The Handmaid's Tale

Chapter 7

Stories which Offred tells

• Who are the characters?

The characters in her stories are: Moira (friend), her mother and minor characters (women).

• From what parts of her past are they taken?

Offred tells two different stories:
1. The story she is telling about her mother is taken from a time when she was young
2. The other story is with her friend, they must be at college because she mentions the subjects: Psychology, English and Economics. She also says "we studied things like that, then". Therefore this story is taken from the time she was in education.

• What do they reveal about Offred's personal history?

The first story about her and her mum shows that her mother was a person who she had lived with when she was young, meaning she was part of a family unlike now.
The other story is about her and Moira, her friend, she mentions subjects, meaning they were school friends, studied together and socialised. The subjects reveals that she is educated and knows about the outside world.

• Why is she exploring these memories, who is listening to them?

She is exploring these memories because now she is in a different soceity than before, she maybe misses these people, she wants to make herself imagine the life she had before. I think the people who are listening are the readers, because she may not be allowed to think about her past anymore.

• What forms of writing do first person narrative suggest?

The first person narrative suggests that she is expressing her feelings by using pronouns such as "I", "My"... etc. It also suggests that she is telling a story that she was part of, so it makes it real and it reveals her feelings and emotions.

• Are the memories being written down?

I think that the memories are not being written down because they may not be allowed to think of their past.

• What tenses are used?

Present tense and past tense has been used in the two stories.

The Handmaid's Tale

Explore the rules of behaviour in the society of the book (Chapter four):

There are many rules of behaviour in the society of the book which are:

1. The females were not allowed to have contact with the males, this can be seen in the book, in chapter four, where the girl says, "He begins to whistle then he winks. I drop my head and turn so that the wings hide my face, and keep walking". This quotation means that in the soceity of the book, the opposite sex were not allowed to have any contact at all, they have maybe been trained to avoid each other which is why she lowers her head and turns so that her face is covered and the boy can't see her anymore. She mentions "wings" to hide her face, this is therefore something that is made for the females, as part of clothing in order to avoid others from seeing them and wings cannotes flying and freedom, which can be an irony to the situation and the society she is in. The use of the irony by the writer makes the readers question themselves and come up with different reasons why she has used this word in that situation. Therefore, this quotation and explanation provides a link back to the question which was the rules of behaviour in the society of the book.

2. The females are not allowed to walk around in freedom, this can be seen in the book, in chapter four, where she says, "We aren't allowed to go there except in twos". This quotation means that in the society the book is written in, they were not allowed to go somewhere by themselves, they had to be with another person so they would not run away or speak to the males. The quotation seems like a rule that is set which can be linked back to the question. The quotation includes the word "there", which is said to something that does not belong to another person, (a place to avoid) by them, this is an effect to the question which relates to the rules of behaviour in the scoeity of the book, therefore this quotation and explanation links back to the question.

3. The females were not allowed to have physical contact with the opposite sex, this can be seen when she says, "Their youth is touching, but I know i can't be deceived by it". This quotation means that in the society the book was in, humans of the opposite sex were not allowed to have physical contact and they have to avoid each other at all times. In the quotation, it includes the word "touching" which is a verb, verb is the action of a word and personification, when giving life to a dead thing. The use of the personification is used to show her desire and fantacy she has in her mind, all the time due to the rules of behaviour they have to stick with. This can therefore link back to the question.