Edexcel A Level English Literature The
Handmaid's Tale 2024 Exam Questions
with 100% Correct Answers
chapter one summary - Answer>>a flashback of the handmaids
living in the gymnasium, which offred likens to a palimpset. this
suggests that the society (gilead) has been superimposed on the
past one, and traces of the old linger beneath the new
chapter one quotes - Answer>>• we weren't allowed out, except
for walks, two by two around the football field, which was
enclosed now by a chain linked fence topped with barbed wire."
→ lack of freedom
• the hoops were still in place though the nets were gone." →
remnants of the past are still there, coldness of what is left
• "aunt sara and aunt elizabeth patrolled, they had electric cattle
prods." → treated like animals, used for their bodies in the same
way cows are used just for milk/meat
• "we learnt to whisper, almost without sound." → restriction
•"we had flanelette shirts, like children."
•"that was our fantasy." → hope is still there
chapter two summary - Answer>>shifts to present tense, in
which offred is living in a plain room. the door doesn't lock or shut
completely
she hears rita and cora talking about her and she wishes she
could join in, but they are marthas
chapter two quotes - Answer>>"everything except the wings
around my face are red" → colour imagery
"a chair, a table, a lamp" → creates a boring and monotonous
tone
"where I am is not a prison but a privilege" → very black/white
way of thinking, no middle ground
,"blue, for the commander's wife" → symbolises peace and purity,
the virgin mary wore blue
"it's the red dress she disapproves of" → even marthas despise
her
"tokens" → used to control what people buy
chapter three summary - Answer>>offred meets the
commander's wife, who she recognises as serena joy. she is cold
to offred and she is dissapointed, she hoped that she could have
been a motherly figure for her
chapter three quotes - Answer>>"i want to see as little of you as
possible" → resents offred immediately
"the cigarettes must have come from the black market" → hope,
as she isn't a complete follower of gilead
"I wanted to turn her into an older sister, a motherly figure,
someone who would understand and protect me" → alone and
vulnerable
"the woman sitting in front of me was serena joy, or had been,
once" → changed from an outspoken, strong and passionate
singer
chapter four summary - Answer>>offred meets ofglen for
shopping, and they are careful not to say anything unorthodox.
they reach a checkpoint manned by young guardians, whom she
subtly flirts with and enjoys the power that this gives her
chapter four quotes - Answer>>"he hasn't been issued a
woman yet" → woman less than men, considered belongings to
'issue' to others
"I enjoy the power, the power of a dog bone"
"offred" vs "nick" → gender inequality between the two, he keeps
his name and is allowed on his own
, chapter five summary - Answer>>offred remembers aunt lydia
explaining the two types of freedom, freedom to and freedom from
when the handmaids were in training in the red centre
on a shopping trip with ofglen, tourists see the handmaids and
ask to take photos. offred declines, but answers that they are
happy when asked
chapter five quotes - Answer>>"they decided that even the
names of shops was too much temptation"
"now you are being given freedom from. don't underrate it"
"one of them is vastly pregnant. she's a flag on the hilltop. what
can we done. we too can be saved." → highlights the importance
of having a baby in gilead's society
"now that she's a carrier of life, she's closer to death" →
metaphor, shows how its common pregnant woman are killed off
from jealousy
"quiet, says one of the guardians, and we hush like schoolgirls" →
similie, power imbalance
chapter six summary - Answer>>ofglen and offred take a walk
past the church, and the wall in which executed criminals have
been hung for retroactive crimes. todays are doctors who
performed abortions. offred thinks of aunt lydia, who reassured
them they would soon get used to their new lives
chapter six quotes - Answer>>"it may not seem ordinary now,
but in time it will."
"no woman in her right mind, these days, would seek to prevent a
birth, should she be so lucky to conceive"
"like mouths painted by thick brushes by kindergarten children" →
metaphorical link creates a shocking image between violence and
children
"we have learned to see the world in gasps" → even the
handmaid's vision is physically restricted by the headdress.
