Project Dystopia - Handmaid’s Tale by Joey Lo https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz Handmaid’s Tale en-us 2019-12-09 17:11:31 UTC 2025-12-11 20:41:15 UTC hello@padlet.com TONE -- Joey jlo201 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721077
  • Dismal:
    • "Once I'd merely hated her...But now...the hatred was no longer pure and simple" (p. 161) 
    • "What I feel towards them is blankness. What I feel is that I must not feel. " (p. 33) 


    • Jubilant:
      • "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." (p. 162) 
      • "The feeling is voluptuous. This is freedom, an eyeblink of it." (p. 139) 
      • "I feel ridiculously happy." (p. 73) 


    • Relaxing:
      • "I walk with Ofglen along the summer street. It's warm, humid; this would have been sundress-and-sandals weather" (p. 164)
      •  "I step into the water, lie down, let it hold me. The water is soft as hands. I close my eyes" (p. 63) 


    Interpretation: These contradicting tones express how Gilead's oppressive power structures and laws drain Offred of her happiness and autonomy, but her personal interactions with others and moments of solitude restore a sense of life and offer her momentary respite from the bleakness of life with emotions ranging from joy to vindication.

    Application: 
    There are benefits to both spending time with others and alone: 


    ]]>     2019-12-09 17:11:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721077     SYNTAX — Bronwyn jlo201 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721079 Succinct: 
    - The chapters are composed as if she is narrating her day to a second party, including the events as they happen accompanied with her own commentary. 
    - "This is what I do when I'm back in my room...I look for the pat of butter, in the toe of my right shoe, where I hid it after dinner." (Pg.96)

    Convoluted:
    - She takes negligible objects from her day and ruminates on its every detail, no matter how scant it may be and finds ways to connect it to herself.
    - "The minimalist life. Pleasure is an egg, blessings that can be counted, on the fingers of one hand...If I have an egg, what more can I want?" (Pg. 110-111)

    Disjointed:
    - She takes the very objects that she makes connections with and begins comparing others to it in addition.
    - "May the Lord open, Janine would have replied, tonelessly, in her transparent voice, her voice of raw egg white."  (Pg 129)                                                                                                                                                                 ]]>     2019-12-09 17:11:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721079     DICTION -- Joey jlo201 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721080
    • Patterns: nostalgic, explicit, observant, resigned, uncomfortable 
      • "She looked disgusting: weak, squirmy, blotchy, pink, like a newborn mouse." (p. 72) 
      • "...a nostalgic smell. It reminds me of other kitchens, kitchens that were mine. It smells of mothers...It smells of me, in former times, when I was a mother" (p. 47)
      • "I try not to think too much...There's a lot that doesn't bear thinking about." (p. 9) 
      • "...her rings bit my flesh, pulling my hands back...to make me as uncomfortable as she could" (p. 161) 


    • Turbulent: 
      • "Hysteria. And then a needle, a pill...I shake, I heave, seismic, volcanic, I'll burst." (p. 146)
      • "This is monstrous...Death makes me hungry...to repeat...I am, I am. I am...I want to go to bed, make love, right now. I think of the word relish. I could eat a horse." (p. 281) 
     

    • Dry:
      • "I need hardness, cold, rigidity" (p. 154) 
      • "I walk to the corner and wait. I used to be bad at waiting...I stand...pretending I am a tree." (p. 19) 



    Interpretation: The variety of diction utilized throughout the novel conveys the complexity and nuances of Offred's life and experiences in Gilead as she finds herself forced into uncomfortable situations, lacking control over her body and surroundings, and reminded of her past, where she was once independent and happy. 

    Application: 
    ]]>     2019-12-09 17:11:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721080     MOTIFS — Grace jlo201 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721082 Flower/Garden:

    *Flower is everywhere to find at Commander’s House. Since flowers usually represent love and hope, they can be seen as the way to cover up the sin and ugliness of Gilead.*

    “It’s papered in small blue flowers, forget-me-nots, with curtains to match. (P.62)”
    -forget-me-nots symbolize remembrance. Having forget-me-nots everywhere might remind Offred that she should not forget her past and her identity.

    “....committed on the swelling genitalia of the flowers? The fruiting body. To cut off the seed pods is supposed to make the bulb store energy. (P.153)”
    -Flowers are the sexual organs of the plants, which in this case, represents the fertility of women. In Gilead, only a few women has the power to give birth. For the wifes, they did not have such “privilege”, but each one of them has a garden and takes extra care of the flowers in it. Under their care, flowers are always blooming, while the wifes are aging and losing importance to their husband. As such, flowers here also symbolize the inferior status of women in Gilead.

    Sex:
    *Sex (typically Sexual Violence) is portrayed mostly throughout the book to demonstrate power dynamic.*

    “I enjoy the power; the power of a dog bone, passive but there. I hope they get hard at the sight of us and have got rub themselves against the painted barriers, surreptitiously. (P.22)”
    -here, Atwood uses a seductive language to depict a vivid scene of how the Guardians will respond to her innuendo.
    -this represents under a suppressive society where pornography are prohibited, people’s sexual desires become distorted.
    -this can also interpret as a way that Offred is challenging her society’s sexual dynamics by becoming the one who initiates the sex. (Because in Gilead, it is men who make this kind of rules.)

    “[Luke] doesn’t mind this, I thought. He doesn’t mind it at all. Maybe he even likes it. We are not each other’s, anymore...By the time I could have done that, I was afraid to. I couldn’t afford to lose you. (P.182)”
    -We can see that in Offred’s society, men are usually depicted as more powerful figure as they are one who take control during the sex.
    -However, many women like Offred are reluctant to say “stop” to this violence because they are too afraid to lose their men, which leads men to always be the one in charge.
    -This dynamic is persisted even before the formation of Gilead.

    Eyes:
    *The unknown power infiltrates every aspects of the society.*

    “Soothing to the eye, the eyes, the Eyes, for that’s who this show is for. (P.212)”
    -At Gilead, another threatening and yet most unknown force comes from the Eyes. The Eyes spied on every aspect of people’s life. However, people do not know the identity of these Eyes. 
    -The Eyes introduce the notion of constant suppression from the government. The government is spying on civilians through eyes. 
    -At Gilead, everything people own do not belong to them. Their secrets are exposed, which eliminates every single bits of freedom. 

    ]]>     2019-12-09 17:11:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721082     Joint Essay jlo201 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721085 https://docs.google.com/document/d/10_o3BglL2c2_j4dNuTtFk7qTk96aWViofV_VR9Chxyo]]> 2019-12-09 17:11:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721085 LITERARY DEVICES - Sophia jlo201 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721088 Symbolism:
    - the colors worn by the different factions reiterated throughout the novel (red, green, black, blue, brown)
    - “There are several umbrellas in it: black, for the Commander, blue, for the Commander’s Wife, and the one assigned to me, which is red” (9).

    Metaphor:
    - includes analogies to better emphasize a handmaids stance and purpose within society 
    - “We are containers, it’s only the inside of our bodies that are important” (96).

    Simile:
    - Similar to the function of visual imagery in that, it is utilized to illustrate the scene to the reader, making them feel like they are a part of it, feeling what the character feels. 
    - “While I’m eating the second egg,  I hear the siren, at a great distance at first, winding its way towards me among the large bourses and clipped lawns, a thin sound like the hum of an insect; then nearing, opening out, like a flower of sound opening, into a trumpet” (111).


    ]]>     2019-12-09 17:11:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721088     SETTING - Sophia jlo201 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721090 The oppressed society they live in is present throughout the entire book. Fertile women are forced to do things against their will and keep quiet about it. They can’t speak up which relates to our society in which women face sexual assault and are told it is their fault. They feel inferior and helpless against the power of men .


    Symbolism - Color
    - red: Handmaids = highlights their fertility through the reference of blood and implies their position of sin within the society
    - blue: Wives = reinforces their high class status
    - green: Marthas = color symbolizes health and care, which depicts a Martha’s job: housekeeper or caretaker
    - brown: Aunt = an “army” color showing authority but also obedience to the rules
    - black: Commander = conveys authority and fear’

    “Everything except the wings around my face is red: the color of blood, which defines us. The skirt is ankle-length, full, gathered to a flat yoke that extends over the breasts” (8).

    “There are several umbrellas in it: black, for the Commander, blue, for the Commander’s Wife, and the one assignment to me, which is red” (9).





    ]]>     2019-12-09 17:11:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721090     THEMES — Grace jlo201 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721091 Feminism v. Conservatism:
    *In the novel, Atwood explores the tension between radical feminism and extreme conservatism.*

    “    [Serena Joy] speeches were about the sanctity of the home, about how women should stay home (p.45).” 
    “Mother, I think. Wherever you may be. Can you hear me? You wanted a women’s culture. Well, now there is one. It isn’t what you meant, but it exists. Be thankful for small mercies (p.127)” 
    -Gilead is a paradoxical society where two extreme and opposite ideas exists.
    -Serena Joy advocates conservatism, a call for women to come back to household. Her view represents the patriarchal Gilead. Offred mom represents radical feminism who envisioned women will live tougher there without the need of women. Ironically, this portion of society also exists, as women lives with other women, and male figures have less significance in the novel.

    Manipulation v. Insensitivity

    *The reason why a totalitarian society first formed is because of people’s indifference. The totalitarian society will gradually desensitize people as time passes.*

    “Ordinary, said Aunt Lydia, is what you are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary (p.33).”
    -Aunt Lydia is emphasizing that the suppression will desensitize people, turning people into the puppets.
    “We thought she was funny. or Luke thought she was funny. I only pretended to think so. Really she was threatening. She was in earnest (p.46).”
    -By the time Serena Joy is spreading her conservatism views, Luke teases it off, thinking it is not a big deal. However, he could never imagines how statuions would evolve. 
     ]]>     2019-12-09 17:11:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721091     IMAGERY — Bronwyn jlo201 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721092 Olfactory:
    - The simplicity of her resources limit her partaking in basic routines, and also have unpleasant carryovers following.
    - "The butter is greasy and it will go rancid and I will smell like old cheese; but at least it's organic, as they used to say."

    Auditory:
    - Living under the strict rules of the household as well as society as a whole, straying from them can be lethal, and silence becomes tedious to maintain when under the pressure.
    - "There's a clink, I must have bumped something." "The door closes behind me, with a little click, cutting the light." (98)

    Kinesthetic:
    - She describes the extent a Handmaid's usefulness through the disregard of their outward wellbeing and concern only being for their insides' welfare. 
    - "The outside can become hard and wrinkled, for all they care, like the shell of a nut."]]>     2019-12-09 17:11:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/421721092     jlo201 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424831370 diction]]> 2019-12-17 02:21:27 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424831370 jlo201 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424832768 tone]]> 2019-12-17 02:27:38 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424832768 Symbolism gzhang20 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424834774 2019-12-17 02:36:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424834774 Theme gzhang20 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424835814 2019-12-17 02:42:33 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424835814 Theme gzhang20 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424835976 2019-12-17 02:43:33 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424835976 Application-Theme gzhang20 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424836938 2019-12-17 02:49:21 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424836938 Motifs gzhang20 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424837430 Talking about Eyes, there are some similarities between the government of Gilead and that of 1984. ]]> 2019-12-17 02:52:44 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424837430 Motifs gzhang20 https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424837887 2019-12-17 02:55:13 UTC https://padlet.com/jlo201/7ulerp0yionz/wish/424837887