself. This shows an unrealistic and naive view on what rape really is. She imagines the rapist to be the victim instead of her. As mentioned in the text, all the rapists she fantasizes about are victims of some sort of mental or physical trait considered undesirable
Atwood uses characterization, specifically in Estelle, with whom she characterizes as condescending, sarcastic and negative at times. She is a young office worker who notes how popular the subject "Rape" has become in women's magazines. Estelle is playing a game with her co-workers over their lunch hour, when Chrissy, a woman from Estelle's office, brings up the topic of rape fantasies. Estelle would rather just continue playing, but instead, the small group of ladies decides to go around the table sharing their own rape fantasies. (1) Darlene, the oldest, and the only divorced women of the group finds these fantasies revolting and ends up turning her back on the other ladies.(later she returns, unable to resist the interesting taboo) (1) Chrissy and Sondra are very eager to share their "rape fantasies" but after they do Estelle informs