The Handmaid's Tale - General Conclusion Blog

This book made me realize some important things about my reading. I often read for plot and don't analyze the text enough. Before we started the propaganda activities, I didn't even realize that propaganda existed in the book. I also realize I don't ask enough questions while I'm reading. I seem to read through confusing parts hoping for an explanation soon after. If i don't find an explanation, I deem that part too confusing and move on. This, I now know, doesn't help me at all. If I don't understand something, I should mark it and ask questions until I understand it. Although there may be no answers to my questions, there can be some guesses I can make or deduce some answer from the feeling i get from the rest of the book. I also learned to pay attention to neologisms, which are words created by the author because those terms do not yet exist in our world. Neologisms give off a hint of what's truly important in the book and can help the reader understand the character development, setting, and plot even better.

The Handmaid's Tale (up to end of story) - Blog for 4/27

I felt that the conclusion of the book was weird. What did the Wife really want to do to Offred? Did she even have the power to do anything horrible, or just make her life miserable in the household? Was Nick really helping her at the end or was it just a scheme by the Eyes? Were the people from the black van really people from this secret "Mayday" community that helps the Handmaids out of tight situations? Where did Offred really go in the end? If the people on the black van were those who were helping the Handmaids, does this mean that Ofglen suicided on the wrong impression of a black van? There are so many questions left unanswered in this cliffhanger ending. (Is that what it's called?)

Overall, I was at first bored by the book, then disgusted after reading the really detailed parts about the Ceremony. But after reading more than half of the book, I finally grew used to their society and was interested, but only about their history and their future. Their daily life, to me, was still a bit too sad to handle. I really wished for some sort of happy ending. For example, the success of their resistance, Offred's meeting with Luke, or Offred's reunion with her daughter would have been a nice close to the story. I would rate this book an 8 out of 10.

Handmaid's Tale (up to Chapter 40) - Blog for 4/23

Now I'm getting confused about the story. I mean to an extent the novel is actually fairly clear right now as I have an idea of what happened, what is going on, and can even try to make some predictions of the future. But there are some key facts that I want to get clear. Did Offred fall in love with Nick? Did Moira really die trying to escape or rebel again?

These few chapters gave me emotional swings back and forth. I felt a kind of sadness for Offred when she found out from Moira that her mother was in the Colonies and was probably going to die sooner or later cleaning up radioactive waste and chemicals. I felt happy that Offred finally met Moira again after having separated all this time. I felt sad again when Offred tells us that she never saw Moira again after a few meetings.

But now i wonder. Has the Commander (Fred) fallen in love with Offred? If so, will he try to keep Offred in the household and not ship her off to some other place? How will the "love square" between Serena Joy, Fred, Nick, and Offred work out? I'm actually really surprised that I'm thinking about these things in a story with such a serious and tense mood... I really hope that there will be a happy ending.

The Handmaid's Tale (up to ch 31) - Early blog for 4/21

Up to this point in the novel, I think I've grown more accustomed to the society in Handmaid's Tale. Just like how I took a while to get used to the life in Gethen, I can now read about the events that occur in this book without getting too much of a shock. As I read on, however, I realize that there are a lot of illicit activities that go on despite the new rules. The Commander plays Scrabble and allows Offred to read magazines without his wife or the government knowing. The Wife is suggesting that Offred have a baby with some other man without her husband knowing. I found these secret exchanges to actually be quite ironic, funny even. Fred and Serena Joy each have something they are doing behind their spouse's back. I found it mean, however, that Serena knew about Offred's daughter's whereabouts and did not reveal to her a single clue. No one should keep a mother from seeing her own children; I feel that it's morally unjustified.

Nolite te Bastardes Carborundorum actually meant "don't let the bastards grind you down." While the Commander thought it was just a mere joke, I think that the previous Handmaid wrote the phrase for a different reason. It was probably meant for the next Handmaid, who ended up being Offred, to keep her spirits strong and not give in to the oppression of the female gender.

Handmaid's Tale (up to Ch 28) - Blog for 4/17/09

So we finally get an idea of what happened before the time the novel takes place. Apparently, there was a catastrophe in the United States in which the President and Congress were killed and the army declared a state of emergency. During this time of emergency, the army basically took over the country and deprived women of their employment and property rights. According to Offred, however, the army was at some point replaced with another one. I'm glad we finally get this background story because it makes the book and the current circumstances in their society easier to understand. I just learned in these last few chapters that the Wall was actually the gate into the university, which now serves as headquarters for the Eyes. I didn't understand what the paintings in the Library within the university meant. Death and Victory must have some of symbolic meaning that relates to the entire plot. Why does Offred say that they would not be destroyed by the current authority?

I also found the Soul Scroll "store" to be quite interesting. The five kinds of prayers that included death and sin was surprising because I thought this was a highly religious society. A store with a machine and no person inside sounds quite suspicious - what could be the significance of this place?

Blog Post - Handmaid's Tale for 4/15/09

After reading more chapters of the novel, I understand more about the society. Handmaids are truthfully women used in the book for purposes of giving birth to the next generation. What I disliked about the system was that despite the fact that the Handmaids are the ones who engage in "rituals" with the Commanders of the households, the Wives are always there with them. The Wives are also present when the Handmaids give birth, which I find a little bit awkward. The child that was born is given to the Household (the Commander and his Wife) - and that is my biggest dislike. I feel that no matter what the circumstances are, the child should not be separated from his or her birth mother. I feel that it's the only way to give the child the best care. The Wives, after all, can become envious, and secretly kill the children, (even though that is highly unlikely in their oppressive society.)

Quick question: Can anyone tell me what "in transition" is? Does it exist in our society, and is it an actual stage of pregnancy?

Other than that term, I found quite a bit of neologisms and play on words in these few chapters (21-23). I can't wait until our class wiki is finished, when we can use it as a glossary to lookup terms and concepts we are unfamiliar with.

The Handmaid's Tale: Chapters 1-17

In the beginning of The Handmaid's Tale, I only felt confusion as I read. I had no idea what was going on in the story and the jump from chapter one to chapter two was a bit sudden. As I read on, I slowly got more and more of the entire picture. After a few more chapters, I was able to ask questions like: "What are handmaids? What are "Marthas? Why has the United States become like this? What are the purposes of the different clothing styles, especially those of the handmaids?" So far I know I would not want to live in a society as theirs, with so many strict rules and enforcements thereof.

After reading the entire seventeen chapters, I understood what confused me primarily about this book: the structure. The main character or narrator, Offred, talks about life in her "present" but often gives sudden flashbacks. The life in her flashbacks is the United States we know and something must have happened that triggered a religious war, which resulted in the society we are currently reading about. When I finally got the answer to the purpose of the handmaids, I realized i was better off not knowing. They apparently are the childbearers of men and exist only for that "important" purpose, which is respected by all the other citizens and causes jealousy in the men's wives. Last but not least, the sexual "ceremony" in chapter sixteen was a bit too descriptive; I wish I had more warning before I got to that part. -_- I really hope there won't be parts as detailed later on in the book...