The Handmaid's Tale by Breanna Mcdonald

(From Tobias) Chapter 2, p.19: A Handmaid can't use another person's umbrella

bmcdonald18 — 2018-05-15 15:22:02 UTC

Back cover: "...or sent to die slowly of radiation sickness."

bmcdonald18 — 2018-05-15 15:28:19 UTC

Doesn't seem like a safe place outside.

Ch.2, p.21, par.7: "I take the tokens from Rita's hands. They have pictures on them, of the things they can be exchanged for: twelve eggs, a piece of cheese, a brown thing that's supposed to be a steak."

bmcdonald18 — 2018-05-15 15:29:59 UTC

---Money in THT seems to be fully controlled by the state (the country). You don't even have freedom to choose what you buy with each piece of money.

Role: Aunts. Aunts seem to be law enforcers and instructors for the handmaids.

bmcdonald18 — 2018-05-15 15:37:22 UTC

People: Aunt Sara, Aunt Elizabeth, Aunt Lydia
Dress: Modest & brown. Ch. 1, p. 14: "[They] patrolled; they had electric cattle prods slung from their leather belts."

2018-05-22 13:12:14 UTC

Epigraph: To give some general information in short, like a quote or motto. (Example: Bible)

Socia-cultural: Commander and his wife are on top of the household (class society)
I’m guessing that the Martha’s are last on the list.
And the Handmaid’s are in between the Commander and the Martha’s, because they have to bare children for them, so they’re lower in status, but they’re still important, because the wives are barren.

It looks like society is back in the Dark Ages again, the monarchs are the Commander and his wife and the maids and the Martha’s are the peasants. Instead they don’t rule a kingdom, but a household.

They are against abortion, because a lot of women are unfertile, they call it “God’s plague” because we trash the world with our chemicals, garbage etc.

I don’t really have specific pages for this, because it’s so obvious on every page, when they encounter the Commander’s wife or the Commander himself. It’s actually alllllll over the book.

2018-05-24 12:16:17 UTC

Begin: “ And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel; and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who bath withheld from thee the fruit in the womb. #ew

We slept in what had once been the gymnasium

2018-05-24 12:25:21 UTC

They want re
use it or something

Page number 13. Chapter 1

Chapter 7 p 47

2018-05-24 12:31:18 UTC

“The night is mine, my own time, to do with as I will, as long as I am quiet.”

Chapter 5 p 33

2018-05-24 12:36:12 UTC

In the pictures, museums, model towns are no children.

2018-05-29 12:35:14 UTC

Page 16/ chapter 4
"Blessed be the fruit” she says to me, the accepted greeting among us. “May the lord open”. I awnser the accepted responds.

2018-05-29 12:41:34 UTC

Also page 16/ chapter 4
"The war is going well I hear” she says
"Praise be” I reply
"We’ve been sent good weather” which I receive with joy.

p.33 there are no lawyers and the university is closede, people can't defent themselves. this is unacceptable because people can't defend themselves.

bmcdonald18 — 2018-05-31 12:32:27 UTC

p.27 Nick can't have a wife because his status is too low. This is also unacceptable because relationships should be based on love not status.

bmcdonald18 — 2018-05-31 12:40:30 UTC

p.29 They aren't allowed to go there alone except in pairs or more, because it's for their protection but they are already safe.

Not many Things are plastic, any more

2018-06-05 12:25:33 UTC

Plastic is a big problem if we talk about enviromental, so it's nice to hear that there isn't many plastic anymore

Page 37 chapter 5

bmcdonald18 — 2018-10-31 14:26:44 UTC

1. What is it? Explanation

2. What are the types? Details

3. Draw a picture / Find & cite a famous example

1. The plot is how the author makes events to develop his basic idea
2. Introduction - The beginning of the story where the characters and the setting is revealed
Rising Action - This is where the events in the story become complicated and the conflict in the story is revealed (events between the introduction and climax)
Climax - This is the highest point of interest and the turning point of the story. The reader wonders what will happen next; will the conflict be resolved or not?
Falling action - The events and complications begin to resolve themselves. The reader knows what has happened next and if the conflict was resolved or not (events between climax and denouement)
Denouement - This is the final outcome or untangling of events in the story.

BOBBIE

bmcdonald18 — 2021-01-14 12:01:58 UTC

ALEX

bmcdonald18 — 2021-01-14 12:02:04 UTC

MARC

bmcdonald18 — 2021-01-14 12:02:10 UTC

LIZA

bmcdonald18 — 2021-01-14 12:02:23 UTC

WILLEM

bmcdonald18 — 2021-01-14 12:02:39 UTC

VALENTIJN

bmcdonald18 — 2021-01-14 12:02:46 UTC

JAN

bmcdonald18 — 2021-01-14 12:02:52 UTC

little has changed since the apocalypse

2021-01-18 11:27:18 UTC

rooms being used for something other than their original purpose is something that is often named, think of the gymnasium. next to that there arent many of the more scarce materials that we use daily like plastic. what i believe is the case is that most of the knowledge behind these materials has been lost and that most of the buildings/facilities are improvised and used to the best of their abilities. This can be either because the knowledge to build like this has been lost or that the apocalypse has happened recently enough that humans haven't yet been able to get back on their feet fully

strict

2021-01-18 11:32:04 UTC

the authorities are very strict and tense towards the population, they will immediately take action when someone is acting even a little suspicious.
"Last week they shot a woman, right about here. She was a Martha. She was fumbling in her robe, for her pass, and they thought she was
hunting for a bomb."

chaper one p.10

2021-01-18 11:33:02 UTC

the guards aren't allowed inside the building except when called

Role: Handmaid

2021-01-18 11:34:22 UTC

names: Alma, Janine, Dolores, Moira, June. (chapter 1 page 10)
purpose?: they are the ´fertile women´ and they have to make children for the commanders and the angels?
they are ususally dressed in red with a white headpiece

There are many examples of biblical symbolism throughout the story. The society itself rigidly follows some specific laws from the Bible. By reciting certain passages from the Bible to the women, they are made to feel as though whatever would be done to them would not be morally wrong. We first see Offred sitting in the waiting room and she passes a small comment about a preacher, saying ‘they look a lot like businessmen’.

2021-01-18 11:36:32 UTC

Ownership of money

2021-01-18 11:37:31 UTC

Women don't have money of their own, this means they are less important and are in all focus points less important then men. They do however have a big economic influence, however it is not commenly seen this way

Work / Jobs

2021-01-18 11:40:20 UTC

Women in the handmaids tale may not have jobs, or high position jobs. Econowife may not have jobs and they have to fully submit to their husband.

bmcdonald18 — 2021-01-24 23:54:27 UTC

Point of view is the angle of considering things, which shows us the opinion or feelings of the individuals involved in a situation. In literature, point of view is the mode of narration that an author employs to let the readers “hear” and “see” what takes place in a story, poem, or essay.

Point of view is a reflection of the opinion an individual from real life or fiction has. Examples of point of view belong to one of these three major kinds:

1. First person point of view involves the use of either of the two pronouns “I” or “we.” “I felt like I was getting drowned with shame and disgrace.”
2. Second person point of view employs the pronoun “you.” “Sometimes you cannot clearly discern between anger and frustration.”
3. Third person point of view uses pronouns like “he,” “she,” “it,” “they,” or a name. “ Stewart is a principled man. He acts by the book and never lets you deceive him easily.”
4. Third person point of view, omniscient. The story is still about “he” or “she,” but the narrator has full access to the thoughts and experiences of all characters in the story.

READ MORE HERE - https://thewritepractice.com/point-of-view-guide/

chapter 2 p.13

2021-02-04 11:53:15 UTC

everything where you could tie a rope on they removed, so they can't commit suïcide
.

Chapter 2. p 14

2021-02-08 08:44:37 UTC

That day, Cora was more pleasant to me than usual, Rita more surly

cora and rita had a conversation with each other (the marthas) and that day they were pleasante and surly. They don't like her normal and they were talking about her and they think she heard it, that's why they act like that. they acting like that because of her role

Chapter 2. p16

2021-02-08 08:45:38 UTC

Rita would not allow it. She would be too afraid

the marthas don't want to fraternize with her so she's too scared to allow it.

Chapter 3. p24

2021-02-08 08:46:24 UTC

Don't call me Ma'am, she said irritably. you're not a Martha

the commander's wife does not want to be called like that, because she's not a matha

Role: Wives

2021-02-08 11:26:04 UTC

names: Mrs. Allston (wife of commander Alston). Caroline (attneds to the Putnams during the birth of baby Angela). Mrs Calhoun (wife of commander Calhoun). Eleanor Lawrence. Emma Monroe.
purpose:

Role: marthas

2021-02-08 11:27:20 UTC

they rank higher than the handmaids, but they aren't used for sex. more of a ''household sevant''

remnants of the nuclear war

2021-02-08 11:31:39 UTC

it looks like the location of the story is a rural/conservative american area seeing as fertile women seem to be in a minority but with the buildings of before the war being intact which would mean that at least this town is at least 7.7 miles away from a large city
ch5 p23

nuclear apocalypse was recent

2021-02-08 11:43:14 UTC

main character has memories from before the apocalypse which means that the apocalypse happened <20 years ago

ch4 p16

Richness within the society

2021-02-08 11:48:25 UTC

In page 21 you see them discussing about cars that have to do with their wealth, they also talk about the guardians assigned to their household, the household mostly means a family is rich.

Hero ComicCon

2021-02-11 11:40:21 UTC

This festival can occur in all seasons, due to the fact that this festival is hosted mostly inside, it covers them from the elements outside.

oktoberfest

2021-02-11 11:40:29 UTC

fall

exodus winter

2021-02-11 11:40:43 UTC

tomorrowland winter

2021-02-11 11:41:48 UTC

winter

aguadito de mariscos

2021-02-11 11:42:10 UTC

its a peruvian seafood dish consisting of a soup made with cilantro carrot peas and potatoes with seafood in it

decemberfest...

2021-02-11 11:42:21 UTC

Marine Dagen

2021-02-11 11:42:38 UTC

This festival is hosted by the government and can be hosted in all seasons.

A pap en vleis

2021-02-11 11:42:47 UTC

According to South Africa Tours and Travel (2009), throughout South African history, from the time of the native ‘Khoi’ and ‘San’ people, through to the ‘Great Trek’ and ‘Anglo/Boer War’, ‘pap en vleis’ was a staple and customary dish. This was primarily in part to the fact that settlers at the time were constantly on the move, along with their nomadic and native counterparts.

Subsequently, very few provisions, all none perishables, were taken when moving from one location to the next. One of these primary imperishable’s was ‘pap’, also known as ‘maize meal’. The ‘vleis’ (meat) on the other hand, was often sourced directly from cattle or native game. Innovatively, gathered meat, a perishable, was made imperishable by being cured, dried and cut into slices to be enjoyed at a later time. Today, this is known as ‘Biltong’; the life blood of a true South African!

snowbombing 2021

2021-02-11 11:42:55 UTC

winter

Sarang burung

2021-02-11 11:43:56 UTC

The word bird's nest is in the name of two different Chinese dishes, a fried egg dish and the dried bird's nest delicacy of a particular Asian common swift, the edible nesting salamander. These salangans build their nests from saliva

Mars Colonization day

2021-02-11 11:45:35 UTC

This celebrates the day they step foot on mars and that they builded a society there.

resonate hardcore 13 November

2021-02-11 11:45:56 UTC

Ábrystir

2021-02-11 11:46:10 UTC

this is an icelandic colostrum pudding thats similar to creme brule except for the fact that cinnamon is often added to the dish next to other fruits and biscuits

ch 7 p. 60

2021-02-15 12:55:06 UTC

''to see her friends; she'd lied to me...'

they are not real with her

p. 95

2021-02-15 13:01:47 UTC

''he is offering himself to me, his services, at some risk to himself'

it is kind of him that he sacrifices himself

animals are a luxury

2021-02-15 13:02:59 UTC

meat is expensive and a rare commodity so either animals are a rare thing or humans are not allowed to hunt
ch5 p27

other humans survived

2021-02-15 13:04:30 UTC

there are still products that are imported which would mean that not only are there places where other humans have survived but they've also made countries after the nuclear war

ch5 p25

chapter 7

2021-02-15 13:05:50 UTC

writing down things are forbidden because nobody can now what's going on in there.

world travel still exists

2021-02-15 13:06:10 UTC

japanese tourists that dont speak english indicate that theyre either a sea route or air route between north america and japan which proves that still alot of the infrastructure before the war exists
ch5 p28

japanese people

2021-02-15 13:07:58 UTC

as the main character pointed out the japanese tourists are dressed and act just the same as before the war.
ch5 p28

Officers and guards

bmcdonald18 — 2021-02-15 13:08:46 UTC

Titles:
Roles:

the war was not intense

2021-02-15 13:09:28 UTC

all of the things that i have pointed out above indicate that the war was not widespread and most of humanity still survived which could indicate that the danger of the outside world is overexagerated and it wasnt an apocalypse that happened but mostly the fall of modern countries
ch5

chapter 8

2021-02-15 13:18:30 UTC

you will get killed if you do gay stuff. you get hanged on the wall where everyone can see you

"One is a Catholic priest and two are Guardians who bear placards around their necks that read “Gender Treachery.” This means they were hanged for committing homosexual acts."

chapter 9

2021-03-01 09:24:24 UTC

Nolite te bastardes carborundorum—the Latin phrase scrawled in Offred’s closet by a previous Handmaid—takes on a magical importance for Offred even before she knows what it means. It symbolizes her inner resistance to Gilead’s tyranny and makes her feel like she can communicate with other strong women, like the woman who wrote the message.

chapter 12

2021-03-01 09:33:17 UTC

Handmaids are not allowed coffee, alcohol, or nicotine.

chapter 12

2021-03-01 09:33:30 UTC

Handmaids are not allowed to keep uneaten food, but Offred wraps a pat of butter in a piece of the napkin and hides it in her shoe.

hospitals survived initial war

2021-03-01 13:16:06 UTC

"since most hospitals destroyed such records once it became clear what was going to happen"

this indicates that these hospitals saw the rise of Gilead bringing more proof to the idea that the war was not as intense as a nuclear war should be
ch6 p32

Chapter 8, page 15 pdf

2021-03-01 13:18:10 UTC

"All flesh is weak. All flesh is grass, I corrected her in my head. They can't help it, she said, God made them that way but He did not make you that way. He made you different. It's up to you to set the boundaries. Later you will be thanked." This qoute is indicating once again that there is a heavy focus on religion. Saying all flesh is weak would indicate humans not being on the top of the chain, and its also saying that God creates life, and shapes everyone specifically, and its up to you to fulfill that potential, and you should thank God for allowing you to reach that.

sensorship

2021-03-01 13:22:49 UTC

in this world is a lot of sensorship and even some songs can't be sung anymore. "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

Could save a wretch like me,

Who once was lost, but now am found,

Was bound, but now am free.

I don’t know if the words are right. I can’t remember. Such songs are not sung any

more in public, especially the ones that use words like free. They are considered too

dangerous. They belong to outlawed sects." chapter 10

P.60

2021-03-07 14:38:09 UTC

now said mora. You don't need to paint your face. it's only me

she is a bit pushy

p.61

2021-03-07 14:42:51 UTC

good riddance to bad rubbish, she said, chuckling

p.62

2021-03-07 14:45:58 UTC

where is she?what have you done with here?

they killed her

p.69

2021-03-07 14:52:08 UTC

The first one is the bereaved, the mother: she carries a small black jar. From the size of the jar you can tell how old it was when it foundered, inside her, flowed to its death

p. 71

2021-03-07 14:58:46 UTC

'' Serena joy was never her real name, her real name was pam''

so she lied about her real name

p.80

2021-03-07 15:12:10 UTC

''women in period costume, with china doll faces and bustles and parasols, or sad-eyed clowns, or bowls of fruit, stiff and chalky-looking''

they wear traditional clothes

p.86

2021-03-07 15:22:22 UTC

''volume low''

it's kind of a norm on how they behave on the ground rules

P. 94

2021-03-07 15:35:14 UTC

'' brown eyes, a nose, a head with brown hair on it''

this is what the doctor look likes

P.96

2021-03-07 15:39:14 UTC

''why am I frightened?''

She is frightened, because of the choice that terrifies her

p.110

2021-03-07 15:55:39 UTC

''She still had her clothes on, jeans and a bleu sweatershirt, her hair was short, she'd defied fashion a usual - so I recognized her at one

P. 112

2021-03-07 16:00:23 UTC

Last week, Janine burst into tears. Aunt Helena made her kneel at the front of the classroom, hands behind her back, where we could all see her, her red face and dripping nose. Her hair dull blonde, her eyelashes so light they seemed not there, the lost eyelashes of some disgusting: weak, squirmy, blotchy, pink, like a newborn mouse. None of us want to look like that, ever

CHARACTERS

bmcdonald18 — 2021-03-11 10:59:33 UTC

-The Commander
-The Commander's Wife/Serena Joy
-Cora
-Aunt Elizabeth
-Janine
-Luke
-Aunt Lydia
-Moira
-Offred's Mother
-Nick
-Offred
-Ofglen
-Rita

chapter 13

2021-03-11 11:45:58 UTC

"I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping."

chapter 14

2021-03-11 11:47:01 UTC

Television stations from Canada are blocked, and most of the programming is religious.

there have been wars since the apocalypse

2021-03-11 12:08:42 UTC

ch 14 p. 122

2021-03-15 08:34:26 UTC

''after it became obvious to her that she'd have to redirect her energies into something convincingly domestic''

she realizes she has to be different

ch 15 p.137

2021-03-15 08:40:48 UTC

''but watch out, I tell him in my head. I've got my eye on you. One false move and I'm dead

She fell in love with the commander

p. 122

2021-03-22 11:23:18 UTC

''their faces picked, their caps starched, their skin grayish-white, guarding the room with their narrowed eyes''

this what they look like

p. 123

2021-03-22 11:26:46 UTC

''I would like to steal something from this room''

p. 134

2021-03-22 11:41:38 UTC

'' after that he looks like a midwestern bank president, with straight neatly brushed silver har, his sober posture, shoulders a little stooped''

p. 135

2021-03-22 11:43:36 UTC

''one kneel-women in red, one seated women in bleu, two in green, standing, a solitary man, thin faced, in the backround''

complex mechanical objects still exists

2021-03-25 11:34:04 UTC

lifts and computers exist meaning that complex mechanical and electronical objects still exists which is surprising seeing as some of the infrastructure for this should be in FUCKING SPACE to make things work like they do in the book seeing as they use satcoms

ch11 p59

satcoms are still online

2021-03-31 07:29:07 UTC

they have things like tv and the "montreal sattelite station" next to the computers like the compudoc, the latter of which would require satcoms meaning that there are sattelites in space being controlled by humans on earth and all the infrastructure for that is still intact. especially since the chemical/radioactivity ridden wasteland that they describe in the book would bring heavy interference to groundbased radiocommunication systems

P 82, 137

Madee & Barbara

bmcdonald18 — 2021-04-19 11:53:21 UTC

agent orange used in america?

2021-04-19 11:57:49 UTC

"no agent orange in her familly" p115

for some reason the sea is inaccessible, maybe to prevent escape via the sea

2021-04-19 11:58:34 UTC

"the sea fisheries were defunct years ago"
"the news says the coasts are being "rested" "
p164

The Commander

2021-04-19 12:00:09 UTC

The Commander poses an ethical problem for the main character, and consequently for us. First, he is the main character's Commander and the immediate agent of her oppression. As a founder of Gilead, he also bears responsibility for the entire totalitarian society. In person, he is far more sympathetic and friendly toward the main character than most other people, and the main character's evenings with the Commander in his study offer her a small respite from the wasteland of her life. At times, his unhappiness and need for companionship make him seem as much a prisoner of Gilead’s strictures as anyone else. The main character finds herself feeling some amount of sympathy for this man.

the city where offred lives is humid

2021-04-19 12:00:56 UTC

the location is then probably somewhere in the southeast of the us, not the likes of Louisiana or Florida but maybe Georgia
p171

P.161

2021-04-19 12:02:33 UTC

''He hasn't shaved for a year, though they cut his hair short
, whenever they feel like it, for lice they say''

they describe here how Luke looks like

checkpoints divide and lock in the city

2021-04-19 12:02:49 UTC

looks like women are not allowed to leave or enter the city, the cities look like they live in a secluded propaganda filled state while the outside of the cities is more brutal/wild
p232

The way the handsmaids greet eachother and communicate in general

2021-04-19 12:03:54 UTC

whenever you hear the handsmaids talk, its always very formal. One thing that stuck by me, is the fact that the greetings have a religious tone: "Blessed be the fruit" and "Praise be" being used quite often in small talk.

How birth and reproduction in general are perceived

2021-04-19 12:06:09 UTC

Talking about birth and the process behind it is almost treated as a sin, just like the celibate lifestyle priests have and almost every Christian used to have some time ago. Any help on birth is forbidden, and anything in general to interrupt or change anything about the baby's in the development stage will likely be punished with death.

the commanders wife

2021-04-19 12:08:16 UTC

The Commander's wife, Serena Joy, might had been an advocate for "traditional values" and the establishment of the Gileadean state, she is bitter at the outcome. She is confined to her home and forced to take in a Handmaid to try to conceive a child with her husband. Serena’s obvious unhappiness means that she teeters on the edge of inspiring the reader's sympathy, but she forfeits that sympathy by taking out her anger on the main character. Serena Joy seems to possess no compassion at all for the main character. She can see the difficulty of her own life, but not that of another woman.

titel

2021-04-19 12:08:19 UTC

people where often shown videos of the past, but it where very disturbing videos of people being murdered and raped. these videos where shown to make people thing that the past was way worse than the present and that they should be thankful. as shown in "Sometimes the movie she showed would be an old porno film from the seventies or
eighties. Women kneeling, sucking penises or guns, women tied up or chained or with
dog collars around their necks, women hanging from trees, or upside-down, naked, with
their legs held apart, women being raped, beaten up, killed. Once we had to watch a
woman being slowly cut into pieces, her fingers and breasts snipped off with garden
shears, her stomach slit open and her intestines pulled out."

P94. on padlet

P. 161

2021-04-22 10:36:48 UTC

''he hasn't shaved for a year'' and ''anyway, they don't do it well, the hair is ragged, the back of his neck is nicked, that's hardly the worst, he looks ten year older , twenty, he's bent like an old man, his eyes are punched, small purple veins have burst his cheeks, there's a scar, no, a wound, it isn't yet healed, the colour of tulips, near the stem end, down the left side of his face where the flesh split recently''

This is how Luke looks like

Women in Gilead are not allowed to have any jobs.

2021-04-22 10:36:49 UTC

The women are not allowed to have jobs in Gilead (America) all women are here to work for high members or bear children as a handmaid.

Colonies

2021-04-22 10:38:46 UTC

At a stripclub offred meets a prostitute which says that she could of been sent to the Colonies to work as a slave. She chose being a prostitute over that. The colonies are used for food and slave labour. Prisoners are sent to the colonies for hard work in harsh environments with no payments

lack of animals and fertility in women causes

2021-04-22 10:40:40 UTC

there is evidence of agent orange but not enough to indicate a large amount of it being used.

the nuclear bombs should not be enough to cause widespread animal deaths and infertility in the country.

it is possible that depleted uranium ammo can be blamed for this since the governement does not see it as something that does that much damage through radiation which would be the reason as to why noone blames it for the infertility and animal deaths but it does do enough damage in the areas where its used

Role: Angels

2021-05-21 07:43:19 UTC

These people are often in green and they are the "peacekeepers" of Gilead.