Atwoods book on present day American Society

“a shocking 40 percent of the population in this region is jobless, with 50 percent of those being under twenty-five. ” Stan and Charmaine find themselves entrapment in this condition, being hounded by criminals and gangs, away from the safety of their previous life. All this, is precipitated by the economic and social collapse, perhaps Atwood was inspired by the 2008 financial collapse, which raises the question whether American financial system is sustainable. “Looking back on his life, he sees himself spread out on the earth like a giant covered in tiny threads that have held him down. Tiny threads of petty cares and small concerns, and fears he took seriously at the time. These include unfaithfulness in relationships, as when Charmaine has an affair with Max, and Stan with Jocelyn, human rights, as basic rights are taken from the people in Consilience, their lives depend on the whims of those in charge, the book reiterates the importance of liberties in society, and the consequences when those liberties are compromised.

It also calls into question the behavior of corporates in modern day American society, which impresses upon the need to have ethical practices, unlike Positron, which engaged in illegal activities such as selling human organs and engineering mind-altering program. The present-day American society, though needs to worry less about that due to the laws governing corporate behavior and practices, but is a reminder of what it was like before it got to that. The book is drenched in the role and position of women in society, which is a hot social and cultural discussion in the present-day American society, especially with the #MeToo campaign. “Maybe she herself is a kind of fatal woman, like Marilyn Monroe in Niagara, with invisible spider webs coming out of her, entangling men because they can't help it, and the spider can't help it either because it's her nature.

Those in charge of Positron project, on the surface have set goals of helping people, for example have residence and jobs, but in reality, they exploit them for labor and harvest their organs and body parts for financial gain. Besides, Atwood tells her novel from the third-person omniscient perspective, to act as unifying voice between the characters so that their actions, thoughts and feeling may be understood at the same time, it also adds the suspense, mystery and drama to the novel. In conclusion, Atwood’s The Heart Goes Last speaks very profoundly to the present-day American society, of the entrapment to life’s daily activities and our social and economic construction. The novel raises critical questions about present day American society, including moral dilemmas, socio-economic systems, human rights, women rights, and freedom, using dystopian fiction told from a third-person omniscient perspective.