Wing Young Huie vs. The Handmaid's Tale

Wing Young Huie is a famous photographer with a numerous amount of works. The following photo was taken by Huie in 2014 and was published on his website and can be found here  http://photos.wingyounghuie.com/p988258601/h241568e8#h241568e8




At first glance there is obviously a grave stone in the shape of a cross with a teddy bear tied to it with string. There are not many other graves around the stone and there is a colorful wall in the background. The stone is leaning slightly and has a chip at the top. The teddy bear looks new and as if it belongs to a young child.
A bigger picture might be derived with a closer look. The grave appears to be old, but the teddy bear is new. A child probably died at a young age and the parents, or another person who was close to them, still feels attached to this person and leaves them gifts. The person probably does not visit very often, seeing as the teddy bear is strapped to the grave so that it cannot blow away or be dragged off.

In this picture, and in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, there is a concept of "othering". This is when someone or something is considered different or alien. The picture shows the gravestone in a not very populated, desert-like area and it is the largest grave in the area. The grave is in an undesirable location, but is still loved by someone. Traditionally people will bury their loved ones in a nearby or well taken care of area, but this grave breaks that norm by contradicting those things. Atwood presents this idea by making the Handmaids separate from the rest of the society. They are still accepted, but many of the people from other social classes look down on them or treat them as inferiors. In both of these, the object of othering is separate or alien from society, but where the Handmaids are a public and well-known situation, the grave stone is more private and personal to a select group. Overall, the moods created by both of these situations are very sad and disconcerting.