The past

We often read about the past and we get to see how Offred compares her freedom, happiness, society to now and then. I think Offred has the need to keep the past alive and real in her head, because she is afraid that one day she will not remeber anymore. And she is afraid of being "brainwashed" into this new world and not know any better. She wants to remeber that she knows better and that her life in fact did have happiness and her spirit was free once upon a time. She is one of those strong characters, the one who wants to hold on to her identity when everyone else lets go. She is the character who will play along, but secretly is a rebel and thinks of a way out of her situation every day. She thinks of the past and her friends and family, that is usually what keeps her on earth. She hopes to one day be reunited with her family and see her husband and child once again. The past is like a resource for her. The past reminds her of how her world once looked like and maybe it could look like that once again. 

Chapter 5 quotes

"Such freedom now seems almost weightless." (Pg. 33)

"I think about having such control." (Pg. 34)

"In the day of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from." (Pg. 34)

"We were a society dying, said Aunt Lydia, of too much choice." (Pg. 35.)

Disagreements

I noticed that some people like the new system and defend it when they feel threatened. Some people believe they are just "doing their job" when there are complications and the guards kill people. Some people think otherwise, for example they may think the guards take to harsh measurments or simply that this whole new system is wrong. Rita says "nothing safer than dead" which I believe she could have meant two things by;

1. Literally, there is nothing safer in this world than if you were dead.
2. I think she also meant sarcastically because she is angry with the system and she thinks they jump to conclusions. In context, Rita's reply to Cora could be seen as a snap back.

Chapter 4 quotes

"The truth is that she is my spy as I am hers." (Pg. 29)

"She may be a real believer, a Handmaid in more than name. I can't take the risk" (pg 29)

These quotes suggest how there might be rebells among the woman and how there are believers and other who are just Handmais by name but not by spirit. I think that this means that some people have adapted, whereas some pretend to have. This also shows, Offred, who considers other Handmais a threat, can't trust people. She think twice before speaking and she needs to make sure she trust the right people with her rebelious secret.

Night (Unit 3)

In this unit there is only 1 chapter, which contains constant flashbacks. The entire chapter is like a dream, flashbacks to different places and times in the past life of Offred. The point is that she is alone at night and she can do whatever she wants, this time of day is all hers. She can say and think whatever she wants. Her first flashback is about Moira, her friend from collage. The second one is of her mother and how they threw magazines into the fire which was in a park. 

This chapter shows the lonliness Offred feels as well as the sadness. She says "I would like to believe this is a story I'm tellling." (pg. 49) when in fact she is recalling memories, which are painful.

In this section of the story I think we get to know more about Offred's mental state. As a Handmaid I think she is very lonely becuase she is not allowed any interactions with other people other than the little she gets from walking with other Handmaids and speaking briefly with the Marthas in her household.

This photo I chose due to the color, background and the path. I think this image shows in so many ways how Handmais' live. This especially applies to Offred who is at the end of her path. The path which the person stand on is representing the only path which Handmais can go, ,however it only leads to a sea of emptiness. The sea itself represent the endless lonesome, as the sea goes on forever, and the width represents just how lonely you can be. 

Chapter 3 Quotes

"From a distance it looks like peace." (Pg. 22)

"Maybe it's just something to keep the Wives busy, to give them a sense of purpose." (Pg. 23)

"She wanted me to feel that I could not come into the house unless she said so. There is push and shove, these days, over such toeholds. " (Pg. 23)

"But if I get trouble, I'll give trouble back." (Pg. 25)

Handmaid

Handmaids are not to speak with anyone who does not speak to them first. They should stay out of their Commanders' way as well as the Commanders' Wife. If they stumble upon these two important people, they are not to look at them or speak without permission. They do however speak freely with the Martha's, within reason. Offred has a lot of opinions on how the society is run and she is curious to learn, however the system will not let her learn any new knowledge. "It's the only thing they have given me to read. If I were caught doing it, would it count?" This shows they are not allowed to read, they don't need to count anything, they cannot read news papers etc. The goal is to keep them in the dark about how it really looks like in thie horrific society they live in. 

The Handmaid's role is to reproduce as well as going shopping for the Martha's. These are very limited chourse which means they end up having little to do. Offred goes on a hunt in her room to find anything which could be interesting. Another day she sits on the window seat and look out the window to see all which happens outside. As you can see, it is a role which requires little job. However if a Handmaid fails to bare a child at her third home, she will be sent to die of radiation or hanged at the Wall. 

The dress of the Handmaid is plain and simple. It is red and long down to the ankles. It covers arms, legs and neck. For the neck they use "white wings" which is to prevent her from seeing anyone else's face and others from seeing hers. Her dress looks the same all year around, however in the summer they have a fresher fabric. The image and feel the dress gives Offred is "a Sister, dipped in blood" (pg. 19)

Social classes/Characters

Commander- These people are the weathy ones. They have all they need and they often get what they want. These men are the head of the household. They however do not do very much. They are given a Handmaid and Martha as a minimum. Their wives, the Wife, is in control of these maids and make sure they do as they are told. The commander's wife does rarely anything other than sit in her garden. Having a garden gives "something for them to order and maintain and care for" (Pg. 22)

Guard- These are just guards which were stationed at the training center outside the sleeping courters. They are not supposed to come in unless requested. 

Angle- This is another type of guard who stands outside of the buildings and guard the property. Each commander seems to have one as well as other servants who maintain their house, cars etc. 

Martha- This is the role which takes care of the house hold. Martha's cook, clean and do the laundry. They would be like a maid if we compare to todays' society. 

Handmaid- These are woman who are only here to reproduce. This system made sure that all woman who could reproduce, did it. They know who can reproduce by looking if they had a child in their previous years. Handmaid's also go shopping for groceries, this is also the only outside contact they get, aside from doctor visits once a month. Handmaid's have 3 chances to bare a child.

Eye- This is practically a spy for the government. An Eye blends in with the crowd making it harder for others to know when an Eye is present. An Eye is allowed to take action if he sees a woman doing anything out of order. An Eye can also be any of the guard positions as that is how they blend in. 

Offred once thought Nick, who works for her current Commander, was an Eye. 

Econowife- This is a housewife who carries both the Handmaid's role as well as the Martha's. These are the woman who have been given the luxury of the little freedom they are granted.

Aunts- These are the woman who train the girls in the training center. 

Chapter 2 Quotes

"Waste not, want not. I am not being wasted. Why do I want?" (Pg. 17)

"Like other things now, thoughts must be rationed."(Pg. 17)

"I am alive, I live, I breathe" (Pg. 18)

"I refuse to say my" (Pg. 18)

"A sister dipped in blood." (Pg. 19)

Offred's family

Through out the novel we get the impression that Offred had a family before the government took her away. I believe that she had a husband, called Luke, and a daughter who I presume was around four or five years old when they parted. In her flashbacks we notice the girl is at a young age as she describes the daughter "was sitting in the little baby seats they had then, in supermarket carts" (pg. 73). This gives me the impression that the daughter must have been younger than three.

In chapter 12 we can estimate the age of the little girl, whose name we still do not know. Offred first says "Maybe I do think of her as a ghost, the ghost of a dead girl, a little girl who died when she was five." (Pg. 74) She then continues and says "Eight, she must be now." (Pg. 74)

Offred herself is "thirty-three years old" (pg. 153) and she has brown hair. She is five feet and seven inches without shoes on.

As for Luke and their daughter we have no visual. 

Suicide

There are many scenarios which suggests suicide attempts are made in this new society. This is likely due to the system which brings uprising and disagreements between many people. There are many reasons to dislike this system. For one; there are families taken away from the woman. Secondly; the freedom they used to know is no longer available. Thirdly; the rights we are used to, the things we take for granted, imagine all that being taken away. This is why in general it is a hard system to adapt to. This system is to make sure all things are carried out without complaint and with a systamatic order. The different roles are for control and for the people to know the government rules and either you go along with it or you leave.

Due to not accepting or adapting, the girls could think to go to extrems to escape this horrific system. This image of suicide is clearly portrayed in the first few chapters where we understand what Offred attempts to actually reveal when she describes the setting of her room. Note!: this room she does not call her own as she does not like to say anything is hers in the house of her Commander.

Quotes which suggest suicide;

"They've removed anything you can tie a rope to." (Pg. 17)

"I know why there is no glass, in front of the watercolor picture of blue irises, and why the window only opens partly and why the glass in it is shatterproof." (Pg. 17)

"It isn't running away they're afraid of. We wouldn't get far. It's those other escapes, the ones you can open in yourself, given a cutting edge." (Pg. 18)

"There were incidents in the bathrooms at first; there were cuttings, drownings." (Pg. 72)

Shopping (Unit 2)

This unit includes chapters 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in which we follow Offred in her daily life as a Handmaid. Offred takes us on a past ride where she explains how she came to be with the Commander she is with now. We learn that she is running out of time as there will be three chances for her to give the commander a child or she will be taken away from her role and die off slowly by radiation or be taken to "the wall" and get shot. She is now at her last chance. 

In this unit we also see more of the society and we realize the dangers of this new system as well as the problems the system creates. There are roles on who can do what and when. This is a problem for the woman who do not accept or agree to this ruling. There are woman who thinks the system is terrible and there are often mistakes made which makes them frightened. The woman are powerless, they do not make their own decisions, they cannot talk with each other other than small talk, they are not allowed to do this and that, which makes them incapable which also means they feel a fear of getting in the way or doing something out of order and stepping over the line, which will get you killed. The fear of always needing to limit yourself, gives the reader a view into how the lives of woman could look like in a destopian world. Living in fear, living with extrem rules and not being able to decide your own fate. 

In this unit we see how Offred interacts with other people both in her Handmais group but also with people out of her league. Offred lives with a Commander and his wife who are basically her dictators, whom she should not speak with or look at unless asked to. She also lives with two Marthas in the house as well as a Guard; Nick. It is interesting to see the way she lives her life and the way she interacts differently with the different social classes. 

Chapter 1 Quotes

"We yearned for the future" (pg 13; line 22)

"The lights were turned down but not out." (pg 13; line 28)

The quote that stood out for me was 

"The Angles stood outside it with their backs to us" (pg. 14; line 9) . 

This is literally what is happening in the novel as the Angles are a variation of guards. However if you think of it metaphorically it could reflect the feeling of abandonment and feeling helpless. 

Night (Unit 1)

In the first chapter of The Handmaid's Tale, we see Offred; one of the Handmaids, share her view of the surroundings in the training center where the role of a Handmais is trained into the system of the woman. The training center appears to be in an old school building as she describes the sleeping courters as a room that "had once been the gymnasium" (pg 13; line 1). She describes the set up of the room as an army camp. The beds are set up in rows and there is enough space in-between so that the future Handmaids cannot talk to each other as talking has become a right they do not have. In just a couple of pages into the novel, we are presented with a clear contrast between past and present; joy and depression. The joy and life which used to take place in the gymnasium is now replaced with the quiet and sullen faces of these Handmaids. I believe there is a metaphore of how the school building represents the woman. Offred describes the equipment and fun which used to be apart of the gymnasium, this can be intepret as the woman who are still there but all which shape who they once were, has vanished.

There are a few dominant imageries, which are all dark and depressing. You can see a clear feeling of intrappment and being captured, it almost seems like a prison. There is an image of slavery and following orders. The clear image of structure and obedience is presented with the different roles of the Angles, Guards and the way they place the girls etc.