This is an extract from Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. We see how Offred describes her breakfast with great detail due to her boredom in her bedroom followed by the birth ceremony of Ofwarren’s child. This occurs after she recounts her memory of being pregnant and being with her husband before the Regime.
Atwood manages to make two specific themes prominent in this extract of women's bodies being used as political instruments and religion showing effect of oppression. She makes these thematic ideas apparent to the readers by making deliberate choices.
Atwood’s usage of motifs, similes, and metaphors all contribute to highlighting the themes of the passage which generates a depressed and melancholy tone through the passage.
Firstly, …show more content…
Atwood uses the motif of a chair to connect it to Offred as a character. The fact that chairs are “leader of a meeting”, “first syllable of charity” and “a French word for the flesh” all seem to make a connection to Offred’s life as a handmaid. The leader of meeting implies a situational irony and a foreshadow to the events that happen during the ceremony which highlights the fact that Offred or the handmaids are never in control but the Regime. The relation to flesh seems to highlight the main role or purpose of Offred and Handmaids in general to be just baby bearing instruments which connects to how its a form of charity and self sacrifice towards not only the Commander and his wife but also Gilead as a whole showing Offred’s selfless and giving character traits to the readers. The simile which connects egg to look “like woman's torso” which symbolizes egg to be a symbol of fertility and birth emphasizing Handmaid's such as Offred’s role they play in the Gilead society. This shows the readers how Offred’s worth and value have been only valued by the society only through her fertility. These examples generate a sympathetic, empathetic and slightly depressing due to the fact that women are confined to the gender roles that are set by the Gilead society and defining Handmaiden women like Offred only for their ability to bring forth children. This also seems to also create a sense of loathing and detest towards the function in of Gilead and its regime for the way the women have been
Atwood manages to make two specific themes prominent in this extract of women's bodies being used as political instruments and religion showing effect of oppression. She makes these thematic ideas apparent to the readers by making deliberate choices.
Atwood’s usage of motifs, similes, and metaphors all contribute to highlighting the themes of the passage which generates a depressed and melancholy tone through the passage.
Firstly, …show more content…
Atwood uses the motif of a chair to connect it to Offred as a character. The fact that chairs are “leader of a meeting”, “first syllable of charity” and “a French word for the flesh” all seem to make a connection to Offred’s life as a handmaid. The leader of meeting implies a situational irony and a foreshadow to the events that happen during the ceremony which highlights the fact that Offred or the handmaids are never in control but the Regime. The relation to flesh seems to highlight the main role or purpose of Offred and Handmaids in general to be just baby bearing instruments which connects to how its a form of charity and self sacrifice towards not only the Commander and his wife but also Gilead as a whole showing Offred’s selfless and giving character traits to the readers. The simile which connects egg to look “like woman's torso” which symbolizes egg to be a symbol of fertility and birth emphasizing Handmaid's such as Offred’s role they play in the Gilead society. This shows the readers how Offred’s worth and value have been only valued by the society only through her fertility. These examples generate a sympathetic, empathetic and slightly depressing due to the fact that women are confined to the gender roles that are set by the Gilead society and defining Handmaiden women like Offred only for their ability to bring forth children. This also seems to also create a sense of loathing and detest towards the function in of Gilead and its regime for the way the women have been