Catherine's English Blog

In these chapters, Offred almost seems to reach a point of acceptance where she wants to stop thinking about her past life and begin adjusting to her new one. We also learn more about the Commander.  As Offred begins growing more comfortable with him, she also realizes she can manipulate him. The Commander is a bit of a confusing character. I’m not sure if he navigates off of guilt for Offred, his personal gain, or loneliness (maybe all three). After reading this far into the book, one thing I’ve also noticed is how Atwood gives us parts of past events as Offred begins adjusting to her new life. Atwood gives us small pieces of history so we can begin piecing them together and discovering different parts of Offred’s life. For example, in these chapters, we learn about how the government was overthrown and Offred’s experience throughout all of it.  What do you think about this developing relationship between Offred and the Commander?

These chapters of The Handmaid’s Tale revealed a lot more about Offred’s past life and the history of Gilead. One of the characters I’m the most interested in is Moira. Offred has tried looking for Moira on several occasions and in memories also describes Moira as slightly rebellious and very much the type to “seize the day”. My interest peaked at the end of chapter twenty-two when Offred describes Moira’s escape. I think these flashbacks Offred has are interesting because it gives more context about the past life Offred had, but it also serves as a way to keep Offred grounded and sane.  Who do you think is the most interesting character so far? And do you think Moira will make an appearance anytime soon? 

These first few chapters of The Handmaid’s Tale were honestly a bit confusing for me. From the flashbacks of Offred's past life to Offred trying to adjust to her new life, I wasn't always sure where Offred was and what she was thinking. Although, one thing I believe Margaret Atwood does extremely well is painting a picture of this totalitarian society. The biggest point that Atwood emphasizes with Gilead is that women are viewed as property of the state. This society is also obsessed with fertility and Atwood shows this in many ways. Firstly, with the role of the handmaidens who are deemed as valuable to society solely because they are able to bear children. Another way this is shown is when Offred is walking through the street and sees one of the past handmaidens gloating about her pregnancy, and how it is almost deemed as impolite to gloat in front of women who are barren or not pregnant. There was also the procession of women who had a miscarriage or lost their baby over chi...

 These first few chapters of The Handmaidens Tale were honestly a bit confusing for me. From the flashbacks of Offred's past life to Offred trying to adjust to her new life, I wasn't always sure where Offred was and what she was thinking. Although, one thing I believe Margaret Atwood does extremely well is painting a picture of this totalitarian society. The biggest point that Atwood emphasizes with Gilead is that women are viewed as property of the state. This society is also obsessed with fertility and Atwood shows this in many ways. Firstly, with the role of the handmaidens who are deemed as valuable to society solely because they are able to bear children. Another way this is shown is when Offred is walking through the street and sees one of the past handmaidens gloating about her pregnancy, and how it is almost deemed as impolite to gloat in front of women who are barren or not pregnant. There was also the procession of women who had a miscarriage or lost their baby over c...

     An unquestionable way to keep the real world from spiraling into an Orwelian society is to not give the government too much power. If the government has too much power, the citizens could be stripped of their rights and it could quickly turn into a tyranny. Another way is to try to not deepen the class divide. We see an extreme caste system in 1984 with the proles not knowing anything, and being conditioned to believe that anything the Party says is correct. We don’t want to create an extreme class divide in the real world to the point where a certain group or class would barely have any rights or be vastly below another. Another way is by preserving our history. The erasure of history in 1984 is something that Orwell talks about fairly in-depth. The Party erased all past history so they could rewrite it themselves. Keeping our history in the real world and learning from our past mistakes is an evident way to make sure that a whole society will never be conditioned t...

The last chapter of 1984 was the ending I anticipated, but one I honestly did not want to happen. At the end of 1984, the Party has finally won and Winston's feeling/story of rebellion is over. Winston hates Julia and can't even think of any memories that aren't associated with Big Brother. I believe the ending ultimately shows how powerful this dystopian society is. Another alternate route for an ending that I first thought would happen when reading the first chapters of 1984 was that there would be a huge rebellion and the Party would be overthrown. Although the ending Orwell went with is the exact opposite and some readers could argue that it is less lackluster, I think the ending Orwell chose to write is much more meaningful, gives Winston's story and this dystopian society more significance, and provides the reader with much to reflect on. What did you think of the ending? Was it what you originally anticipated and did you like it?