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HMT - Coggle Diagram
HMT
Resistance/Rebellion
small acts of resistance are present throughout the novel, fluxtuating Offred's levels of indoctrination and the control of the regime
'I would like to believe this is a story I'm telling. I need to believe it. I must believe it'
--> act of resistance
--> taking control of own thought
'It's French, he said. From M'aidez. Help me'
--> foreshadows the resistance
--> secret resistance?
--> Brotherhood in 1984?
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'I would like to steal something from this room. I would like to take something small'
--> willing to break one of the commandments
--> religion as a control mechanism
'...moves his foot so it's touching mine again. No one can see...'
--> illustrates how even people who are the most orthodox/of the highest status still rebel against their own rules (commanders --> Syme 1984)
--> animal fam 'all animals are equal. but some animals are more equal than others'
'Sanity is a valuable possession; I hoard it the way people once hoarded money...I save it, so I will have enough, when the time comes'
--> the plan to escape
-> hopeful?
--> underground railroad
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Religion
''Blessed be the fruit'' / ''May the Lord open''
--> everyday language is saturated with religious phrasing
--> reinforces the
''They can hit us, there's scriptural precedent''
--> Gilead justifies violence against women through Biblical selection
''Blessed are the meek''
--> Beatitudes in the Bible
--> they manipulate scripture to teach submission without hope
''Gilead is within you'
--> a religious sounding mantra
--> shows how internalized the rules have become
''Praise be''
--> stock religious phrase used constantly
--> reflects how religious language has inflitrated even casual conversation
Surveillance
a central theme within HMT
surveillance is used as a tool of control, fear and oppression
Why is matters?
mirrors real world regimes where oppression thrives on fear and mistrust
Physical surveillance
- The Eyes
the secret police for embodies the regime's power to constantly watch the community of Gilead
- Guards
monitoring movements
-Commanders' Houses
even inside the houses, handmaids are watching each other e.g., Marthas, Wives
Psychological surveillance
- internalized fear
- language and dress
words + greetings such as "Under His Eye" reinforce the concept that everyone is being watched
Surveillance as a tool of patriarchy
- targets the women, controlling their sexuality, reproduction and autonomy. (every aspect)
QUOTES
'Perhaps it was a test to see what I would do. Perhaps he is an Eye'
--> lack of trust
--> Cold war (spies)
--> link to 1984 (surveillance)
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'A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays in the maze'
--> shows the illusion of freedom (''invisible walls'')
--> surveillance always continues
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'On this day we can do anything we want'
--> power shifts to the one
--> power still stands
--> lowers the boundaries temporarily
'..they listen at the doors, no doubt, and see things even with their eyes averted'
--> everyone is always watching and listening
--> West Berlin (fear of talking to others in case of being killed/taken away)
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'Already we were losing the taste for freedom, already we were finding the walls secure'
--> simple choices taken away
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Love/relationships
''Love is not the point''
--> SJ's words
--> love is not the purpose
--> removal of all emotions
--> prevents the combination of people (rebellion)
''I ought to feel hatred for this man. I know I ought to feel it. But it isn't what I do feel'
--> Gilead has warped regular human emotions
--> confusing love, hate, pity
''Better never means better for everyone.. It always means worse for some''
--> relationships are sacrificed for the 'greater good' of Gilead
Memory
the conversion for Offred from experiencing the world pre the regime as well as living in it
find comfort at 'Night' thinking back to her life before hand and who she was/who she had in her life
QUOTES
'I don't know what men used to say. I had only their words for it.'
--> long term sexism/misogyny
--> power differential
'I want everything back, the way it was. But there is no point to it, this wanting'
--> deep yearning for the past
--> futility in desiring something she knows is gone
--> self awareness that there is no hope
'..It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories'
--> reflection of the ordinariness of the past, especially with Luke
--> what seem regular has become precious and rare
'When we think of the past it's the beautiful things we pick out. We want to believe it was all like that'
--> acknowledges how she has a selective memory
--> attempts to highlight the sweetness of the past in comparison to the harsh present
'Moira was our fantasy. We hugged her to us, she was with us in secret..'
--> recalls Moira as a symbol of resistance + independence
--> her spark in a world where women are silenced
'What is on the other side is normal life'
--> the Commander's office gives Offred glimpses of previous life
--> the aspects of normality she once felt is now forbidden/scared to those of higher status
"I must forget my secret name and all ways back.''
--> indoctrination is able to take control even to those who not believe the ways of the regime
--> loss of hope to go back to regular life
Oppression + totalitarianism
the power of the regime is apparent throughout the whole of HMT, expressing the high levels of oppression and dictatorship over the Handmaids, as well as any other people of lower status e.g., Econowives
QUOTES
'Better never means better for everyone... It always means worse for some'
--> extremeites of difference between each level of social class
--> naivity of people of high status (commander)
'They've removed anything you could tie a rope to'
--> not only controls bodies, but even the ability to escape the regime, even internally
--> complete domination over the body
'Freedom, like everything else, is relative'
--> freedom is defined by the regime
--> freedom from danger and sin replaces the freedom to choose
'The Bible is kept locked up, the way people once kept tea locked up'
--> a regime built on religion tightly controls who accesses scripture
--> manipulating its words to justify oppression
'They can hit us, there's Scriptural precendent'
--> theocratic law sanctions violence against women
--> Gilead fuses brutality with divine legitimacy
'What it really means is that she is in control, of the process and thus of the product'
--> state controls reproduction
--> uses ritualized rape to maintain power and 'divine' justification
'A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze'
--> illustrates the illusion of freedom under a totalitarian system
--> choices exist, but only within strict precautions
''Ignoring isn't the same as ignorance, you have to work at it''