Can the Handmaid’s Tale author see the future? The writer Margaret Atwood thinks that if Trump wins the US presidential election he could become a violent dictator.
Author warns Trump could be a dictator
Can the Handmaid's Tale author see the future? The writer Margaret Atwood thinks that if Trump wins the US presidential election he could become a violent dictator.
There are two weeks to go until the US presidential election. The author Margaret AtwoodCanadian novelist whose best-known book is The Handmaid's Tale. is very worried. She worries that if Donald TrumpAn American television personality who became US president from 2016 to 2020. He is running to be president again in 2024. wins power again, he will turn America into a tyrannyCruel and aggressive use of power, often used to describe countries under the grip of a single oppressive leader..
"You get dictatorshipsA form of government in which one person possesses all the power without any limits. when times are bad and chaotic," she writes. She explains that people are willing to give up their rights and freedoms to somebody who says they can fix things.
Atwood is now 84. She is best known for her 1985 book The Handmaid's Tale. The book was about an America in which men controlled women's bodies. Two years ago, a top US court ruled that all American women do not have the right to an abortionThe deliberate ending of a pregnancy. .
She has now written about what a Trump victory might bring - she thinks it will be a time of violence and blood.
She predicts that Trump will target anyone who gets in his way and immigrantsPeople who have moved into one country from another. .
But Atwood does not claim to know everything. "I'm the great sageOne of Jung's archetypes. The Sage is a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. They are often represented as a mentor or teacher. on top of the mountain," she says jokingly. "If you've lived to a certain age people think you know something because they haven't got there yet."
And she believes there is hope. She points out that young people always think they are facing the end of the world - but it has never yet come true. And she says hope "comes with being human".
Can the Handmaid's Tale author see the future?
Yes! She has already shown that she is ahead of her time with powerful writings on women's rights and the planet. She even wrote a book about a pandemicAn outbreak of disease which occurs across a wide geographic area, as opposed to an epidemic, which is confined to a particular region. in 2003.
No! She has a very good imagination and is also a brilliant writer. Authors like Atwood like to come up with terrible situations for their stories - but they do not always think they will come true.
Keywords
Margaret Atwood - Canadian novelist whose best-known book is The Handmaid's Tale.
Donald Trump - An American television personality who became US president from 2016 to 2020. He is running to be president again in 2024.
Tyranny - Cruel and aggressive use of power, often used to describe countries under the grip of a single oppressive leader.
Dictatorships - A form of government in which one person possesses all the power without any limits.
Abortion - The deliberate ending of a pregnancy.
Immigrants - People who have moved into one country from another.
Sage - One of Jung's archetypes. The Sage is a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. They are often represented as a mentor or teacher.
Pandemic - An outbreak of disease which occurs across a wide geographic area, as opposed to an epidemic, which is confined to a particular region.
Author warns Trump could be a dictator
Glossary
Margaret Atwood - Canadian novelist whose best-known book is The Handmaid's Tale.
Donald Trump - An American television personality who became US president from 2016 to 2020. He is running to be president again in 2024.
Tyranny - Cruel and aggressive use of power, often used to describe countries under the grip of a single oppressive leader.
Dictatorships - A form of government in which one person possesses all the power without any limits.
Abortion - The deliberate ending of a pregnancy.
Immigrants - People who have moved into one country from another.
Sage - One of Jung’s archetypes. The Sage is a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. They are often represented as a mentor or teacher.
Pandemic - An outbreak of disease which occurs across a wide geographic area, as opposed to an epidemic, which is confined to a particular region.