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"All around the walls there are bookcases. They're filled with books. Books and books and books, right out in plain view, no locks, no boxes," (Atwood 159).

This quote was the reaction of Offred to the Commander's room. The repetition of "books" represents the different worlds that the Commander and Offred live in despite living under the same roof. While Offred is stuck in her room reminiscing about her old husband or her daughter and reading the word "FAITH" over and over, the Commander has a huge library of books at his disposal. This sharp contrast in of situation between Offred and the Commander truly represents the power structure in Gilead.

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"I felt the commander watching me as aI turned the pages. I knew I was doing something I shouldn't have been doing, and that he was getting pleasure in seeing me do it. ... It didnt feel evil" (157_)
this quote is significant because it marks the reaction when rebelled, not a masked one, but a true one. it proves that the commanders are trapped in this system as well, and touches on their reaction. it also shows how conscious the main character is, she is not focusing as much on the material, but also noting the reaction of the man who is known to abuse power and look down on them, and breaking down that part of this experience.

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“Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. I can't see it in the dark but I trace the tiny scratched writing with the ends of my fingers, as if it’s a code in Braille. It sounds in my head now less like a prayer, more like a command; but to do what?” (Atwood 146).
By repeating this statement, she prevents herself from fully giving into her new life in Gilead. It is an act of rebellion, by directly going against what Gilead stands for and its wishes. By doing so she continues the hidden legacies and secrets between the handmaids, and keeps her hope for a better life alive.

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"Maybe it isn't really about who can own whom, who can do what to whom and get away with it, even as far as death. Maybe it isn't about who can sit and who has to kneel or stand or lie down, legs spread open. Maybe it's about who can do what to whom and be forgiven for it. Never tell me it amounts to the same thing." (Atwood 135) I chose this quote because it speaks to Offred's ideals and the pressures of the society because she identifies forgiveness for something as the most important, above getting away with something. It relates to the time she begins to spend with the commander and Moira attempting to escape, since Moira is an example of getting away with something and the scrabble games are an example of being forgiven for something.

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"He draws away, looks down at me. There's the smile again, the sheepish one. Such candor. 'Not like that,' he says. 'As if you meant it.' He was so sad. That is reconstruction, too." (Atwood 140). This quote is important because it shows how the commander has so much power. He has the power to break any rule that is set in place. He has the power to ask someone of anything. He has the power to like someone that he is forbidden to. Because of his social status and the division of groups in a dystopian society, the commander hold so much power and control.

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"The Marthas don't want to be forced to retire, because who knows where they go? You don't see that many old women around anymore" (Atwood 154).

This quote is important because it highlights the contrast between men and women in Gilead. For men, growing older means more opportunities, more power, and more utility. For women, growing older means they are less useful and have no benefit to society. Therefore, these women are in danger of "disappearing" which is always a threat to women in Gilead.

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"The commander was patient when I hesitated, or asked him for the correct spelling. We can always look it up in the dictionary, he said. He said we. The first time, I realized, he let me win." (156).

This quote marks a transition in the power structure between the commander and Offred. Offred usually thought of the commander and Serena Joy as us vs them, but the commander referred to him and Offred as "we" symbolizing an alliance, or at least a somewhat-equality structure. We can see the true nature of the commander, too, and see insight into his character, as less of a monster, but more of a patient and lonely man.

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"Outside women, they used to be called, in some countries. I am the outside woman. It's my job to provide what is otherwise lacking. Even the Scrabble. It's an absurd as well as ignominious position" (Atwood 163). The quote expands upon the division of people in the world of Gilead and the purpose they serve under their designated role. It complexifies the relationship between the Commander and Offred under their new arrangement.

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"We are for breeding purposes: we aren't concubines, geisha girls, courtesans...nothing entertaining about us" (Atwood 136). The significance of this quote is that it truly shapes our understanding of what a Handmaid is supposed to be like. The author makes sure were know the Handmaids are useless and are only there to bare children.

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"Moira had the power now, she'd been set loose, she'd set herself loose. She was now a loose woman," (Atwood 133).

This quote is important because our active reading last night focused specifically on Moira, and through all of our readings, we have been looking at power. We see both of these things come up as a significant part of this quote, as well as some interesting repetition and grammatical choices made by Atwood.

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In the text Offred notes that, "We are for breeding purposes: we aren't concubines [...] We are two-legged wombs, that's all: sacred vessels" (Atwood 136).

This quote is important due to the fact that it notes how the handmaid's are viewed. The fact that the handmaid's are objectified (in the eyes of Offred) contradicts the fact that Gilead is there for the safety of women; this quote allows readers to question the true purpose behind Gilead's societal system.

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"Maybe none of this is about control. Maybe it isn't really about who can own whom, who can do what to whom and get away with it, even as far as death" (Atwood 135).
I thought that this quote was important because it showed the flaws of Gilead and direct insight to what Gilead is like. Evidently, in Gilead, "control" plays a huge role in how society is structured, and this idea that maybe control, social standings, dominance, etc. isn't what is important was a radical idea.

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"'It's fine,' I say. 'A keeper. A girl.'
Cora smiles at me, a smile that includes." (Atwood 135)

I think this quote is important because it leaves a lot that is not said. The women know the life that this child will have, and that she will never know of the world before Gilead. They feel bad for the girl, but say that it's okay because their society needs more women to reproduce.

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One quote that I thought was interesting was Offred's explanation of an magazine. Offred says "They suggested rejuvenation, pain overcome and transcended, endless love. The real promise in them was immortality" (Atwood 157). This quote was important because it shows how something as simple as a magazine has become a symbol of freedom and rebellion. It also shows how limited and trapped Offred feels since the magazine represents hope.

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"There is something subversive about this garden of Serena's, a sense of buried things bursting upwards, wordlessly, to be heard, though silently" (Atwood 153). This quote is important because it connects to the AR foci of resistance and rebellion where small actions that defy the social norm in Gilead amounts to power that women don't normally have. For Serena, it is her garden and it's symbolism that it holds about silencing voices of women, for Offred it is her quote that she repeats to herself.

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"Also: I now had power over her, of a kind, although she didn't know it. And I enjoyed that. Why pretend? I enjoyed it a lot" (Atwood 162). This passage reveals how Offred somewhat has a rebellious nature. She intends to use her relationship with the Commander as a tool to give her power.

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Offred says, "Live in the present, make the most of it, it's all you got" (Atwood 143). This quote symbolizes the idea of how everyone in Gilead is trying to push the past away, however, a majority of the people are struggling to. For instance, Offred doesn't want to lose her old memories, name, or personality, rather she is forced to.

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"I intend to get out of here" (Atwood 134).  This quote really brings out the Literature of Witness aspect of our active reading because before this, we knew that Offred didn't like Gilead but and we were left to contemplate if she will try to escape, whether it is because Moira does or because she wants to find Luke.  However, because of her new relationship with the commander, leaving might be out of the question because now the commander will probably become angrier if she leaves and also she gets to have some amount of fun and life in her day.

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"This is a reconstruction. All of it is a reconstruction. It's a reconstruction now, in my head, as I lie flat on my single bed rehearsing what I should or shouldn't have said" (Atwood 134). This quote is important because of the repetition of the word, reconstruction. Offred tells her story in a way that she wants to remember it and have in her memory. She hopes that she will escape Gilead one day and "reconstruct" her experiences, so that it doesn't seem as bad as it is. Offred makes excuses for others' rebellious actions and intentions, which is "reconstruction." This allows her to keep her hope in one day getting out of gilead.

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"We are two-legged wombs, that's all: sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices" (Atwood 136).
This quote is important because it shows how handmaids are completely dehumanized and reduced to tools for creating children in this society.

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"But remember that forgiveness too is a power. To beg for it is a power, and to withhold or bestow it is a power, perhaps the greatest" (Atwood 135). I really like this quote because it discusses the powers that Offred feels are still in her control. A lot of times throughout the book Handmaids are presented as helpless objects, but in this passage Offred claims her hope and proves to herself that she still is a powerful being despite the circumstances.