For this week's first discussion prompt, consider the first five chapters: what event - whether plot or device driven - resonated as the most obvious and important exemplification of societal oppression and depersonalization, in your opinion?
Secondly, consider the books cover, which is displayed below. How do you think this piece of art exemplifies the centralized message that Atwood has already conveyed within the first five chapters of her novel. Rather than considering specific artistic techniques as your argument, consider the overall image designed to present the novel and further this argument through an artistic analysis, as you find necessary. How has Atwood utilized such a simple work of art as means of displaying the societal corruption and regulations criticized within the novel's exposition? Additionally, to strengthen your arguments, you might want to consider searching for other covers of the novel and explaining how those images convey similar ideas.
Finally, I think we should mention and discuss the role of retrospect within the development of the story's beginning. As she reflects upon her past life, the narrator seems to develop a longing for minor and major aspects of the previous world - ranging from a possible long lost love with Luke to the simple joys extended through a visit to the laundromat. How do you think the temporal punctuation - staggering the current reality with past moments of regret and desire - help to develop the exposition of the novel?
Ultimately, what are your thoughts regarding the beginning of the novel?
In my opinion, the event that captured the societal oppression and depersonalization in the exposition came at the end of the reading. As the Japanese tourists approach our handmaid and Ofglen, we continue to see the transformed manner of the women's actions. Both of the women shy away from the camera, as they are expected to do. They allow a sense of paranoia, that I found to be similar to 1984, wash over them as they fear the Eyes. These small mannerisms indicate the overwhelming fear that society has rooted within these women and the oppression that has resulted. Our handmaid even goes as far to say that they are happy because "What else can I say?". To me this mental reinforcement is significant in proving the oppression and depersonalization of these women.
ReplyDeleteThe cover of the novel, because I have read ahead, is significant in proving another point and key aspect of the plot. However, in accordance with just simply the exposition, the cover seems to display a few handmaids behind a giant wall. The wall may be symbolic of their isolation and oppression. The area that they are shown to be confined to is as barren as their lives. In looking for other covers, I came across a disturbing image of a young girl with her mouth pierced shut. All I can make from this is of the depersonalization these women face, this girl in particular had her innate freedom to speak taken from her, in what looks like an attempt to keep her quiet. Does anyone else have any comments or concerns about that cover?
Overall, my thoughts on the temporal variety of flashbacks and details is curious. To me it seems that we will continue to gain knowledge of this women's past, but I am worried we will never learn her name. For me, this is not comforting and I hope that the flashbacks reveal more of an identity to us. Other than that, I enjoy the novel so far and had trouble putting it down.
I entirely agree with your ideas involving selected scene with the Japanese tourists, Kristen! I think, additionally, that by maintaining a narrator and protagonist devoid of a known name emphasizes the idea of stripping away the individuality within society, similar to the occurrences in 1984 (good connection!). I also saw the cover of the young girl with her mouth sealed; however, I first thought that cover represented the subsequent pain of females that voiced their opinions in such a society, rather than their inability to speak freely. Now, though, I agree with your interpretation of the other cover entirely. Again, in contrast to you, I do not know if I want to know more about the protagonist's past identity; I feel that forging such a relationship with her would make the harsh reality of the novel's society even more mentally unbearable.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think you brought up a lot of interesting points and analytical topics that will definitely spark an interesting discussion! Awesome job!
I didn't know we were writing such long comments. I'm going to comment as I read because that helps me. I noticed a lot of the sentences are short and have lots things like commons and semi colons in them. I think this definitely reflects how they women are not really thought of as humans. They seem to not really be allowed to have thoughtful and insightful thoughts that they can share with people. In the first chapter, the author says that these women are used for the purpose of baring children. One quote that has really stick with me so far is on the first page of Chapter 2. The quote is "Does each one of us have the same print, the same chair, the same white curtains, I wonder?" To me, this shows how everything is almost the same and the women are being treated as if they're less than equal to men. It's like they're being stripped for things that allow them to express themselves, like how they decorate the space where they live.
ReplyDeleteThe most important event so far in my eyes was when our handmaid recalled Aunt Lydia saying "We were a society dying of choice". This stuck out to me as important because it is not something that would necessarily be deemed as bad in our society. Here, our freedom of choice is one of the greatest qualities of our nation, and seen as a fundamental right to human beings. The idea that this would be viewed as a bad thing is shocking to me, and I think that idea will play an important part in the novel as a whole, and in our understanding of what made this type of society come about. It also seemed to me to be a kind of propaganda, the kind of thing that would be told to the handmaids and women to keep them complacent and accepting of the new society that they are in. It reminds me of 1984, the idea that "freedom is slavery".
ReplyDeleteTo me, the cover of the novel appeared to be two women pacing around a wall. The wall appeared to be circular, giving it the feeling of being a cage, a prison. This kind of confinement directly relates to the confinement our handmaids, and other women, are forced to deal with in this repressive society. In the last paragraph of chapter 4, our handmaid says "only me and my shadow", which is depicted on the cover. I think that this is important because each persons shadow is the only thing that can not be taken from them in this society; it is almost a symbol of the individuality that remains in each woman beneath the surface, despite the obvious measures that have been taken against them to strip them of their identity and their freedom. One of the covers I found when researching them was an image of a red gown (without a person within it) being hung by a rope noose. I think that this cover is very representative of 1) the loss of individuality that women feel in this time by being assigned specific roles and being heavily repressed; and 2) the desire to end their own lives rather than living in this terrible society (which is repeated in the novel when the narrator discussed the measures taken to prevent the suicide of Handmaids).
I agree with Kristen that I want to learn more about our handmaid's identity via her flashbacks. In a society that has stripped her identity from her and forced her into a position that they feel she is fit for, I think that the only way we, as readers, will be able to learn about her as an individual will be through her memories. I also think that the story will be able to continue through her flashbacks by allowing us to see what happened to cause this society come about in the past as the plot progresses in the present.
I also liked what Kristen said about how the syntax of the novel serves as a way to strip the women of the humanity. I did not really think of that as I was reading, but it's opened my eyes to that for when I continue to read further.
I enjoy the book so far and I'm looking forward to continuing to read more!
I never noticed the way that the novel's syntactical structure played such a crucial role in epitomizing the societal views of women, but that makes a lot of sense now that you've pointed out, Kristen! Does anyone have any thoughts regarding the use of quotation marks throughout the book? It seemed like some dialogue was quoted, though not all. Overall, the grammatical tendencies reminded me of The Road, which varied a lot in comparison to standardized syntactical tendencies. Do you guys think there may be some significance in either what is being said within quotation marks compared to the unquoted dialogue? Or, possibly, could the use of quotation marks reflect an inequality amongst the speakers of the quotes? Either way, I found the quotational inconsistencies pretty interesting, for the most part. Also, I think its very interesting how you selected a quote from Aunt Lydia, Cassidy, because her ideas regarding the differences between the freedom to and the freedom from seemed rather important in my opinion. Additionally, I think you had some really insightful points regarding the idea of a shadow within the artwork on the cover of the book and the plot of the novel as a whole. I don't think I would have acknowledged the depth of importance centralized around the shadow had you not pinpointed it, Cassidy.
ReplyDeleteI had not thought about the use of quotations marks as a reflection of inequality, Tyler, but I think that's a really good point and something that we should look at throughout the rest of our reading. That way we can see if this is a trend, and if it is, does it change throughout the novel - which would represent our handmaid pushing back against her oppressive society.
DeleteHas anyone else noticed the use use of colors as symbols? The car that the Commander drives is black, which shows how wealthy he is. I looked up more meanings of the color black and found that it is associated with power, authority, and mystery (as of right now, I'm on chapter 4 as I write this comment, we know very little about the commander). The Wife is wearing blue which is associated with freedom and sensitivity. Quickly changing my train of thought for a moment, I found it ironic that her name is Serena Joy. When i think of the name Serena i think of serenity, and she did not seem joyful either. The Maidens wear red which is associated with blood, anger (maybe foreshadows a possible outburst, like a revolution from the Handmaids in the future), and sexuality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cassidy's idea that the flashbacks will allow us to find out how this society got to where it is. I'm very curious to see how it got to that point. Does anyone know the time period that this takes place, or is it supposed to be like The Road, where we just don't know which will allow us to think that it could happen at anytime.
That's really insightful, Kristen! I hadn't noticed the roles of the various colors throughout the exposition, but it seems very interesting now that you've pointed it out with your research. Looking into that further, what do you think the color green could represent, being that it is indicative of Mathas (which, from what I can decipher so far in the book, seem to be personal chefs/cooks of some sort) in the novel? I also found Serena Joy to be an ironic name the Commander's wife, since - as you had said - her name reflects emotions opposite of her personality. I think the author may use that as means of expressing the vast change in society from past to modern times; now, Serena is mostly referred to as "the Commander's wife", rather than her given name. I think that this reflects the idea of a male-dominated society in which women are veiled as subhuman creatures, both emotionally and mentally. Also, I think the time period is similar to that of The Road, in that it can be applicable to various spans of history. So far, all we really know about the span of time is that it is possibly in some sort of dystopian era in which life - at personalized and national levels - and humanistic impulses and consistencies have been altered in order to suppress certain groups of individuals (specifically, women).
ReplyDeleteYes Tyler, I noticed a lot of parallels to The Road. I am sensing a similar post-apocalyptic setting, common to both The Road and 1984. I also noticed that the syntax was choppy, making the novel quick and easy to read. The syntax my also be representative of the lack of intelligence portrayed upon the women. I am curious as the what event may have occurred and why it put women at such a disadvantage. As I was reading about the Guardians, I realized that much of this setting is made out to be protective, although I find it to be horrifying. I honestly worried if America could turn into something like this after a similar conflict.
DeleteConnecting the abrupt syntax with an associated reflection of the lack of feminine intelligence is a really interesting point, Kristen! I hadn't noticed that, but I definitely will be watching for it throughout the rest of the reading in order to draw future connections and conclusions regarding the expressive possibilities of the book's syntax.
DeleteThe color green could be a tricky one. When I personally think of green I think of fertile and earthy. I also think of lettuce, kind of referring to the Marthas as chefs. After doing research, the color green is said to be associated with fertility, greed, and relaxation. I can't make a connect to the color green and a Martha. Can anyone else make a connection?
ReplyDeleteInteresting observation with the Commander's wife remark too! I failed to pick up on that observation.
I think of the color green as just neutral. In a way I think of an earthy green tone, that is nothing as special as red or blue. I believe green may be used to neutralize the Martha's and make them out to be nothing special.
DeleteThat's a good thought! I never thought of green as a neutral color other than gender neutral for babies.
DeleteWhen I think of the color green I also think of earthy, terrestrial things Kristen. I also think of nature, and tied into that, Mother Nature. I think that could possibly tie into the fact that their duties are very home-driven, tasks that would in past societies have been reserved for mothers. The housework, such as cooking, and the gossip that they take part in reminds me of a suburban housewife kind of situation. At the same time I think that might be meant to be contrasting because it seems like Marthas' are the women in society who are not given the option to be mothers, despite their occupations fitting the old-society norms of a mother working at home.
DeleteAnother interesting aspect I noticed came from the early separation of time in the novel. At first, our handmaid was in a gymnasium with other women. Suddenly, she is in the Commander's house, as it is her third home of the type I believe. Is this due to her being chosen as a candidate for pregnancy, and that is why she was moved into the Commander's house? I am just looking for a little clarification...
ReplyDeleteI think that the separation of time is used to show how quickly this new world is forming and establishing itself, while also being separated enough to provide a plot via the flashbacks.
DeleteI'm in a similar predicament with the issues surrounding the color green and the Marthas, Kristen. Possibly, as we continue reading, we will learn more about the role of Marthas and subsequently understand their connection with the color green.
ReplyDeleteI was very confused at first, having read the immediate shift from gymnasium to the victorian house of the Commander, Kristen. I think this is possibly just a temporal jump that the author utilized as means of expressing and expanding future experiences (for example, how the narrator was able to recognize the pregnant Handmaid from her time at the gymnasium-like complex).
The separation of colors between the different roles in society really struck me. It shows how they’ve dehumanized everyone while contrasting greatly with the society we’re familiar with.
ReplyDeleteI think the cover serves to show how controlled women are. The two women walking along the giant wall show how constricted they’re actions are. I also think showing the long red dresses helps to show how they’ve been forced back to a time of extreme modesty in regards to clothing.
I think the temporal change helps us as readers both acclimate ourselves to the new environment while also giving us a taste of something we are more familiar with. I also think that paralleling these two societies with the knowledge they eventually become each other is genius because it makes it all seem far more believable.