This note contain excellent chapter summaries, character analysis, theme breakdowns, and symbolism. It is concise and simple to follow and provides a great overview of the renowned novel.
Utopia v Dystopias: imaginary good (utopia) or bad (dystopia)
societies created to comment on distinct features and trends of
actual society.
INFO AND CONTEXT ON NOVEL:
1. Agent Orange: chemical herbicide sprayed on to fields.
Used to clear leaves and vegetation in Vietnam war. Effects
led to cancer, neurological disease, and birth defects and
deformities. It also led to starvation as the USA spread it via
plane to destroy the enemy’s food.
2. Roe v Wade: Jade Roe was pregnant and filed lawsuit
challenging Texas abortions, these ideas were opposed.
Abortion was illegal. USA Supreme Court recognised the right
to abortion. The decision has since been reversed, giving
states freedom to decide on abortion rights.
3. Mob mentality: aka herd mentality, conforming to opinions
and behaviours of a wider group. Individuals may conform to
actions they wouldn’t do otherwise due to power in
mass/force.
4. The American Plan: quarantine in USA where promiscuous
women were incarcerated. Due to increase SDI’s – in a time
of military plan and one where women were revolting for
work, education, and political rights.
5. Decree 770: ban of abortion and contraceptives. Often
resulted in high mortality rates, it was started in Romanian
and the effects are still felt there today. Mothers used unsafe
abortion methods. Romania made it illegal to abort babies
due to low birth rates.
, 6. The Hanging of Mary Webster: a resident in New England,
she nicknamed Half-hanged Mary as she was wrongfully
accused of killing her neighbour and found guilty, so she was
hanged but she survived.
7. Surveillance State: a country which monitors its people by
keeping track of everything they do.
CHARACTERS:
THEMES:
Control of resistance:
- The Montreal satellite station is blocked.
Survival:
Responsibility:
Fertility:
- The handmaid (Janine) in the grocer is described triumphant
showing that it is something of a success to be pregnant and
fertile.
Power:
Women’s roles:
Male v Female
- Wives and handmaids lose their names and become Off-
*commanders name*, and wives become Mrs *husbands
name*.
Power positions
- Commander rule all, social hierarchy.
Control
- June ---- Offred ---- June (gains her control back)
Unwomen and unbabies
- Lesbians and those who are infertile; babies who are
miscarried.
, - When Serena Joy is in charge of the garden to give her
purpose.
- A woman should feel privileged to conceive.
- The doctor deals only with the Handmaid’s torso, there is no
personal connection which objectifies them.
Religion:
Individuality:
Guilt:
- Seen from her nightmares of losing Hannah and Luke.
History:
- Seen when June goes to a women’s rights movement and
they burn pornography, it shows that they had made so
much progress only for it to be reversed.
Love:
Freedom:
- Seen as there are no children running in the streets.
- June was separated by her husband.
- Not allowed to sing songs with words like, ‘free.’
- She is cautious of resisting and regaining freedom.
- They cannot read.
SYMBOLS:
Dark red tulips, healing at their stem – the handmaids never got to
chance to heal.
Habits are nuns – she says that habits are hard to break meaning
that because the rules and system was based off Christianity, it is
hard to break the system.
Blood – she compares the bodies on the Wall to the blood red
tulips.
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