Sunday, 14 November 2010
Thursday, 11 November 2010
A photograph of a 'family' with an example of its composition
A photograph of a 'family' with an example of its composition
Left-to-right: Offred, Rita, Commander, Serena Joy, Nick, Cora
The Commander is the highest of authority in the household as well as Gilead. He is married to Serena Joy who runs the operations in the household. Rita and Cora serve as waiting women who ensure that Serena's operations are undergone. Offred acts as a 'baby-maker' for the Commander and his wife.(This is a acceptable in Gilead). Nick is the bodyguard of the household and protects the people in it.
Left-to-right: Offred, Rita, Commander, Serena Joy, Nick, Cora
The Commander is the highest of authority in the household as well as Gilead. He is married to Serena Joy who runs the operations in the household. Rita and Cora serve as waiting women who ensure that Serena's operations are undergone. Offred acts as a 'baby-maker' for the Commander and his wife.(This is a acceptable in Gilead). Nick is the bodyguard of the household and protects the people in it.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Character research-Offred
Character Research for November 4th, 2010
Offred
The main character in The Handmaid’s Tale is Offred. Offred is not her original name but it is the name given to her by her owner, The Commander. His name is Fred and the adverb, Of, is before this to show his possession of her. Her real name is not mentioned to the reader but then does say it to her later lover, Nick.
Offred tells her story as she is going through it but frequently has flashbacks about her life before Gilead. It’s usually about her friend Moira, husband Luke, Mother or Daughter. “If it’s a story I am telling, then I have control over the ending” This quote illustrates how Offred thinks of what she tells in her flashbacks and reality. The verb, control, connotes power which she does not have in her circumstance.
She started off disliking all what Gilead stood for at the beginning of the novel but then slowly started accepting its ideologies. “They can do what they like with me. I am abject”. The quote shows how Offred has become submissive to the role of Handmaid. The adjective, abject, connotes shame and being despicable. This is what Offred has ‘reduced’ herself to and she is openly admitting this to the reader.
Monday, 1 November 2010
Top Two Features
About loss e.g freedom,mothers, children
I believe that the most important feature in the novel is about the loss of different aspects.
Offred loses her daughter when trying to escape Gilead. In earlier chapters she says that she sometimes sees her daughter as a ghost. the noun,ghost, connotes something see through and not frequent. This illustrates that she misses her daughter and that she can't have her like she did before in pre-Gilead.
Offred loses her freedom to everything that she believed she took advantage of such as speaking and meeting people. In chapter 1 she says, "We learned to whisper almost without sound". The pronoun, we, suggests that it weren't herself only that was confined to whispering and not expressing themselves like they would in usual circumstances. This loss of this simple action implies that they were reduced or stripped away to conform to their new roles of Handmaids than how they were in they former lives.
Offred also loses her mother throughout the transition of the new life because of her outspoken character which promoted feminism and not patriarchy.
About the exploitation of women
Secondly, I think about the exploitation of women as important as well
The most obvious way in which women are exploited in the novel is the idea of having Handmaids. It can be seen as state rape from the readers point of view. The form of this is done in what they call, ceremonies. It starts with a reading from the bible which is meant to justify the whole thing. In chapter 15, Offred says, "It's the usual story, the usual stories".This is ironic that they would have biblical allusion in such an activity. The adjective, usual, connotes that it is a regular occurance this state rape.
I believe that the most important feature in the novel is about the loss of different aspects.
Offred loses her daughter when trying to escape Gilead. In earlier chapters she says that she sometimes sees her daughter as a ghost. the noun,ghost, connotes something see through and not frequent. This illustrates that she misses her daughter and that she can't have her like she did before in pre-Gilead.
Offred loses her freedom to everything that she believed she took advantage of such as speaking and meeting people. In chapter 1 she says, "We learned to whisper almost without sound". The pronoun, we, suggests that it weren't herself only that was confined to whispering and not expressing themselves like they would in usual circumstances. This loss of this simple action implies that they were reduced or stripped away to conform to their new roles of Handmaids than how they were in they former lives.
Offred also loses her mother throughout the transition of the new life because of her outspoken character which promoted feminism and not patriarchy.
About the exploitation of women
Secondly, I think about the exploitation of women as important as well
The most obvious way in which women are exploited in the novel is the idea of having Handmaids. It can be seen as state rape from the readers point of view. The form of this is done in what they call, ceremonies. It starts with a reading from the bible which is meant to justify the whole thing. In chapter 15, Offred says, "It's the usual story, the usual stories".This is ironic that they would have biblical allusion in such an activity. The adjective, usual, connotes that it is a regular occurance this state rape.
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Sunday, 17 October 2010
Research
The Second Sex-Simone de Beauvoiux
This book explores the way in which women have been treated over history. Women have been referred to as the "other" sex which sounds like they are not apart of society but just a small part of it. This links to the Handmaid's tale because Handmaid's act as 'wombs on legs' for society. This connotes that they play an insignificant part as they only have one role.
The Female Eunuch-Germain Greer
This book is about the second big imergence and advocation of feminism .Greer looks at the biological differences between men and women that cannot be changed and how social construction affects men and women psycologically.
This book explores the way in which women have been treated over history. Women have been referred to as the "other" sex which sounds like they are not apart of society but just a small part of it. This links to the Handmaid's tale because Handmaid's act as 'wombs on legs' for society. This connotes that they play an insignificant part as they only have one role.
The Female Eunuch-Germain Greer
This book is about the second big imergence and advocation of feminism .Greer looks at the biological differences between men and women that cannot be changed and how social construction affects men and women psycologically.
Monday, 11 October 2010
Chapter 18-Short passage
The passage has the repetition of the pronoun, I, which connotes to the reader that Offred is thinking about herself quite deeply;not in a selfish way but on reflection on what was just done to her. It makes the reader feel sympathy for Offred as she feels lonely.
Her use of the simile comparing herself and the sound of a rim of a glass shows that she feels hollow and somewhat 'thin'. The sound of a glass rim is not a very pleasant sound to the ear so for her to compare herself to this shows that she feels like she is not worthy. This can be also seen in other parts of the book; her feeling hollow and not complete as a person.
The typography of the passage is very basic but it include the adjective shatter in an italic which makes her feelings apparant to the reader. The way in which the writer structures the passage suggests that she wants the readers to feel that Offred is angry.
Her use of the simile comparing herself and the sound of a rim of a glass shows that she feels hollow and somewhat 'thin'. The sound of a glass rim is not a very pleasant sound to the ear so for her to compare herself to this shows that she feels like she is not worthy. This can be also seen in other parts of the book; her feeling hollow and not complete as a person.
The typography of the passage is very basic but it include the adjective shatter in an italic which makes her feelings apparant to the reader. The way in which the writer structures the passage suggests that she wants the readers to feel that Offred is angry.
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