Margaret Atwood uses a connective insight in telling her story. She first demonstrates how the first age started with the creation of gods. Whether it was a cruel god/goddess, or one that gave us rain and sunshine, the different gods depict how we believed humanity was run. By Atwood’s use of metaphors, we could understand that gods were powerful and were in control.
As Atwood shifts to discussing the second age, our next creation is on money. I believe that in each age Atwood talks about, what is valued most at the time is what is deemed most powerful. So similarly how in the first age gods were what controlled humanity, by the second age, wealth in money/currency became our primary focus. Interestingly enough, she connects gods and money and we see how each age follows a similar pattern for the next.
This is represented by the third age as money became a god. The increasing value that we put on money can either make or break us. Once you get your hands on it, you can’t stop the greed that you have for more. Humanity becomes more money minded and has this everlasting hunger to get their hands on more.
Highlighting on human’s greed shows how by the fourth age, the world sees nothing new. We create “deserts” or enter this age where there isn’t a new theme that the world focuses on. The world is so caught up on having more money and encouraging industrialization which will inevitably end up damaging the planet.
No amount of money would be able to change the world. The effects of consumerism will only lead to negative environmental changes and social divides. Atwood is trying to warn us about how there was a time where money was viewed as, “If you have enough of it, it was said, you would be able to fly.” However, she ends by stating, “Pray for us, who once too, thought we could fly.” This is a creative strategy Atwood uses to emphasize how money can’t solve everything. As we let money fall into the wrong hands, our world is at risk to deteriorate.
