The Handmaid's tale Summary of Chapter 1-10
- Created by: lmao.disposable.loser
- Created on: 03-12-16 18:53
Chapter 1
- Narrator (Audodiegetic) called Offred
+ Red – Danger
+ Belongs to Fred, no name. Shows they are nothing more than people that provide babies and have sex.
- Sleeps in army cots
+ Treated like children
+ Oppressed
+ Forbidden to speak aloud
- Introduced to character ‘Aunt Sara’ ‘ Aunt Elizabeth’
+ Electric cattle prods hanging from leather belts.
1) Dehumanizing – “Cattle” – Noun.
- Allowed to walk outside.
+ Walks in two
1) Biblical imagery. (Noah’s Ark)
+ Basic human right
+ Monitoring armed officers called ‘angels’
1) Ironic as they are the furthest from angelic.
2) Themes of voyeurism
+ Chain – link fence topped with barbed wire
1) Being corralled – dehumanizing
2) Eliminated any chance of escaping.
- Speaks about surroundings/memories in depth
+ Holds onto her memories as they are the only things that are hers.
+ Her surroundings are the only things she has left to think about.
Chapter 2
- Change in scene// goes from past to present tense.
- Now in a room, with no glass.
+ To prevent self-harm/suicide as they are needed to provide babies.
+ Offred must’ve had thoughts of escaping/self-harm/suicidal ideology to find out that it’s impossible.
- Shatterproof window that doesn’t open completely.
- Privilege not prison.
+ Suggests women aren’t worthy of having a home and should feel lucky that they are allowed to be there.
+ Signs of brainwashing.
- Dresses in red
+ Connotations of danger and fertility (motif throughout novel)
- Offred wants someone to talk to but Martha’s are not to form relationships with handmaids.
- Images for currency
+ By not teaching/encouraging them to read, they won’t be able to become intelligent enough to escape.
Chapter 3
- Commander’s wife’s garden.
+ Symbol for her desire to care and look after something.
1) Theme of fertility
- Commander’s wife, like all wives, constantly knits.
+ Offred is suspicious as to whether they get used or it they’re just used to give the wives a sense of purpose.
- She reminisces on the first time meeting the commander’s wife.
+ Rebellious as she smokes a black-market cigarette.
+ The commander will always be hers as that’s what she fought for.
+ Used to be a lead soprano from Growing Souls Gospel Hour, a religious program from Offred’s childhood.
1) Contrast between her former…
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