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I think another coping mechanism Offred uses is distraction. She will try not to think about what happened to Luke or her daughter, when it may be better for herself to acknowledge that it's likely that they died.

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Through her many visits with the Commander, Offred begins to question why he is doing what he is doing, allowing her these freedoms that were previously so forbidden to her. As she began to dissect this idea she began to realize that in a way gave him some sort of validation as a patriarch, to help, what he seems to have seen, as a helpless woman, in addition to the opportunity of affording himself an inkling of intimacy that might not have been available to him through Joy, at the detrimental possible expense of our protagonist. As these realizations are made he begins to be described as more cruel, ugly, and worn-down looking than what was previously perceived of him.
Comparatively, as she becomes more familiar with Serena Joy and is able to observe her in all her aspects, as a Wife in the company of other Wives, as the woman of the house, as a desiring woman without child, etc. As this goes on the observer gets these very different scenes with Serena showing acceptance, tolerance, and true decency in relation to Offred as has never been seen before when she was depicted as a spiteful, demanding, overbearing woman in the early chapters. Such scenes are those such as the the occurrence in the lawn between her and our protagonist where she talked with her sincerely, allowed her to speak, and even, if I am not mistaken, offered her a picture of her daughter. Although this transaction has its own hidden motives, the single fact that it occurred in this manner is enough to exhibit some type of change in her overall disposition.
Albeit, I have not yet explored the full possible significance of these occurrences, but, I am fully open to input.

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Interestingly, over time, Serena Joy and the Commander begin to change in the eyes of our protagonist in terms of both physical and personality traits respectively. This is mainly because Offred begins to get a better and deeper understanding and familiarity with them outside of simply being her caretakers but as people with their own leanings placed into a role just as she has. 

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Interestingly, over time, Serena Joy and the Commander begin to change in the eyes of our protagonist in terms of both physical and personality traits respectively. This is mainly because Offred begins to get a better and deeper understanding and familiarity with them outside of simply being her caretakers but as people with their own leanings placed into a role just as she has. 

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An example of such a coping mechanism is what she has to do for herself concerning the unknown condition of her post-separation in their new totalitarian world. She cycles through three large possibilities, for which she wholly believes in all three simultaneously: Luke could be alive, he could be in jail, or he could be dead. The coping agent of this otherwise stressful seeming juggle of beliefs is that it keeps his memory of him alive in her, and thus she is able to keep the memory of who she used to be when she was with him alive as well. The reason she would want to do this is that it was a time in which she enjoyed many more freedoms than she has access to now, as well as having an identity to call her own. Therefore, by keeping a significant piece of her past such as her significant other alive in such an interesting way in her mind she is able to secure the remnants of past identity and freedom that she no longer possesses.

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Throughout the novel Offred adopts varied coping methods to deal with the staunch differences and losses that come with the transition from the life she once lived, alongside the life she now holds. Some of which I believe to have caused her more pain and stress than can be assume to be intended.

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Throughout the novel Offred adopts varied coping methods to deal with the staunch differences and losses that come with the transition from the life she once lived, alongside the life she now holds. Some of which I believe to have caused her more pain and stress than can be assume to be intended.

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Although you make a really good point here, I think that it is not exactly right to state that Offred's character is hollow, as a big character trait often repeated in her own prose is the hidden nature of her thoughts. Things she owns are hidden, such as the "pat of butter in [her] right shoe" (Atwood 84-5), and her desires are hidden, as stated through her rejection of possessive pronouns in the beginning: "The door of my room - not my room, I refuse to say my - is not locked" (Atwood 8). All of this is to say that while your extrapolation may be fair based off of the societal context of a name, it contradicts the hidden nature of Offred's thoughts and actions.

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A cool tidbit: Atwood subtly reveals the narrator's name by planting a clue within the first chapter! The last line reads, "In this way, we exchanged names from bed to bed: Alma. Janine. Dolores. Moira. June." (4).

I don't want to spoil anything, but 4 of these girls are referred to by name throughout the novel as the narrator interacts with them. The one she does not interact with is her!

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Good point! The significance of names reminds me of Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Though a name feels like a mere form of identification, it really demonstrates that we are our own people. The fact that Maya's name was derived from a possessive pronoun shows that she was just an object to the people around her. The narrator getting a new name, being forced to dress like all the other handmaids, and being confined to her role as an object shows how she was unable to be her own person, as well.

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Throughout the story the observer finds themselves having to wrestle with keeping track of timelines and what character belongs to which. Such as, in the middle of the main body of text when the Commander and familial unit is praying Atwood jots off to another time, in anecdotal form, and then comes back where the anecdote left off as if time kept flowing. All of which is happening in the main characters head. Therefore, it could either be a metaphorical reference to the true chaos found in their seemingly ordered time or the fact that she can now only 'live' and be free to move from place to place, memory to memory, in her mind because she lives in a world where she has been reduced to a vessel or tool devoid of such abilities of freedom.

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In the beginnings of chapter 17 after the very odd scene where she, is for a lack of better words, stripped of her humanity, and treated as a sex object or a means to an end rather than a being we are provided with an interesting peer into what she as a woman wants, with reference to the significance of a name: "I want to be held and told my name. I want to be valued, in ways that I am not; I want to be more than valuable. I repeat my former name, remind myself of what I once could do, how others saw me" (Atwood 97). A name offers a certain individuality, in that, in society we classify things to give them importance and significance in language. Yet, through such classification, especially for names, identity is built that encompasses everything from how you are seen by others to how you see yourself. Thus, it can be extrapolated that she feels as though she had no identity, and she effectively feels hollow, like a shell of the person she used to be because she is no longer known by her name

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What is in a name? the main character references her old name a lot when she talks about Luke and her now non-existent life. When speaking about her original name she takes much time and gives much weight to her name; therefore, in this story, as well as in general what is the significance of a name if it is nothing more than simply a word?

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This passage means 'Don't let the bastards grind you down.' The person who wrote this likely felt the same way as the narrator... trapped in a life she did not want yet desperately searching for hope. Interestingly, the narrator uses it as a prayer, not knowing what it meant. Atwood's use of irony here both demonstrates how 'in the dark' women were and gives the narrator a loaded rallying call to get herself through the days ahead.

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Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.   Find a translation of this phrase. What does it tell us about the person who etched this statement (aside from knowledge of Latin)?  How does it inspire the narrator?

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Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.   Find a translation of this phrase. What does it tell us about the person who etched this statement (aside from knowledge of Latin)?  How does it inspire the narrator?

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The instance in which Janine was blamed for a gang rape that happened when she was fourteen was particularly jarring (Atwood 81). It's insane how all women are conditioned to blame the victim, including Janine herself. Though, considering this novel was written in 1985, I wonder if Atwood had a special intention to include victim-blaming. This was before the rise of the #MeToo movement and other forms of awareness for survivors, so maybe the author was trying to take a stand on the current culture surrounding sexual assault.

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The deep contrast between past and present narrator demonstrate that she lived through the time when things changed. Knowledgeable of both worlds, she is often ashamed of her past: "Did I really wear bathing suits, at the beach? I did, without thought, among men, without caring that my legs, my arms, my thighs and back were on display, could be seen. Shameful, immodest" (Atwood 72). Despite the shame she holds for her past, I believe the past narrator was much happier because she was free and not objectified. The present narrator is isolated and confined to her role as a mere body, which destroys her from within.

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The narrator makes several references to a different time that she knew prior to the present and much different from her current condition. What impression of do you get of the “pre-narrator” and “present narrator”?

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The narrator makes several references to a different time that she knew prior to the present and much different from her current condition. What impression of do you get of the “pre-narrator” and “present narrator”?

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"I wait, washed,
brushed, fed, like a prize
pig." (Atwood 78).

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Dehumanization and Mistreatment of Women

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Dehumanization and Mistreatment of Women

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I can't remember the specific page number, but I feel that colors play an interesting role in this novel. Specifically, I'm intrigued as to how red is portrayed. For the handmaids, it is the color they wear-- and they are very chaste individuals. However, when they talk about the tourists, their red lipstick is described as something promiscuous.

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Many of this society’s norms are implied through brief but telling details. Select a snippet from these chapters that implies a larger truth about the society.

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Many of this society’s norms are implied through brief but telling details. Select a snippet from these chapters that implies a larger truth about the society.

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Several characters are identified by titles rather than names: Martha.  Aunts. Angels.  Commander. Guardian. Handmaid.  What can you tell about each of these roles in society? What connotations are brought with each title?

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Several characters are identified by titles rather than names: Martha.  Aunts. Angels.  Commander. Guardian. Handmaid.  What can you tell about each of these roles in society? What connotations are brought with each title?

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As with other dystopian novels, the first few chapters of The Handmaid’s Tale are disorienting. From the first three chapters, what can you infer about the world of this story?

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As with other dystopian novels, the first few chapters of The Handmaid’s Tale are disorienting. From the first three chapters, what can you infer about the world of this story?

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Imagery in The Handmaid's Tale (Comment observations of imagery as you see them throughout the novel. Reference page numbers, as well)

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It's a good idea to keep track of things like imagery as you go... a caveat from IB, though, is that "imagery" is a term that's widely used and poorly understood. Not that you should avoid it, but I suggest you always add an adjective before imagery (ie, violent imagery, colorful imagery, natural, mechanistic, etc...)

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2. the connotations definitely show how people are being dehumanized and focused only on their roles. the handmaids are used just for their fertility, as that is what brings them value. while i don't know a lot about the other roles, i can tell they are definitely going to be treated as a mere object by society, with their humanity neglected. through the connotation, it's evident that some roles are more valuable than others, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out!

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It is true that from the first few chapters of the novel the lines to get crossed and things become very confusing. Albeit, understandably, when depicting a dystopian future you are trying to explain a world outside the normal, so of course that will come with a level of difficulty. Although, from what I can gather the world seems to be heavily involved in a polarizing war where different countries have adopted different customs and regulations due to their extreme separation. In this “world” or country people have been subjected to a class system where a select few are the affluent and more free, while others are lower on the food chain and have to sleep in something reminiscent of barracks. To add to this fact, it seems as though women have been set into a somewhat different set of classes or rules. In that, they must wear face coverings, their speech is restricted, and they must in some respects unless they are allowed the opportunity to marry be a servant of some sort. Therefore, from what I can gather, this dystopian world is reminiscent of a situation in which people would be reduced to their role, follow strict guidelines, and become subservient to the powerful few.

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3. I think the part in Ch2 where the main character is getting dressed shows her place in society specifically: "red shoes, flat-heeled to save the spine and not for dancing... everything except the wings around my face is red: the color of blood, which defines us. The skirt is ankle-length... the white wings too are prescribed issue; they are to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen."