1) Choose a passage that stands out to you/intrigues you/confuses you.Type up the passage, in its entirety, and cite it.
2) Then, either:
- Ask a question and work through your confusion in a thorough response. Call on your classmates to also engage with this passage and unpack it together.
OR--
- Make a connection to the news/your own life/another text as a means to dig deeper into the meaning of a passage
OR--
- Look at specific language/literary devices/tools and write a response in which you examine the EFFECT of these devices. What do these observations that you've made DO for your initial understanding of the speaker and the world that she lives in?
Some reminders:
- Make sure that you BOTH create your own comment and also respond to a classmate's comment.
- Sign in using your full name so that your first and last name appear next to your comment.
- Make sure that you comment under your band
- Don't repeat classmates' passages. If someone has already used yours, then respond to it directly and choose another. There's plenty to discuss.
- Your comment should be at least 5-7 sentences or longer. Your reply to a classmate should be a thorough reply that pushes the conversation forward by asking follow-up questions and/or making connections to other parts of novel or other works. The use of textual evidence in a response is a great way to keep the conversation going.
- Please use appropriate grammar/punctuation. This is NOT a text message.
- Blog posts are due by 10pm the night before class so that I can read them ahead of time. Let's get this done at a reasonable hour, people!
Format:
"......" (17).
Response:
“There are other women with baskets, some in red, some in the dull green of the Martha's, some in the striped dresses, red and blue and green and cheap and skimp, that mark the women of the poorer men. Econowives, they're called. These women are not divided into functions. They have to do everything; if they can.” (24)
ReplyDeleteHere the narrator describes the different roles of all women in this society. She indicates that everything is very organized and each female must take responsibility of their own job. All the Econowives are "divided into functions," which is symbolized by their different colored gowns. The women are color-coded: blue Wives, red Handmaids, green Marthas. Their individuality and uniqueness being completely hidden beneath the dresses and stripped away for good. In addition the fact that some women are dressed in “cheap and skimp, that mark the women of the poorer men” portrays women as objects who represent their men. Women who are incapable of being seen for what they truly are and instead are solemnly judged based on the men's social class. It's almost as if the women in this society would be insignificant without their man. This part of the novel just like many others proves that woman in this society have no value and are incapable of succeeding without obeying the rules of their patriarchal world.
Yes, the theme of female oppression is illustrated in Atwood's novel in the way females have to dress and behave. The narrator/protagonist further demonstrates this point in the restriction of her clothing, as she has “learned to see the world in gasps” because the hat she must wear, has winged sides and prevents her from seeing life around her (30). Just as the other women are forced to play a role in society that deprives them of their individuality, the Handmaid must also obey patriarchal rules; even her freedom of experiencing life is seized from her.
DeleteThe organization, and categorization in the novel does represent the catagorization that women experience in todays society. It is an extreme portrayal of the sorts of things that women experience today. I think the idea of the extreme potrayal of womens lives in a patriarcal society comes up quite a lot in this novel. It's especially evident because the main character transitions from her role in a modern society to her role in the society where the novel takes place. Even though we know that there is a drastic change, there are also a lot of similarities between the two worlds. The extreme portrayal of womens lives and roles creates a distopian society and plays out what our current lives would be like if we continued to live the way we do.
DeleteThe organization, and categorization in the novel does represent the catagorization that women experience in todays society. It is an extreme portrayal of the sorts of things that women experience today. I think the idea of the extreme potrayal of womens lives in a patriarcal society comes up quite a lot in this novel. It's especially evident because the main character transitions from her role in a modern society to her role in the society where the novel takes place. Even though we know that there is a drastic change, there are also a lot of similarities between the two worlds. The extreme portrayal of womens lives and roles creates a distopian society and plays out what our current lives would be like if we continued to live the way we do.
DeleteI totally agree with your statement. I feel like in this society women are not valued at all and the way that they are color coded is very evident of that. They are not even treated as humans but like servants with no real purpose. Like you said the women without men are dressed very poorly and are even considered to be dressed "cheap" and "skimp." This further portrays how women are treated less than men and are used to just reproduce and do the cleaning, cooking, sewing, ect.
DeleteI agree with you when you say that the woman are judged based on their husbands status and the fact they are not their own person, this actually reminds me of what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said in her ted talk about how woman can only tap into mens power and that is not the same as having your own. but what i dont agree with is how you say that because they are forced to wear something that it takes away personality. i think that personality is a little more then what you wear and can still be shown in other ways, thats like saying that if you wear a uniform to school that your personality is being taken away its just the school trying to maintain order.
DeleteI agree with you when you say that the woman are judged based on their husbands status and the fact they are not their own person, this actually reminds me of what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said in her ted talk about how woman can only tap into mens power and that is not the same as having your own. but what i dont agree with is how you say that because they are forced to wear something that it takes away personality. i think that personality is a little more then what you wear and can still be shown in other ways, thats like saying that if you wear a uniform to school that your personality is being taken away its just the school trying to maintain order.
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ReplyDelete“Doubled, I walk the street. Though we are no longer in the Commanders’ compound, there are large houses here also. In front of one of them a Guardian is mowing the lawn. The lawns are tidy, the facades are gracious, in good repair; they’re like the beautiful pictures they used to print in the magazines about homes and gardens and interior decoration. There is the same absence of people, the same air of being asleep. The street is almost like a museum, or a street in a model town constructed to show the way people used to live. As in those pictures, those museums, those model towns, there are no children” (23).
ReplyDeleteFrom the given context the narrator supplies, the reader is greeted with what appears to be a pristine living area without people. Atwood’s use of a simile draws the reader’s attention to the contrast between this newly created society to that of the former. The sheer perfection of this area is unnatural, as if it were set up to be a magazine that existed before society got overthrown, or perhaps propaganda to attract people to an area. This allows the reader to see how the controlling government forces the creativity out of its citizens, as it promotes its dystopian and dehumanizing life. As seen by the Guardian mowing the lawn, as well as earlier in the story when a Guardian assists the Commander's Wife with her garden, one can see that all menial tasks have been taken away from citizens and assigned to a newly devised group with a particular function. Although the scene appears peaceful, it is dormant and devoid of children, who symbolize the starting point or dawning of life. Without a proper starting point of new life, a society cannot flourish, and will eventually crumble beneath itself.
I totally agree. When you said that "This allows the reader to see how controlling government forces the creativity out of its citizens" I was kind of reminded of history before the Glorious and scientific revolution. It's almost as if the characters in this novel are forced to obey the rules without having a say, similarly to the people who confronted the limitations of living within the confines of a strict monarchy. I also strongly agree with this idea that you highlight, which is that "Atwood's use of simile draws the reader's attention to this newly created society to that of the former." The simplicity of it is that as human beings we wouldn't be able to acknowledge good without being exposed to bad. There's no such thing as a Utopia without a Dystopia first.As readers the similes truly help us see the difference between this strict society and the past.
Delete"I move my hips a little, feeling the full red skirt sway around me... Then I find I'm not ashamed after all. I enjoy the power; power of a dog bone, passive but there" (22).
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this quote I connected it to one of our discussions in class about the Ted Talk that we watched where Chimamanda Adichie talked about bottom power. In this passage we see the main character in the story "The Handmaid's Tale" using 'bottom power'. She isn't even using her 'bottom power' to achieve anything but instead is using it to give herself confidence in a world where she hasn't been able to have any freedom with her own body. Chimamanda Adichie talked about how bottom power isn't real power and in this passage it shows that. The main character isn't getting anything from using her bottom power but she's doing it just to give herself some sort of freedom and confidence. This is shown when she thinks to herself: "I enjoy the power". When she said this it made me think that she was using her bottom power to give herself confidence.
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DeleteI agree with Lucas that she is using "Bottom Power" which in this context she isn't recieving anything from anyone besides from herself. Which is the same thing with bottom power. I agree that when she said "I enjoy the power" she was using it to give herself "power" and make herself confident. When I read this passage in the book i didn't think of bottom power and Chimamanda but once I read what you thought about the passage i agree that it has to do with what Cimamanda said. This passaage also made me think about her life before she became a Handmaid. Do you think that she ever used Bottom power before she became a Handmaid?
DeleteI agree completely. Adding on to this notion, I believe that the speaker, although she has only lived in this new, dystopian society for some time, has already adjusted to her role in the civilization. Divided up by whether or not they are able to reproduce, the women in the society see their self worth as being able to bear children. Because of this, there is an incredible emphasis on sexuality within the society. The speaker most likely feels out of control and believes the only way to regain some of her power is to harness this "bottom power" you discussed in your response.
DeleteI completely agree with this and in my opinion this a great comparison. In the passage she said she felt bad for doing it but one sentence later she said she doesn't feel bad for doing it because it makes her feel powerful. She later goes on to say how she hopes they feel resentment and feel the "pain". I think she is using her femininity as a weapon against men because she knows they can't help themselves
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ReplyDelete“The hooks look like...steel question marks, upside-down and sideways.
ReplyDeleteIt’s the bags over the heads that are the worst, worse than faces themselves would be. It makes the men like dolls on which the faces have not yet painted; like scarecrows, which in a way is what they are, since they are meant to scare. Or as if their heads are sacks, stuffed with some undifferentiated material, like flour or dough. It’s the obvious heaviness of the heads, their vacancy, the way gravity pulls them down and there’s no life anymore to hold them up. The heads are zeros” (32).
I believe that the hooks shaped by like question marks represent how curiousness killed these men in this society. It shows how, in this society, questions kill citizens. Additionally, the author says later that these men that have been hung are wearing white coats, such as doctors and scientists wear. A scientist’s job is to ask questions about such as “what would happen if…” or “why does this happen…” which shows how this society has gone so far as to abolish and kill the jobs that were once seen as esteemed.
Atwood states that the dangling men look like dolls. This also reflects the society for the people are being controlled as if they are dolls. Any person who dares to rebel is killed so that if they were not dolls in life, they are dolls in death. Those who do conform to these rules have heads “stuffed with some undifferentiated material”. The lack of faces on the bags covering the faces shows how the identities of people are no longer known, or matter, in this world that status matters more than individuality. When the narrator states that the heads look as if they are stuffed with “flour or dough” I connected it to the passage, “Or I would help Rita make the bread, sinking my hands into the soft resistant warmth which is so much like flesh” (11). The narrator barely has any contact with humans and specifically helps to make bread because the dough reminds her of human touch. She sees the bags around the heads as if it is dough because, even looking at death, she longs for human contact.
At first when I started reading what you wrote I didn't really understand what you were talking about and I didn't see the point that you were trying to make. But as I kept reading I started to see your point about how society punishes rebels and tries to make a point out of them and their punishment of them. I agree with this idea but I don't agree with the quote that you chose to prove and represent it. I think that in the passage that you chose they were simply trying to show the change in the society over time and how what was once a legal and accepted job as an abortionist has become something so disgraceful as human life has become more important in this new society.
Delete“It’s an event, a small defiance of rule, so small as to be undetectable, but such moments are rewards I hold out for myself, like the candy I hoarded as a child, the back of a drawer. Such moments are possibilities, tiny peepholes” (21).
ReplyDeleteHere, the narrator is talking about using a small defiance against their society to give herself hope which reminded me of the short story “Girl”. In “Girl” the mother gives all these instructions to her daughter, that seem to imply sexist femle expectations, but then she sneaks in few lines that defy these expectations and give the daughter a little power or hope in their patriarchal society. For example the mother says in “Girl,” “This is how to make a good medicine to throw away a child before it even becomes a child” (1). The mother is giving the daughter a little bit of power in this quote by telling her she's allowed to have an abortion something that a lot of societies see as wrong or a sin. Telling her how to have an abortion gives the daughter power over her own body and hope since it lets her make her own decisions about her body. However since society see abortion as wrong or a sin, the mother is defying it, but doing it in a small way because she's just telling her daughter how to make the medicine for an abortion. Therefore the mother is making a small defiance of patriarchy to give her daughter a little power and hope, which is similar to the “small defiances of rule” that the narrator in “The Handmaid's Tale” made that give her hape that the society she lives in will change.
Cookie, I agree with your connection! Another act of silent defiance is Offred suggesting that she peeks through her wings to look at the view around her: "Given our wings, our blinkers, it's hard to look up, hard to get the full view, of the sky, of anything. But we can do it, a little at a time, a quick move of the head, up and down, to the side and back. We have learned to see the world in gasps." (30) The women are limited to what they are allowed to see of their surroundings, but, when they look beyond what they are told, they defy their authorities in a way not noticeable in hopes to be able to see the world for themselves.
DeleteI really like the point that your making here! I think to take it even further, we can bring up the idea of silent defiance. In this situation is what she' saying silent defiance, an does that actually count as defiance? If it is going to be, "so small as to be undetectable," are you actually making a statement and taking a stand or are you just shying away because you have fear? Something to keep in mind I think as we progress in the story.
Delete"I remember the rules, rules that were never spelled out but that every women knew: Don't open the door to a stranger, even if he says he is the police. Make him slide his ID under the door. Don't stop on the road to help a motorist pretending to be in trouble. Keep the locks on and keep going. If anyone whistles, don't turn to look. Don't go into a laundromat, by yourself, at night."(24)
ReplyDeleteOne thing i really like about this book so far is that the main character has lived both in this future and in the time before it. This gives so much insight into the different struggles of women now compared to in her future. It enables problems with today's world to be highlighted as can be seen from this quote. I was really able to relate to this quote, there is undertone if how fearful it was and is to live as a woman now. she is constantly afraid and these rules use fear as a way to push safety. I really hope that this sort of highlighting of modern problems continues throughout the book because the personal experiences of this character can show both the blatant struggles of being a woman but also the less notebal ones and the unspoken ones too
"He asks, are you happy, says the interpreter. I can imagine it, their curiosity: Are they happy? How can they be happy? I can feel their bright black eyes on us" (29)
ReplyDeleteThis quote made me think about this handmaids as a speciality and as something known about around the whole world. It made these handmaids look like zoo animals which people would travel to see. The handmaids seem like a precious jewel which their are so few of left in the world of. This passage also shows us that their are people living in the normal world still and not evrything is handmaids and Martha's and commanders. When the intrepreter asked "Are you happy?" made me think of someone or something thats been caged up and lost their voice. "I can feel their bright black eyes on us" This adds to the feeling that they are some caged animal with no freedom or no voice and everyone is trying to see them at the same time.
Dea Brogaard-Thompson B band
ReplyDelete“He lives here, in the household, over the garage. Low status: he hasn’t been issued a woman, not even one. He doesn’t rate: some defect, lack of connections. But he acts as if he doesn’t know this, or care. He’s too casual, he’s not servile enough. It may be stupidity, but I don’t think so. Smells fishy, they used to say; or, I smell a rat. Misfit as odor. Despite myself, I think of how he might smell. Not fish or decaying rat; tanned skin, moist in the sun, filmed with smoke. I sigh, inhaling. He looks at me, and sees me looking. He has a french face, lean, whimsical, all planes and angles, with creases around the mouth where he smiles. He takes a final puff of the cigarette, lets it drop to the driveway, and steps on it. He begins to whistle. Then he winks.”(18)
Response: I think the arrival of this character should lead us to anticipate a rebellion of sorts from the main character. The quote describes him as, “too casual,” and that he has a, “misfit odor,” which is very out of sorts in this society, so the introduction of this character could symbolize an introduction to freedom for the main character. A question that I have is what does it mean that he has not been issued a woman? Is this a wife? Would this be a handmaid? And what does it say about him that he doesn’t, “rate,”? I am interested to see how this character grows throughout the story, and how he affects/ changes the main character to take chances.
I agree with your main points of how this character might act as an introduction to freedom for the narrator but I interpreted this differently when I read this part of the passage. I believe that Margaret Atwood included this character to show the reader the circumstances and the obligations that men are put under by the government. Atwood made this character to show that the government decides how much action a man gets in this society and to portray the idea that women in this society can be seen as a winning ticket in a lottery, having a random chance in getting a women. I also believe that the cigarette that he is smoking is symbolic because the narrator says “ Really what I wanted was that cigarette”(18). When I think of someone smoking a cigarette, I think of a man having that obligation to do so, and not really something a women would have/do. The cigarette might describe the freedom that men have in this society that women desperately want. Nick lets his cigarette drop and steps on it which ties back into your claim that Nick might act as an introduction to freedom, showing that he does not oblige to this system that men have more right/opportunities in this society than women.
DeleteDea, I completely agree with your interpretation of the newly introduced character, Nick, and the hints of rebellion he displays throughout that quote. In addition, I think that the reason that you, I, or any other reader interprets him to be an important character in challenging these norms and possibly initiating change is because of Atwood's utilizing of subtle satirical tone, enough so that we can differentiate and contrast the current norms to the behavior of Nick.
Delete“This woman has been my partner for two weeks. I don’t know what happened to the one before. On a certain day she simply wasn’t there anymore, and this one was there in her place. It isn’t the sort of thing you ask questions about, because the answers are not usually answers you want to know. Anyway there wouldn’t be an answer. ” (19).
ReplyDeleteThis quote by the narrator is aiming at a problem that consists of a handmaid's identity and being voiceless in this society. When the narrator says that “there wouldn’t be an answer” I interpreted this as if their voices/questions would not be heard by society ultimately leaving them voiceless which dehumanizes them from society. The way that handmaid’s can just be replaced by another handmaid also emphasizes that society sees them as objects, like a used out battery being replaced by another. This situation that this society is in reminds me about “The Lottery” and how most of their society was too afraid to speak up, “ The crowd was quiet. A girl whispered, ‘ I hope it’s not Nancy,’ and the sound of the whisper reached the edges of the crowd” (34). Accordingly, the handmaid’s are voiceless in this society in a similar way to the society in “The Lottery”.
Jalen Espeut: "Low status: He hasn't been issued a woman, not even one" (18)
ReplyDeleteThis quote exemplifies/demonstrates how women are seen as a prop, an object.
"Issued a woman" makes it seem like women are just objects. This quote also develops some characterization about Nick, since he hasn't been "issued a woman, not even one", it shows that being with a woman is not his main priority. I also don't understand why not being issued a woman is considered a "low status" for Nick.
The more I think about it, the more it makes me think about how woman are expected to be "issued a man" in a patriarchal society and it shows how the same is expected for men.
I agree with you and think that this quote definitely think that this quote illustrates how women are seen as objects. However I disagree with your point about women not being a mans first priority. I actually this that this quote shows how women are a first priority to men seeing as you can tell a mans class based on weather they "have" a women. You can kind of relate this to money in our society, if you your in a higher class you have money, so making money becomes a priority. In this society the money is women and if your in a higher class you have a women. I like how you bring up the gender expectations in a patriarchal society. I really think this quote is touching on the idea that, even in our society,a persons worth is very much based on how the other gender thinks of them, such as whether they can get a husband of wife, or in this societies case, "be issued" one.
DeleteI also found this passage particularly interesting and I agree with you and believe that to have women "issued" is extremely misogynistic and a great way to tell this society's ideals. However I disagree with you when you say that "not being issued a woman is considered a 'low status' for Nick." I believe that the intended take away was not that as a result of being issued no women Nick is "low class" but instead he was issued no women because he is low class. This adds to the objectification of women because they are being treated like a prize or, as Cookie said, like currency.
Delete“Now we walk along the same street, in red pairs, and no man shouts obscenities at us, speaks to us, touches us. No one whistles. There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.” (24)
ReplyDeleteI found this passage very interesting because it discussed the complex of male attention and the pros and cons of a utopia. From reading this passage, it is evident to me that the speaker, in a way, almost misses the daily annoyances she endured as a woman living in a modern day society. Living life for so long with these constant annoyances, it is hard to adjust to life without them. When the speaker writes, “there is more than one kind of freedom” it made me think about bottom power versus legitimate power, and how this notion has been so far portrayed within the text. The text is a complete allegory for bottom power in our society today, as it harnesses the one thing women are “good for” (their ability to reproduce) and elevates it to an extreme where they are divided up into categories that reflect their abilities. Living in a society where this idea is hammered into these women’s mind, how can they not miss the “freedom to” aspect versus the “freedom from” that they have now.
This passage stood out to me as well. I agree that it is interesting how it discusses the pros and cons of a controlled society, a topic that comes up often throughout the novel. The streets are cleaner and women don’t get harassed, but their lives are no longer in their control. I think the speaker doesn’t necessarily miss the daily annoyances, but instead she is constantly trying to look on the bright side of her situation. This passage overall sheds light on the fact that there will never be such a thing as a utopia; in this example we see there is no freedom in a safe life, and danger in a free life.
DeleteThis passage stuck out to me, as well. The main character seems to take comfort and satisfaction in knowing she still attracts the eyes of men, which is a prime example of “bottom power.” This is the best for her in a bad situation. Yet, when she comments on the whistles and obscenities that used to be shouted at her (what we know today as “cat-calling”), I do not think it is the speaker being optimistic, but rather pointing fun at herself; a compromise in her own moral code. She feels fulfilled from these stares now, and through her writing, it seems unclear if she ever truly hated the inappropriate remarks made by men as she walked by. It is the type of all or nothing society she lives in, the lesser of two evils. Some may say it is better to prohibit the men from making their piggish remarks, while others say to completely demolish the possibility of expressing attraction at all does just as much, if not more, harm.
Delete“Ofglen stops beside me and I know that she too cannot take her eyes off these women. We are fascinated, but also repelled. They seem undressed. It has taken so little time to change our minds about things like this, Then I think: I used to dress like that. That was freedom.” (28)
ReplyDeleteThrough observing what the female tourists were wearing, Offred was able to realize how her ideas of what is offensive by women have changed, thus showing the changing of her view on how a women should be portrayed. Although Offred herself once dressed up like the Japanese tourists, she knows she can’t accept it due to the Handmaid society forcing her to dress another way, in a more “attractive” manner; covered and red. Though, what is it that women were so obedient to changing their views so drastically and quickly? Are people conforming as a result of fear of what authorities might do to them, and who are the authorities? Or is it fear of disacceptance from one another? Ultimately, these dress codes are used to socially control the Gilead society, as everyone behaves the way they are supposed to, and people can’t differentiate between who agrees with the system and who doesn’t. As a result, because one person may not speak their mind, everyone else won't due to fear of people disagreeing with them, forcing the society to conform without say.
I found this quote very interesting and agree with all your observations and analysis about it. To add on to you, I believe this quote highlights how women are often judged by their clothing as well. I find that this might be seen as a lack of sisterhood. For example last year at Beacon, almost all the girls united against the dress code because many recognized that how much or what kind of clothing does not reflect who you are. In this quote, you see the female narrator judging and being "repelled" by another women for her choice of clothing. This shows how society has changed her views of other women which you already said.
Delete“What we are supposed to feel towards these bodies is hatred and scorn. This isn’t what I feel. These bodies hanging on the Wall are time travelers, anachronisms. They’ve come here from the past. What I feel towards them is blankness. What I feel is that I must not feel. What I feel is partly relief, because none of these men is Luke. Luke wasn’t a doctor. Isn’t” (33)
ReplyDeleteShe suppresses her real feelings about the way she is forced to live not just to survive, but because she still holds onto the hope that Luke is alive. This hope is her main driving force, the only reason she follows the rules of the dystopian society she lives in. She allows herself to be diminished into nothing more than an item, an object used by society to create more children, all because she still has hope that her past life has not been completely destroyed. The bodies have no effect on her because her perspective has been shifted by society to view them as ordinary. She only cares about Luke, and if he is one of those bodies. As long as he is not dead, she is capable of believing that her life will get better, and that is what keeps her going.
I agree with most everything you have said except that the bodies have no effect on her. I think that they do have an effect on her. She says, “What I feel is that I must not feel.” This shows that she is forcing herself into a state of desolation which she does by suppressing her feelings. She also says that, “These bodies hanging on the Wall are time travelers.” Time travelers are generally free to go where they want and are not limited by anything, not even time itself. This signifies that she thinks that the people who once occupied the bodies hanging on the Wall are better off than her because they are free in a sense due to their nonexistence.
Delete“The interpreter turns back to the group, chatters at them in staccato. I know what he’ll be saying, I know the line. He’ll be telling them that the women here have different customs, that to stare at them through the lens of a camera is, for them, an experience of violation” (29).
ReplyDeleteWhen the main character of The Handmaid’s Tale comes in contact with a translator from Japan, she refuses the offer to have her picture taken, well aware of what he will tell them in turn. This remark is similar to that in a book entitled The Interpreter of Maladies, a collection of short stories commenting on American and Indian culture. In the specific story “The Interpreter of Maladies,” an American family visits India, ignorant or rather aloof to the customs and ways of life in the foreign land, in almost a disrespectful manner. The Indian interpreter, speaking both English and the native language, develops an odd relationship with the American mother; one of one-sided understanding. This can be seen here, when the main character is well aware of how the interpreter, lacking empathy, will make his remark, but not thinking about her own personal opinion on the matter. Would she herself mind being photographed, if it were not for the Eye of the rules of the society she lives in? In a time before, had she found herself in the other position, finger balanced on the button of a camera, the shutter echoing in her ears? Is she jealous of the tourists, or of the freedom to be photographed itself? Each question arrives and flees, unanswered, as the reader has no sense of the reaction; whether it be embarrassment or being regarded with contempt; much like the reader has no sense of the Interpreter’s reaction in the other tale.
“I open the front gate and close it behind me, looking down but not back. The sidewalk is red brick. This the landscape I focus on, a field of oblongs, gently undulating where the earth beneath has buckled, from decade after decade of winter frost. The color of the bricks is old, yet fresh and clear. Sidewalks are kept much cleaner than they used to be.”
ReplyDeleteThe motif of the color red has been brought up quite a few times throughout the book already. The color read is the color that the handmaids dress in. It is also a color that is associated with fertility as well as shame, like the Scarlet Letter. In this passage, the main character is describing the scene she sees around her, and points out the brick path. She mentions that the brick has been covered up with snow, and frost, and only now is she able to see the true color. This could represent everything in her life coming to the surface. And how all of the things that she is experiencing now is just a more extreme version of her life before.In a way, not everything that is occurring now is a complete surprise .
I noticed the same thing and I agree that the color red is very symbolic and is a motif in the book so far. The color red is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Since one of the main themes of this book is religion, maybe red can also demonstrate the evil and the danger upon her. The frost covering up the brick can show how it is covering up the evil and danger underneath.
Delete"I'm remembering my feet and what I used to where on them. Sometimes it was shoes for running, with cushioned soles and breathing holes and florescent fabric that reflected light in the darkness.” (24)
ReplyDeleteClothing is clearly an important element of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” From every social class and job having their own uniform, to the fact that clothing was used in the beginning of the novel, as discussed in class, clothing shows women gaining rights (3). I believe that clothing is becoming a noteworthy motif and its significance is much more than meets the eye. I believe that the description of the shoes on page 24, including that the shoes had “cushioned soles and breathing holes,” symbolizes that she, along with other women, used to be comfortable and able to speak their minds, but now they cannot. I also think that the fact that her shoes are “florescent” show that back in the time she is remembering individuality was celebrated as opposed to now where everyone with the same job wears the same clothing in the same color. This description clearly has a more figurative meaning and I think this analysis is further supported by the fact that other stories written to make readers question patriarchy, such as “The Renegade” by Shirley Jackson and “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, use breathing or the lack there of as symbolism for being able to speak their mind.
“I look at one red smile. The red of the smile is the same as the red of the tulips in Serena Joy’s garden, towards the base of the flowers where they are beginning to heal… The tulip is not a reason for disbelief in the hanged man, or vice versa. Each thing is valid and really there… I put a lot of effort into making such distinctions… I need to be very clear, in my own mind.”
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that Margaret Atwood uses the color red as symbol throughout the novel. This quote is significant because although the color red has been mentioned many times before, this is the first time the author connects two things that share this trait. Flowers tend to symbolize beauty, life, delicacy, and happiness while blood tends to symbolize violence, death, tragedy, and sadness. How can the color red be used to connect the flowers in Serena Joy’s garden to the blood of the sack, two things that tend to symbolize opposite ideas? Perhaps, because the flowers are in Serena Joy’s garden and she has thus far been described as a despot, the flowers symbolize the same thing as the blood.
The quote I am referencing is on page 50 in my version of the book.
Delete"It's an event, a small defiance of rule, so small as to be undetectable, but such moments are the rewards I hold out for myself, like the candy I hoarded as a child, at the back of a drawer. Such moments are possibilities, tiny peepholes. - page 21
ReplyDeleteA connection I made to this passage is from our recent lessons in English about feminism. In Jury of her Peers the ladies don't give the men the evidence which we have defined it as an act of defiance against the men in order to save Minnie foster. In comparison to this text ,being able to defy the men gives them a sense of loyalty, while in this passage it gives the main character joy and hope looking forward into the future. In the line "Such moments are possible" shows that the main character believes many chances to be defiant can come. The defiance they are contributing to is against men and gender norms.
DeleteI agree, but also this quote reminds me of the Lottery because while she looks to him for a connection, he turns away out of fear. It’s sort of like how the villager continued the cruel tradition of stoning people to death because they are to scared to change. Some of the townspeople mention how other places have stopped and Mr. White ends the notation with his response. The way this main character looks to this man and the Marthas for any kind of connection is similar to how Ms. Hutchinson looked to her neighbors to understand how this tradition is wrong, but like they did, he just turned his head.
“We aren’t allowed to go there except in twos. This is supposed to be for our protection, though the notion is absurd: we are well protected already. The truth is she is my spy, and I am hers. If either of us slips through the net because of something that happens on one of our daily walks, the other will be accountable” (19).
ReplyDeleteI interpreted this quote to be intentionally included by the author to highlight the lack of sisterhood or friendship in a dystopian society. Despite the meaning of this quote on its surface, I re-read it and tried to contemplate the effect of it – can this quote possibly foreshadow a larger idea or event in the long-term? Then I realized that this quote provides a notable tone of satire for the reader and this lack of solidity plays a role in their interpretation of this society, and can even foreshadow a larger event. I personally sensed that the utilizing of this satire was to emphasize the ridiculous standards for women or anyone in this society, possibly undermining them and foreshadowing the purpose of Nick, as he is a newly introduced character that is notably quite rebellious to the expectations of this society.
"He blushes. His face is long and mournful, like a sheep's, but with large full eyes of a dog, spaniel not terrier. His skin is pale and looks unwholesome tender, like the skin under a scab. Nevertheless, I think of placing my hand on it, this exposed face. He is the one who turns away."
ReplyDeleteThis part really stood out to me for a number a reasons. Firstly, it shows how the power dynamic in this society is not just in favor of the men, but only in favor of the men who are at the top. The way that he turns away from her and stops this small act of defiance shows how the fear inflicted on him is so great he might even be more scared than the women since she is willing to go against this government but he insists on keeping it this way. Also, the way she describes him does not make him seem as a very strong person showing how in fact not all of the men are powerful (like this guard) but they try to seem stronger than what they actually are. Like when she said his face is like a sheep; a very soft and helpless animal but his eyes are a like a dog's; a very alert animal in most cases. It's obvious he tries to use his eyes to seem more powerful but it is obvious he is more weak than even the women because he blushes when he makes eye contact with her. Also, the way she says that his eyes of a pretty small and weak dog shows how she can see right through him and his weaknesses.
"I open the front gate and close it behind me, looking down but not back. The sidewalk is red brick. That is the landscape I focus on, a field of oblongs, gently undulating where the earth beneath has buckled, from decade after decade of winter frost. The color of the bricks is old, yet fresh and clear. Sidewalks are kept much cleaner than they used to be." (18)
ReplyDeleteSince this is in the main characters mind i think that this is a sign of maybe some defiance from the character in the future.After reading this passage, what i took from it was that Ofred feels as if her surroundings represent woman, that yes they where put in new clothing or new red brick for the roads but it doesnt change who they are as people and the experiences that make them, just like the landscape cant be changed just byputting new brick on top and keeping everything in order.
"I open the front gate and close it behind me, looking down but not back. The sidewalk is red brick. That is the landscape I focus on, a field of oblongs, gently undulating where the earth beneath has buckled, from decade after decade of winter frost. The color of the bricks is old, yet fresh and clear. Sidewalks are kept much cleaner than they used to be." (18)
DeleteSince this is in the main characters mind i think that this is a sign of maybe some defiance from the character in the future.After reading this passage, what i took from it was that Ofred feels as if her surroundings represent woman, that yes they where put in new clothing or new red brick for the roads but it doesn't change who they are as people and the experiences that make them, just like the landscape cant be changed just by putting new brick on top and keeping everything in order.
“It has rained during the night; the grass to either side is damp, the air humid. Here and there are worms, evidence of the fertility of the soil, caught by the sun, half dead; flexible and pink, like lips.”
ReplyDeleteThe main character relates dying, mushy worms to lips which goes to show just how much romance has been lost. In this society love is half dead worm dying in the sun. She even goes to mention the fertility of the soil, because that is all that is important, her fertility. The society wants her to live without lust or romance, but still having plenty of babies. She and the soil are rated upon there fertility because within the bounds of this society she is dirt. They do not care about her wellbeing or happiness, only that she does her job. The way she compares societies standards to dirt and dying worms also shows her lack of respect for this way of life. She does not want to be living this way, but sees no good way out.
page 17 (on cabo time, sorry about the two hour difference, is 9:43 is cabo)
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