Allan Song Oct.

10, 2011

Active Reading Notes The Handmaids Tale

Section 6

256. Offred does not get breakfast. I think the government wants them to focus on the negative emotions of the Salvaging. Angels in riot gear guard the campus. There have probably been previous incidents at Salvagings that make them necessary. Trope Beetles survive because of their hard black shells. Perhaps Atwood uses this imagery to describe government workers to say that the government cuts itself off from the public with an impenetrable barrier. On the surface, everything looks like it did in the past. Trope The stage that was used for commencement is now used for Salvagings. The government has turned an institution of learning into a centre for oppression. Trope The nooses hanging on the stage suggests that Salvagings are hangings. This reminds me of the Salem witch trials. Trope Offred mentions the colours of womens dresses from the time before. The difference in colours separated people even then. This common point between past and present adds to the realism of the story. 257. Offred is uneasy. Maybe the women will be hung in a humiliating way. Why do the handmaids get cushions now but not at the Prayvaganza? Perhaps the Aunts do not want the handmaids to get their dresses dirty and stained while kneeling on the lawn. Trope Offred refers to clothing as drapery. The womens dresses cover them up completely, which creates modesty. This made me think of the traditional hijab that Muslim women wear, which some people say is a sign of oppression against women. Trope the thick rope looks like a fuse, which refers to the image of a bomb, or violent destabilization. It also reminds Offred of the string of a balloon, which connects to the Unwomen documentary about feminists. This image actually points to Moira. Offred could be calling upon her memory of Moira to give herself strength. Rhetoric The women to be hung are on the stage where people used to be recognized for their knowledge. The irony of the situation further
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develops the idea that the government has corrupted a source of knowledge. Rhetoric the executioners are called Salvagers. This euphemism shows how the government has manipulated all language. 258. Trope Offred talks about a crche, or manger. This is an allusion to the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus. The stage brings up this image in her mind, suggesting that the government has twisted religion to suit its purposes. Characters reaction Offred loathes Aunt Lydia for what she did at the Red Centre. 266. Trope Offred sees a dandelion on the lawn. There is a dandelion, right in front of me, the colour of egg yolk. This is an image of a flower and an egg. Offred notices similarities between the Salvaging and commencement in Aunt Lydias speech. 259. Janine has made a name for herself. Even Ofglen knows her as a drama queen. 260. Character development Offred detaches herself from the hanging by thinking of trivial things, which reflects her normal way to cope with reality. Characters actions Aunt Lydia acts like she is benevolent. She is taking full advantage of her power over the handmaids. Character and location The Wives are out of the circle; we can clearly see the classism that exists between women. Where are the Marthas? If they, like Rita, are all disgusted by the handmaids, they have probably already gone home. 261. Rhetoric Offreds tone suggests that she knows someone will die soon. Rhetoric Particicution is a combination of participate and execution. The handmaids will participate in an execution. Characters actions The man was obviously tortured and locked up, but the handmaids instantly believe Aunt Lydias accusation of his act of rape. This shows that the women are desperate to release their desire for violent
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revenge on men. 262. Why would the government falsely accuse a man of being a rapist? I think that it wants women to believe that they are being protected. Particicutions also give the government a chance to misdirect womens anger at scapegoats. 263. Ofglen reveals that the Guardian was a member of the resistance. I was right about the governments misdirection. Character development We see that Janine has gone completely insane. I have trouble feeling sorry for her, even though she has been broken. She was too eager to give in. 264. Character development Offreds idea of normalcy has changed. This reflects a major change in context since the Salvaging and Particicution. The events in the morning must have damaged her psychologically. 265. Offred says that Ofglen has been altered. Did she get tortured? I do not think so. If she was, she would not still be a handmaid. Rhetoric Straight-faced, straight-laced. The rhyme suggests that the new Ofglen is a believer in Gilead. Offred attaches Ofglens identity to her name, but this is only an illusion. The handmaids are all replaceable objects named after their Commanders. Characters interaction Nodding is the only recognition handmaids have of their identities. Infinitesimal suggests the infinite importance of the gesture. 266. Trope Offred imagines that the lustre is gone from the dead womens shoes. She compares them to dead animals, pointing to the problem of environmental degradation. Butterflies and tropical fish are often caught to be mounted for show. The women on the Wall are meant to scare other women into obedience. The new Ofglen betrays no emotion she seems to be a perfect handmaid. 267. Offred was careless to assume that the new Ofglen is not dangerous. Characters interaction Offreds conversation with Ofglen reinforces the idea that obedience is safety.
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Rhetoric Under His Eye now also means under each others eyes. We see the way partners prevent each other from deviating from the norm. Character development We learn that the old Ofglen became a martyr. 268. Trope Ofglens death alludes to the sacrifice of Jesus. She sacrificed herself to protect her allies in the resistance. Fear makes Offred want to give in. Now that the last overtly resistant person she knows has died, she is too weak to resist indoctrination. 269. Serena finds out about Offreds relationship with the Commander. Both the Commander and Nick cannot help her. I think Atwood is telling women that they cannot rely on men. Trope The sequins fall like snakeskin. Snakes are a symbol of deception. Offred betrayed Serena Joy and feels betrayed by the Commander and Nick. Character development Offred becomes fatalistic. She resigns herself to her sins, since she knows that it is too late to save herself. 273. Trope The sequins are like crumpled stars. The metaphor refers to the idea of used glitz. In this context, it suggests that the stars light was smothered by the government, creating the darkness of ignorance and despair. Visual structure Spaces indicate time passing while Offred does nothing. 274. Offred considers suicide. She even thinks about burning the house down, which is a very public and showy way to die. Rhetoric Offred says that faith is only a word. She is saying that she can show it as much as she wants, but her thoughts will give her away. Trope Offred thinks about winter, the last season in the year that symbolizes an ending and the promise of a new beginning. 275. Offred admits that her life has no meaning and that she wants it to end. A van of the Eyes comes. She will probably be taken away, tortured, and killed.

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Character development Nick is an Eye. Offred refuses to believe Nick because she does not trust the Eyes. However, she decides to take a leap of faith. Characters reaction The Commander no longer feels attached to Offred. This shows that he never really cared. Characters reaction Cora cries because she will never have a child to take care of. Atwood suggests that it is futile for women to depend on other women to achieve their goals. 277. Trope Offreds uncertainty about darkness and light is a symbol of her internal conflict of her distrust of the Eyes and her trust of Nick. 281. Trope and location Cambridge University is an allusion to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the Handmaids Tale took place. The section is set in the far future, which means that we can only trust what Atwood tells us. Perspective For the first time in the novel, information is presented by a character other than Offred. The attendees of the symposium will go on a fishing expedition. This suggests that fish stocks in the oceans are restored. Rhetoric The professors all have strange names. I think that Atwood is saying that language will inevitably change over time. 282. Professor Pieixoto says that they ate fish the night before, so fish farming is back to normal. 283. Perspective The speaker questions the authenticity of Offreds story. We get a second opinion of Gilead. Rhetoric The professor makes a joke about male genitalia, which refers to the central cause of conflict in Gilead. Rhetoric The professor makes a pun about women being frail, suggesting that they are sexually weaker. How did her story get recorded on tape? How did it end up in Maine? Perhaps she escaped with Nicks help and recorded her story at a safe house in Maine. Then she left the tapes there and went to Canada.
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284. Perspective and trope The tapes were out of order. We learn that the tapes were reconstructed by the professors, which alters their meaning. We know now that Offred is not entirely to blame for the inconsistencies in time periods. 285. Offreds tone suggests that she was recounting the past. Perspective The professor does not know that her only family is dead. What other information did Offred leave out in her last reconstruction of her story? The Save-the-Women societies are said to have used propaganda. Compared to what Offred tells us about Gilead, this could not be further from the truth. Pieixoto seems sceptical about the human impact of the oppression of women in Gilead. However, we will never know if she is biased and he is telling the truth. 287. Atwood makes events in Gilead more believable by talking about Romanias actions to stop a falling birth rate. The professor belittles the knowledge of university graduates from the twentieth century, but he said earlier that his job is not to censure. He is a hypocrite. 288. Perspective Pieixoto doubts that the names in the story are real. Is Offred really lying or has he misinterpreted her intentions? I want to believe Offred. Character development For the first time, we learn about the Commanders true identity. 289. Rhetoric Salvaging is taken from the Philippines. It means to get rid of political enemies. The salvaged women were enemies for deviating. Character development Both Waterford and Judd were instrumental in creating Gilead. 290. We have concrete evidence that the Aunts were a way for women to keep each other in line. The Aunts accepted their role because of the power they had in their position. 291. It seems more likely that the Commander and not the Wife was infertile.
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Serena Joys real name is very plain. To me, a Thelma seems like a staid housewife. 292. The Commander was too confident that his position was above the law. 293. We learn that it is likely that Nick sacrificed himself for Offred. He is one of the only characters who show compassion towards Offred, but she never mentioned his kindness. Trope Pieixoto alludes to Eurydice, the wife of Orpheus. In Greek mythology, Orpheus went to the underworld to beg for Hades to give back his wife. Hades agreed, but Orpheus had to not look back at Eurydice as he walked out of the underworld. Orpheus started to doubt that Hades told the truth, and looked back. When he did, Eurydice faded back to the underworld. Pieixoto means that historians must trust and appreciate what information they have, or lose it as Orpheus lost his wife. Trope Darkness and light imagery appear again. Atwood reminds us that Offred lived in the darkness of her present, and we have the benefit of hindsight, so we should not unfairly judge her. This brings into question again the accuracy of Offreds tale. Is Offreds story a false reconstruction only? I believe that she pieced together true details of her life to convey a message that is different from what really happened. Although I want to trust her completely, there are too many uncertainties to do so. The novel seems very dark as a whole. At first, I thought the book was a feminist view of the United States, but I realized that it was a warning against extremism and totalitarianism. I found the book to be thoughtprovoking and refreshingly twisted.