Any Questions?

Any Questions?

Recently I've finished reading Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaids Tale", and unfortunately for Margaret Atwood, this has completely ruined my view of her otherwise reasonably decent novel. While I'm not against cliffhangers per se, I find it pretty much spoils a book or movie for me when I'm left with an absurd amount of questions and lack of knowledge of the book itself. When a story is set in a society so different from our own, I feel the author has to make sure the readers understand what is happening up to a certain point. 

           It wasn't just the lack of answers we as readers were given, but also how the last chapter seems to be precisely put in for the sole purpose of clearing up the lingering questions we are certain to still have. Despite what seems to be the purpose of this final chapter, I found myself actually with more questions than I had before. If this wasn't annoying enough, the very last line really got under my skin. "Are there any questions?" is the way Atwood chooses to end her novel. As if  the assumption is that readers has naturally understood this post apocalyptic society and everything within it. Personally, I found this to be rather agitating and left me with bitter memories of the entire book. Not to mention that this paragraph completely and utterly ruined the mood of the book by looking back on this event that to us was the future end of  our civilization. 

           Despite all this, I found myself with rather a few questions. Not so much the character Offred. No, even I was happy to leave her fate on a cliffhanger. But about the general society the story is set in, because personally I think this is by far the most interesting part of the story. For anyone who hasn't read it, the story is set in futuristic society in North America where some sort of biological disaster has caused a lack of child births. To insure the future of the society, a seemingly religious group has taken control in a somewhat Nazi lie regime. 

          This all is clear enough, even to me. But, what isn't clear is to how this society actually came to be accepted by the average person and how it continues to be allowed, especially as it is set in America. Very early on we are introduced to tourists from a Japan that would appear to be similar to ours. To me, this society seems only to continue because it has managed to keep every one under control. Yet if there are tourists that are allowed in, and know about it, then why aren't they doing anything to stop it? They even ask the Handmaids if they are happy so they must be aware that there is an issue. Maybe this simply shows the selfishness of humanity?