The Handmaid’s Tale Chapter 4

SECTION II - Shopping Offred, Ofglen and Ofwarren’s names symbolise their status as slaves to masters whose names they bear, but Nick clearly does not toe the party line, and when he winks at Offred, she senses that here is somebody as dissident as herself. By contrast, Ofglen seems totally devoid of personality, but on reflection, Offred decides that this may be out of fear rather than conviction, for Handmaids are meant to spy on each other. The atmosphere established through Atwood’s prose is sinister and repressive.

Analysis – Nick (p.27/28) Think/Pair Rally Robin –red words/Group Share - Write He lives here, in the household, over the garage. Low status: he hasn’t been issued a woman, not even one. He doesn’t rate: some defect, lack of connections. But he acts as if he doesn’t know this, or care. He’s too casual, he’s not servile enough. It may be stupidity, but I don’t think so. Smells fishy, they used to say, or I smell a rat………….He looks at me, and sees me looking……Then he winks………………He’s just taken a risk, but for what? What is I report him?....Perhaps it was a test, to see what I would do. Perhaps he is an Eye. What is the purpose of Nick? How has Atwood used language her to establish the repressive atmosphere in Gilead? SQI ‘pepper’ your quotes/consider vocabulary choices carefully to ensure full impact and understanding conveyed.

Chapter 5 Extract analysis – table discussion (allocate bullet/all share) ‘Cold Write Task’ Thursday 28 September P.33 - from ‘We turn a corner… to p.34 ‘don’t underrate it’ Explore the language used to present the Handmaid’s shopping expedition. Consider – it is a parody of femininity; a masquerade that hides the oppression of women ? (pair/share) Roles Colour /clothing Imagery – sensory Motif – doubles/what is familiar and what is alien Tone/atmosphere Features of dystopia – propaganda/biblical/power and control Gilead – a territorial state and a state of mind Highlight your quotes/methods – label range of method identified and explored

Chapter 6 violence and destruction – the disturbing ‘new landmarks’ of Gilead Hooded dead bodies of dissidents (doctors executed for performing abortions) P.42 – explore the language and effect (discuss/share) Connect images to context (both production and reader responses across time/consider current law and potential changes/political situation in USA Exploration of the past/present How could this establish a sense of insecurity within the state of Gilead? What other aspects of Gilead embed this feeling? Table Task – colour groups

Night III Chapter 7 There are 7 ‘Night’ sections in the novel – it signals ‘time out’ when Offred’s life is not under glaring public scrutiny and she can escape into her private world of memory. What is important about this structural device in the novel? In pairs, locate key feminist issues explored in chapter 7 (Rally Robin Findings) How is storytelling a survival tool for Offred? How are the ‘Night’ section in start contrast to the other chapters in the novel? Offred becomes a self-conscious narrator – drawing attention to her need for storytelling. The admission “If it’s a story I’m telling, then I have control over the ending” – this implies that to Offred her testimony is a construct and the novel an example of post modern fiction.