Shreya's Treasures

ANNA KARENINA LEO TOLSTOY FIRST PUBLISHED: 1878 “All happy families resemble each other; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” We all have books that imprint a lasting memory on us, not simply for the entertainment value, but rather for the way in which they communicate the truth of the human person. For me, Tolstoy’s  Anna Karenina  is an exemplar in character development and as such presents an unparalleled disclosure of the human condition and the effects of both sin and virtue in the life of man.  The story follows four individuals arranged as couples.  The first, for whom the novel is named, is Anna.  When she comes on the scene, she is nothing short of captivating: beautiful and mysterious in every way.  Anna is married, albeit unhappily.  As the story progresses, she falls into an illicit affair with the young Count Vronsky, who pursues her with both intensity and persistence.  The third is a young woman named Ki...

HANDMAID'S TALE DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE MARGARET ATWOOD FIRST PUBLISHED: 1985 The story is about a woman Offred, who lives in a dystopian age. The population is shrinking due to a toxic environment, and the ability to have viable babies is at a premium. (In today’s real world, studies are now showing a sharp fertility decline in Chinese men.) Under totalitarianism, the ruling class monopolizes valuable things, so the elite of the regime arrange to have fertile females assigned to them as Handmaids. This name Offred is composed of a man’s first name, “Fred,” and a prefix denoting “belonging to”. Within this name is concealed another possibility: “offered,” denoting a religious offering or a victim offered for sacrifice. Offred’s real name is not revealed; probably because she represents the multitude and also, it doesn’t really matter.  The Handmaids are forced by the Aunts to join in what is called the “slut-shaming” of one of their members who is being made to recount how s...