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The Handmaids Tale : - Coggle Diagram
The Handmaids Tale :
Characters/Relationships
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Side Characters
Aunt Elizabeth leader of the school Ofglen went to. Taught her that women were meant to be simply for getting pregnant.
Moira was Ofglens best friend before the war. They were sent to the school together. Moira escaped twice by disassemblying a toliet. Ofglen thinks of her often.
Luke was Ofglens husband before the war. They were having an affair when Luke was previously married. They had a baby girl, and when the war started tried to run away. Luke got sent to war.
Marthas
Rita- The cook, does not seem to like Ofglen
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Main Characters
Nick is the car washer/outside grounds keeper. Ofglen and Nick have an unspoken attraction to each other, making eye contact whenever they see each other. Nick is working with the commander to help sneak Ofglen in to their forbidden meetings. Ofglen is supposed to have relations with Nick to have a baby.
Commander Is the head of the household, married to Serena Joy He is sneaking Ofglen in to his office when Serena Joy is out. They play games and talk about recent events. He begins to sneak her things she is not allowed to have such as lotion or magazines.
Serena Joy is the Commanders Wife and old singer/TV star. She does not like Ofglen because she is jealous. She is the one who wants Ofglen to get pregnant with Nick.
Offred is her walking partner, part of "MayDay" which is an underground group that provides them with out information potentially looking for a way to escape.
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Possible Themes
Gender Roles The women got taken out of all jobs because they felt "there wasnt a reason for them in work", now during the war they are only maids, wifes, and handmaids
We are not each other's, anymore. Instead, I am his. 182
Any account with an F on it instead of an M. All they needed to do is push a few buttons. We're cut off.
178
Love is such a powerful thing that they are not allowed to have. Offred has lots of lost love, her daughter, her husband, mother, friends, and her old life. Love so strong it gets her through her painfully boring life.
"Shes running to meet me, in her small green nightgown with the sunflower on the front, her feet bare, and I pick her up and feel her arms and legs go around me and I begin to cry, because I know then that I'm not awake. I'm back in this bed, trying to wake up."
109
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No mother is ever completely, a child's idea of what a mother should be, and I suppose it works the other way around as well. But despite everything we didn't do badly by one another, we did as well as most. I just wish she were here, so I could tell her I finally know this.
181
This is what I feel like: this sound of glass. I feel like the word Shatter. I want to be with someone. 103
Identity They are stripped of their identity, being forced to fit into their personality of there title. There is nothing for them to express them self they are forced to just be there. Seen and not heard.
I am thirty-three years old. I have brown hair. I stand five seven without shoes. I have trouble remembering what I used to look like. I have viable ovaries. I have one more chance.
143
Authors Purpose
Margaret Atwood wrote the book based off of several things. The book was published in 1985 and there was a rise of Christians rights in the 1970s-80s. Te Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, and a woman named Mary Webster
In the background of the book she wrote that a huge group of Christians took over and killed the president, making Gilead into a totalitarian state
Religion
When Offred was in the school they were very big on religion. They would have pray sessions and would be forced into memorizing scripture to help them feel less alone.
They also read a passage out of the bible before every "ceremony" to show that with every intention and decision they made God is still in their thoughts
Offred is unsure how to feel about Religion. Why would a God so powerful worthy of all the schooling they have received put her in a place like this? And take her family away?
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