The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood was published and awarded the Governor General’s Award for English-language fiction in 1985. Its Graphic Novel Adaptation by Renee Nault was published in 2018.
BANNED ‘22-23 and ‘23-24 in six Florida counties: Clay, Martin, St. Johns, Bay, Broward, Hernando, Indian River, Manatee, and Volusia.
The School District of Manatee County states that The Handmaid’s Tale “is not suited to students’ needs and their ability to comprehend the material.”
Despite this declaration, the female students of Manatee County likely “comprehend” the material easily. This book ban comes after the June 2022 overturning of Roe V. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in Gilead, a totalitarian and theocratic United States of America. Gilead reduces its fertile women to the position of “handmaid.” Handmaids are reproductive slaves responsible for supplying Gilead’s population.
Margaret Atwood states in her Notes to the Reader, “All of the things I have written about have been done before, more than once.” The Handmaid’s Tale serves as a warning against repeating history.
The Handmaid’s Tale’s contents have been controversial since its publication in 1985. The book was once banned in both Portugal and Spain. In 2018, Renee Nault adapted the dystopian story into a graphic novel, which faced similar bans.
“Let’s hope we don’t reach the stage of wholesale book burnings, as in Fahrenheit 451. But if we do, let’s hope some books will prove unburnable.”