Author: Margaret Atwood
Page Number: 311 Pages
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Anchor Books
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Book Number of 2018: 56 of 60
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now…
“Things can change so quickly, buildings can be torn down or turned into something else, it’s hard to keep them straight in your mind the way they used to be” (165). Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Taleis a dystopian novel about a handmaid immersed in a world where everything has changed. Offred’s world has been flipped upside down when a religious group takes over the country and enforces their own regime. Through Offred’s eyes, readers learn how difficult the transition has been, but also, how quickly things can change.
ThroughoutThe Handmaid’s Tale, readers learn the importance of words – not only their influence but also, their power. “If it’s a story I’m telling, then I have control over the ending” (39). Up until now, Offred has taken advantage of language, words, reading, and other forms of using vocabulary. She realizes how she has neglected language and acknowledges the lack of opportunity now. Throughout the story, Offred has the opportunity to use words as her chance at freedom. While playing Scrabble and clinging to the only words she has a chance to hear, Offred shows that words have power, and without the chance to use these words, people do not realize their relevance.
Another key part of Atwood’s novel is point of view. The point of view is told through Offred’s eyes, first person point of view, and also in present tense. Both of these aspects of the point of view come into play in the novel because readers only see others through Offred’s viewpoint. Due to her first-person narrative, readers see people, such as Serena Joy and the commander, as evil, but if the tables were turned, readers might view others in a different light. Also, Atwood’s use of present tense pulls readers in as Offred shares her life’s story. Through the use of present tense, readers are kept on the edge of their seat throughout the entire story. If the novel had been written in past tense, readers would have known upfront Offred’s future instead of questioning her fate at every turn. Therefore, the point of view helped engage readers in this tale.
“If its a story I’m telling, then I have control over the ending” (39).”
“It was our hands that were supposed to be full, of the future; which could be held but not seen” (47).”
“We lived in the gaps between the stories” (57).
“It’s the choice that terrifies me. A way out, salvation” (61).
“I don’t want to look at something that determines me so completely” (63).
“A thing is valued, she says, only if it is rare and hard to get. We want you to be valued, girls” (114).”
“Already we were losing the taste for freedom, already we were finding these walls secure” (133).
“Things can change so quickly, buildings can be torn down or turned into something else, it’s hard to keep them straight in your mind the way they used to be” (165).
“That’s one of the things they do. They force you to kill, within yourself” (193).”
Rader of the Books 