Collected here are some the novel's best critics to introduce high school students and undergraduates to one of Atwood's most widely read novels. Original essays lend context to the novel by surveying the political and cultural events out of which the novel grew as well as how Atwood's critics have responded to the novel. Two other original essays explore the novel in light of the dystopian literary tradition and feminist literary theory. A collection of republished essays continues the conversation with consideration of the novel's narrative structure and an examination of the role of love in the novel.