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Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 28, 2011
What is one thing Atwood is doing stylistically that you appreciate? Why do you think Atwood chose to use this stylistic device?How is this helping to create meaning within the work?
*Remember, in your posts you can use outside research, your own opinions, and examples from the text (which is REALLY important to do *hint hint*)
Quintessential to Margaret Atwood’s style in the novel “The Handmaid’s Tale”, is Atwood’s utilization of the symbolism, which comes in large part to indirectly characterize the society in which the novel takes place. Above all else, it is the symbolic events, facts and realities present in the main character’s life that come to evoke an image and context of the society in which the main character, Offred, dwells. While relatively little direct facts regarding The Republic of Gilead are relayed to the reader, it is through the experiences and reflections of Offred that the society comes to be depicted. Through such revelations of Offred, such as her statement that she is “a national resource”(Atwood 85), Atwood is able to relay the society and realities of Gilead to the reader. Opposed to directly stating the position of women in the society, it is through such remarks, in this case emphasized by syntax, that their societal stature in Gilead is revealed. Though the remark above denotes only a vague notion, its connotations expand deeply into the meaning of the novel. It is this symbolism that comes to reflect deeply upon The Republic Gilead as a concept and embellish its status, similar to the society portrayed by George Orwell in the novel “1984”, as one reminiscent of the potential for a future totalitarian world. Through such symbolic remarks as the one above, or that in which Offred remarks “I called it mine”(65)[in reference to the room in which she dwells], much about the setting and subsequently the novel’s meaning are revealed. Again, a simple concept, emphasized by syntax, comes to pertain to deeper undertones and the realities of The Republic Gilead. The two examples provided aid in the novel’s depiction of the role of women in the Gilead’s society and moreover, their status as a resource or property. Atwood’s employment of symbolic statements, whose simple notions delve deeply into larger sociopolitical and psychological concepts, serve ultimately to further the meaning of the novel. The implementation of this technique aids in the realistic depiction of the society in which it takes place. Subsequently, the increased realism attained through such techniques aids in the increased relevance of the novel unto the reality of its readers. That is to say that they enable Atwood to evoke a meaning, similar to that of George Orwell in “1984”, which speaks more deeply to the fundamentals of society and that in which modern humanity dwells. From a stylistic perspective, the technique of symbolism, evokes an increased sense of reality with multiple regards, subsequently strengthening the novels meaning and aiding in the definition of Atwood's style.
One thing that I appreciate Atwood for doing in the novel, is the style of narration. Although it may be confusing and hard to follow at times, Offred’s informal talking-to-herself narration gives me a candid, personal connection with the character. The way Offred becomes disoriented is not just Atwood transitioning scenes, but an actual significant event in the novel that matters, that makes me feel how Offred is feeling, and thinking. For example, there are times when Offred informally corrects herself mid sentence, and inputs explanations for things she says “I simply look at him. The understatement of the year, was a phrase my mother uses. Used” (Atwood 178). This not only highlights the fact that her mother is dead, but also shows how Offred feels about it. The reader can feel the pain that goes through her as she remembers that her mother is no longer with her anymore. If Atwood had simply put “used” instead of the period and then “Used.”, the reader might have easily skipped over it and acknowledged the fact without realizing it. Perhaps it is an important fact, I’m not too sure. These corrections also help to further immerse the reader into the novel, because her mistakes are only human, which connects the reader. It may seem like a distraction in the flow of the novel, but I feel like it helps the reader to step into the shoes of the narrator.
Jeffrey Witter Original Posting One key stylistic device used by Atwood in The Handmaid's Tale is the use of syntax to create a more conformed dialogue, which is used to demonstrate the dreary sameness of the Republic. The dialogue is not individualized, but instead, the dialogue is depicted as everyone talking in the same manner. Quotation marks are not used in many parts of the novel, and this removes the personalization of most dialogue in a novel. In addition, dialect is not used, which further advances the feeling of conformity in Offred's society. When quotation marks are used, they serve as a departure from the usual cast of people that Offred interacts with on a regular basis. For example, when Offred meets with the Commander, he says, “I'd like you to play a game of Scrabble with me.”(179.) The use of quotation marks is a sudden departure from the dialogue used around the home. When Offred speaks with the Aunts, or many of her fellow handmaids, quotation marks are not usually used. Atwood uses the quotation marks to emphasize the departure from the dreary normalcy of being a servant in the Commander's home. This differing syntax further illustrates the irony of the Commander. He is supposed to represent conformity and degradation of women, but the use of quotation marks coupled with his unique behaviour show that the Commander differs greatly from the society that he represents. Syntax is a vital stylistic device, as the quotation marks are used to distinguish the different characters and illustrate the conformity of the Commander's household, as well as the irony of how the Commander himself differs from the household he represents.
I appreciate Atwood's use of flashbacks throughout the novel. I think she does this to specifically show how her life was before and after women lost their freedom. Even though it gets confusing at times, because she doesn't warn readers when she's speaking of the past, it helps me understand the work more by showing me how the situation affecting her personally. Instead of just telling readers of how bad Offred's life was currently, Atwood shows readers how her life was before and what happened days before women lost their freedom. It kind of puts me in her shoes and makes me think of how she might have been feeling. Along with her flashbacks of the past when she was happy, she keeps wondering where Luke and her daughter is. I cannot image how hard it may be for her. Even though she eventually gets to see pictures of her daughter, she's hurt by the fact that her daughter doesn't even know she exists and that she wasn't able to watch her daughter grow. In conclusion, Atwood's use of flashback helps reader understand how Offred, or all of the women, may have felt after having everything and everyone taken away from them. It also helps reader understand that the women in the story were normal women who lived the normal lives women are living today before it was taken away from them.
To further agree with Tiffany, i also appreciate the use of flashbacks within the novel. I think flashbacks are incorporated in the novel to show the strength of women in society. Even though Offred has lived a life of oppression, she still is able to look at the past and cherish life. The flashbacks also reveal the sanity she still has despite her harsh treatment. With the mistreatment of Offred, she still is able to cherish what she once had, even the little things. such as "the rooms themselves i miss as well, even the dreadful paintings" (Atwood 67). With the flashbacks, she is able to look at what she once had, instead of what she lacks. With this, she would feel a sense of optimism of living. Since she still remembers her past, she also keeps a sense of human identity, with her, thus keeping "her" alive. Flashback adds meaning to the work because it tells the reader to cherish what you have now, even how little it is.
So far in Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale I appreciate her use of flashback to indirectly characterize Offred and compare and contrast her old life with her new life. I believe that Atwood chose to use flashback throughout the last few chapters and through the course of the novel to display the her contrasting lives. She used to be a careless and normal child when she used to watch Serena Joy on the TV and listen to her mom's music when friends came over to drink. By displaying this to the reader it effectively displays Offred's past life and helps put the reader into her shoes. For example, for me it would be very life changing and catastrophic for me to be took away from my Saturday morning cartoons as a child (since I love them so much) and be thrown into a school where you were prepared to basically be a slave for the rest of your life. To contrast with Offred's childhood the author displays her live in the academy where Aunt Lydia taught her. Offred's deep desire to have a cigarette highlight her change from adolescent youth to a depressed and broken teenager who has nothing to help her but nicotine.
This device is creating meaning within the work by contrasting her two very different life styles in a somewhat allegorical story that evokes a sense of realism. Even though this story may seem far-fetched it is realistic for this to happen within a society. My knowledge of history outside the US isn't very broad, but I would compare this story in some ways to the Comfort Women during the rape of Nanking. I hope I am being historically correct.
I also agree with Tiffany, Alfie and Andrew with Atwood's use of flashbacks in the novel. Atwood's choice of using flashbacks is to compare the past and present life of Offred. When she is a little girl she has a wide amount of freedom. On the other hand, as an adult, she barely has any freedom. The use of flashbacks shows the drastic change in Offred's life. Referring back to the first response question about identity, the use of flashbacks gives readers a chance to see her identity and keeps Offred from fully losing her identity. Without the use of flashbacks readers would not be able to really know anything about Offred as an adult because of the limitations she has,which limits her from doing anything she wants to do,which shows personality. The use of flashbacks adds meaning within the work because it shows the desires of many women in the novel. In Offred's flashbacks, readers are able to know that she once was a mother and a wife and still desires to be those things. When Offred sees that Janine is pregnant she says, “She's a magic presence to us,an object of envy,we covet her. She's a flag on a hilltop,showing us what can still be done”(Atwood 35).This shows the desire of many women to become pregnant and to still experience what it feels like to become a mother. In conclusion, the use of flashbacks is used in the novel to display the hopes and dreams, in the near future, for many women.
well that was frustrating. i just wrote a page long response and attempted to post it, only for it to be lost as blogpost told me that it couldnt post it. WELL AT LEAST IT COULD HAVE SAVED IT BEFORE IT SCREWED ME OVER -_____________________-
I also agree with Tiffany and her appreciation for flashbacks throughout the novel. I believe that being able to compare Offred’s life now to her past life allow readers to further understand the suffering and pain she has to go through. Being able to see what she had back then and what she is left with now has helped me feel and get a clearer picture of what she may have been experiencing. It helps create meaning within the work by showing that Offred has grown as an individual. She learns to cope with what she is set upon. She also learns to “live, as usual, by ignoring.” (74) It not only allows the reader to compare the events in her life, but also her mindset and how she has matured through her thoughts and actions.
One thing that Atwood does stylistically that i appreciate is her method of telling the story through first person narration. This makes the story seen in a much narrower view for the readers and causes characterizations of some characters to be limited to what we see through Offred's eyes. For example when she states that she sees the woman named Janine and states she "never liked her", we are to assume that she is a bad person (36). Also through the form of narration we are directed too think offred is speaking to us because of statements like "i'll pretend you can hear me"(53) . this also shows how she may be telling the story only to make reader believe her own views. I believe that the first person narration used is to make the novel more interactive with readers. This also helps in leading readers to become persuaded into believing certain points throughout the novel. From the way details are deduced from the opinion of the narrator shows that the form of narration is to lead readers to think a certain way.
A major stylistic device used in The Handmaid's Tale that I appreciate is the powerful use of symbolism. Atwood uses the Eyes, which is this government's secret police force, to symbolize the extremely restrictive power of the oppressive government. While it is never stated directly that the government is monitoring them excessively, it is indirectly shown through how cautious Offred has to be about people that may be Eyes. When she is taking a walk and takes a picture of japanese visitors and an interpreter asks her a question, she responds carefully, remembering that “most interpreters are Eyes”(Atwood 38). This constant state of awareness that she must be in to avoid getting in trouble illustrates the harshness of the society she lives in. Using the Eyes to create an atmosphere that feels restrictive, oppressive, and constantly monitored helps put the reader in Offred's shoes and feel what she feels, which couldn't be done if the situation was set up without symbolism.
The same thing happened to me with my first post. It was terrible. I had to rewrite the entire thing which angered me. However, I am not writing my stuff with a different program then copying and pasting it into Blogspot. If there's an error just go back and repaste and it should go through.
Name: Alwin Response: Rev. Rear Admiral Monsieur Jeffrey S. Witter II I enjoyed reading Herr Jeffrey’s insights on the dialogue, and lack of quotation marks used in the novel. I had not thought of that myself, as I focused more on the purpose of the style of narration. I’m not sure I quite agree with Jeff’s ideas about how everyone speaks in the same manner because I feel that the way the commander speaks compared to the handmaids, are extremely different. I mean, it’s part of the dehumanization of being a handmaid in the authoritarianism, that completely degrades women and puts them on a lower level than men. As a response to the second half of his post, I think that Jeff’s ideas could be a bit too deep. I actually think that some of the areas where there are no quotation marks are actually just poorly edited sections of the novel. The reason for this argument is because when I was reading the story, I noticed many spelling and punctuation errors, including those missing quotation marks. However, they may have been intentional, and Jeffrey’s analysis may be sound. Also, I’m not sure if I follow the part where you speak about the irony of the commander Jeff. Would you be so kind as to elaborate on that? I feel that it might be heading in the right direction for a timed write.
Atwoods stylistic use of flashbacks so often is something I apppreciate because it offers a comparision between life now and then for the women. As many of my classmates previously stated, it allows the reader to get an inside look into how much has been taken from the women. Life was not always like this for them but they've been forced to conform to these rules now.
By Atwood giving us these comparisons it puts the womens strength on display. Despite that throughout the novel so far women are put down and (somewhat) told they are weak they continue to life each passing day while continuing to deal with their heartache as well. It takes and emmense amount of courage, strength and character to succeed at this tactic.
Something that I appreciate in the novel is Atwood's use of syntax throughout the story. Atwood either chooses to use quotation marks or to withdraw from using them in certain parts of the novel. Atwood chose to do this in order to emphasive Offred's narration. The reader is able to see the other characters through Offred's perspective. Although it allows for more of a one sided perspective, the reader is truly able to see the story from Offred's eyes. An example includes when Offred says to Ofglen, "Under His Eye." (Atwood 59). Atwood uses quotations in this to represent that Offred is able to talk to Ofglen like how she would in the past. When Offred says, " Do they feel now?" (272), Atwood chooses to not use quotation marks. This represents a contrast in her use of syntax, showing a theme of change. This theme of change shows how society is different from what it was in the past, and how it is in the present.
Name: Donna Chow Response: Original Posting In The Hand Maid’s Tale I appreciate Atwood’s vivid use of imagery. It allows the readers to see through things from Offred’s perspective and strengthens it as well. I believe that Atwood uses this device, because as a previous blog post quoted from Atwood is that she believes the current society sees things only in glances. What Atwood does is allows her readers to imagine a whole scenery or object with every single detail, unlike the usual everyday proceedings of a human in the modern century. An example of Atwood’s imagery is when Offred is describing her room which has “a chair, a table, a lamp. Above, on the white ceiling, a relief ornament in the shape of a wreath, and in the center of it a blank space, plastered over, like the place in a face where the eye has been taken out.” (Atwood, 9). I believe that Atwood also uses the imagery to show a theme in the book which is that “Sometimes the simplest things are underappreciated”, because the Handmaids barely get to see anything and everything they catch glimpses of they take in humbly.
Quintessential to Margaret Atwood’s style in the novel “The Handmaid’s Tale”, is Atwood’s utilization of the symbolism, which comes in large part to indirectly characterize the society in which the novel takes place. Above all else, it is the symbolic events, facts and realities present in the main character’s life that come to evoke an image and context of the society in which the main character, Offred, dwells. While relatively little direct facts regarding The Republic of Gilead are relayed to the reader, it is through the experiences and reflections of Offred that the society comes to be depicted. Through such revelations of Offred, such as her statement that she is “a national resource”(Atwood 85), Atwood is able to relay the society and realities of Gilead to the reader. Opposed to directly stating the position of women in the society, it is through such remarks, in this case emphasized by syntax, that their societal stature in Gilead is revealed. Though the remark above denotes only a vague notion, its connotations expand deeply into the meaning of the novel. It is this symbolism that comes to reflect deeply upon The Republic Gilead as a concept and embellish its status, similar to the society portrayed by George Orwell in the novel “1984”, as one reminiscent of the potential for a future totalitarian world. Through such symbolic remarks as the one above, or that in which Offred remarks “I called it mine”(65)[in reference to the room in which she dwells], much about the setting and subsequently the novel’s meaning are revealed. Again, a simple concept, emphasized by syntax, comes to pertain to deeper undertones and the realities of The Republic Gilead. The two examples provided aid in the novel’s depiction of the role of women in the Gilead’s society and moreover, their status as a resource or property. Atwood’s employment of symbolic statements, whose simple notions delve deeply into larger sociopolitical and psychological concepts, serve ultimately to further the meaning of the novel. The implementation of this technique aids in the realistic depiction of the society in which it takes place. Subsequently, the increased realism attained through such techniques aids in the increased relevance of the novel unto the reality of its readers. That is to say that they enable Atwood to evoke a meaning, similar to that of George Orwell in “1984”, which speaks more deeply to the fundamentals of society and that in which modern humanity dwells. From a stylistic perspective, the technique of symbolism, evokes an increased sense of reality with multiple regards, subsequently strengthening the novels meaning and aiding in the definition of Atwood's style.
ReplyDeleteNaftali Moed
Name: Alwin
ReplyDeleteResponse: Original Posting
One thing that I appreciate Atwood for doing in the novel, is the style of narration. Although it may be confusing and hard to follow at times, Offred’s informal talking-to-herself narration gives me a candid, personal connection with the character. The way Offred becomes disoriented is not just Atwood transitioning scenes, but an actual significant event in the novel that matters, that makes me feel how Offred is feeling, and thinking. For example, there are times when Offred informally corrects herself mid sentence, and inputs explanations for things she says “I simply look at him. The understatement of the year, was a phrase my mother uses. Used” (Atwood 178). This not only highlights the fact that her mother is dead, but also shows how Offred feels about it. The reader can feel the pain that goes through her as she remembers that her mother is no longer with her anymore. If Atwood had simply put “used” instead of the period and then “Used.”, the reader might have easily skipped over it and acknowledged the fact without realizing it. Perhaps it is an important fact, I’m not too sure. These corrections also help to further immerse the reader into the novel, because her mistakes are only human, which connects the reader. It may seem like a distraction in the flow of the novel, but I feel like it helps the reader to step into the shoes of the narrator.
Jeffrey Witter
ReplyDeleteOriginal Posting
One key stylistic device used by Atwood in The Handmaid's Tale is the use of syntax to create a more conformed dialogue, which is used to demonstrate the dreary sameness of the Republic. The dialogue is not individualized, but instead, the dialogue is depicted as everyone talking in the same manner. Quotation marks are not used in many parts of the novel, and this removes the personalization of most dialogue in a novel. In addition, dialect is not used, which further advances the feeling of conformity in Offred's society. When quotation marks are used, they serve as a departure from the usual cast of people that Offred interacts with on a regular basis. For example, when Offred meets with the Commander, he says, “I'd like you to play a game of Scrabble with me.”(179.) The use of quotation marks is a sudden departure from the dialogue used around the home. When Offred speaks with the Aunts, or many of her fellow handmaids, quotation marks are not usually used. Atwood uses the quotation marks to emphasize the departure from the dreary normalcy of being a servant in the Commander's home. This differing syntax further illustrates the irony of the Commander. He is supposed to represent conformity and degradation of women, but the use of quotation marks coupled with his unique behaviour show that the Commander differs greatly from the society that he represents. Syntax is a vital stylistic device, as the quotation marks are used to distinguish the different characters and illustrate the conformity of the Commander's household, as well as the irony of how the Commander himself differs from the household he represents.
I appreciate Atwood's use of flashbacks throughout the novel. I think she does this to specifically show how her life was before and after women lost their freedom. Even though it gets confusing at times, because she doesn't warn readers when she's speaking of the past, it helps me understand the work more by showing me how the situation affecting her personally. Instead of just telling readers of how bad Offred's life was currently, Atwood shows readers how her life was before and what happened days before women lost their freedom. It kind of puts me in her shoes and makes me think of how she might have been feeling. Along with her flashbacks of the past when she was happy, she keeps wondering where Luke and her daughter is. I cannot image how hard it may be for her. Even though she eventually gets to see pictures of her daughter, she's hurt by the fact that her daughter doesn't even know she exists and that she wasn't able to watch her daughter grow. In conclusion, Atwood's use of flashback helps reader understand how Offred, or all of the women, may have felt after having everything and everyone taken away from them. It also helps reader understand that the women in the story were normal women who lived the normal lives women are living today before it was taken away from them.
ReplyDeleteName: Alfie Rafael
ReplyDeleteResponse: Tiffany
To further agree with Tiffany, i also appreciate the use of flashbacks within the novel. I think flashbacks are incorporated in the novel to show the strength of women in society. Even though Offred has lived a life of oppression, she still is able to look at the past and cherish life. The flashbacks also reveal the sanity she still has despite her harsh treatment. With the mistreatment of Offred, she still is able to cherish what she once had, even the little things. such as "the rooms themselves i miss as well, even the dreadful paintings" (Atwood 67). With the flashbacks, she is able to look at what she once had, instead of what she lacks. With this, she would feel a sense of optimism of living. Since she still remembers her past, she also keeps a sense of human identity, with her, thus keeping "her" alive. Flashback adds meaning to the work because it tells the reader to cherish what you have now, even how little it is.
So far in Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale I appreciate her use of flashback to indirectly characterize Offred and compare and contrast her old life with her new life. I believe that Atwood chose to use flashback throughout the last few chapters and through the course of the novel to display the her contrasting lives. She used to be a careless and normal child when she used to watch Serena Joy on the TV and listen to her mom's music when friends came over to drink. By displaying this to the reader it effectively displays Offred's past life and helps put the reader into her shoes. For example, for me it would be very life changing and catastrophic for me to be took away from my Saturday morning cartoons as a child (since I love them so much) and be thrown into a school where you were prepared to basically be a slave for the rest of your life. To contrast with Offred's childhood the author displays her live in the academy where Aunt Lydia taught her. Offred's deep desire to have a cigarette highlight her change from adolescent youth to a depressed and broken teenager who has nothing to help her but nicotine.
ReplyDeleteThis device is creating meaning within the work by contrasting her two very different life styles in a somewhat allegorical story that evokes a sense of realism. Even though this story may seem far-fetched it is realistic for this to happen within a society. My knowledge of history outside the US isn't very broad, but I would compare this story in some ways to the Comfort Women during the rape of Nanking. I hope I am being historically correct.
Name: Kim
ReplyDeleteResponse: Original Posting
I also agree with Tiffany, Alfie and Andrew with Atwood's use of flashbacks in the novel. Atwood's choice of using flashbacks is to compare the past and present life of Offred. When she is a little girl she has a wide amount of freedom. On the other hand, as an adult, she barely has any freedom. The use of flashbacks shows the drastic change in Offred's life. Referring back to the first response question about identity, the use of flashbacks gives readers a chance to see her identity and keeps Offred from fully losing her identity. Without the use of flashbacks readers would not be able to really know anything about Offred as an adult because of the limitations she has,which limits her from doing anything she wants to do,which shows personality. The use of flashbacks adds meaning within the work because it shows the desires of many women in the novel. In Offred's flashbacks, readers are able to know that she once was a mother and a wife and still desires to be those things. When Offred sees that Janine is pregnant she says, “She's a magic presence to us,an object of envy,we covet her. She's a flag on a hilltop,showing us what can still be done”(Atwood 35).This shows the desire of many women to become pregnant and to still experience what it feels like to become a mother. In conclusion, the use of flashbacks is used in the novel to display the hopes and dreams, in the near future, for many women.
Name: Alwin
ReplyDeleteResponse: Original i suppose
well that was frustrating. i just wrote a page long response and attempted to post it, only for it to be lost as blogpost told me that it couldnt post it. WELL AT LEAST IT COULD HAVE SAVED IT BEFORE IT SCREWED ME OVER -_____________________-
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Tiffany and her appreciation for flashbacks throughout the novel. I believe that being able to compare Offred’s life now to her past life allow readers to further understand the suffering and pain she has to go through. Being able to see what she had back then and what she is left with now has helped me feel and get a clearer picture of what she may have been experiencing. It helps create meaning within the work by showing that Offred has grown as an individual. She learns to cope with what she is set upon. She also learns to “live, as usual, by ignoring.” (74) It not only allows the reader to compare the events in her life, but also her mindset and how she has matured through her thoughts and actions.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that Atwood does stylistically that i appreciate is her method of telling the story through first person narration. This makes the story seen in a much narrower view for the readers and causes characterizations of some characters to be limited to what we see through Offred's eyes. For example when she states that she sees the woman named Janine and states she "never liked her", we are to assume that she is a bad person (36). Also through the form of narration we are directed too think offred is speaking to us because of statements like "i'll pretend you can hear me"(53) . this also shows how she may be telling the story only to make reader believe her own views. I believe that the first person narration used is to make the novel more interactive with readers. This also helps in leading readers to become persuaded into believing certain points throughout the novel. From the way details are deduced from the opinion of the narrator shows that the form of narration is to lead readers to think a certain way.
ReplyDeleteAlex Tsang
ReplyDeleteOriginal Posting
A major stylistic device used in The Handmaid's Tale that I appreciate is the powerful use of symbolism. Atwood uses the Eyes, which is this government's secret police force, to symbolize the extremely restrictive power of the oppressive government. While it is never stated directly that the government is monitoring them excessively, it is indirectly shown through how cautious Offred has to be about people that may be Eyes. When she is taking a walk and takes a picture of japanese visitors and an interpreter asks her a question, she responds carefully, remembering that “most interpreters are Eyes”(Atwood 38). This constant state of awareness that she must be in to avoid getting in trouble illustrates the harshness of the society she lives in. Using the Eyes to create an atmosphere that feels restrictive, oppressive, and constantly monitored helps put the reader in Offred's shoes and feel what she feels, which couldn't be done if the situation was set up without symbolism.
Andrew Pagan
ReplyDeleteResponse to Alwin's Error
The same thing happened to me with my first post. It was terrible. I had to rewrite the entire thing which angered me. However, I am not writing my stuff with a different program then copying and pasting it into Blogspot. If there's an error just go back and repaste and it should go through.
Name: Alwin
ReplyDeleteResponse: Rev. Rear Admiral Monsieur Jeffrey S. Witter II
I enjoyed reading Herr Jeffrey’s insights on the dialogue, and lack of quotation marks used in the novel. I had not thought of that myself, as I focused more on the purpose of the style of narration. I’m not sure I quite agree with Jeff’s ideas about how everyone speaks in the same manner because I feel that the way the commander speaks compared to the handmaids, are extremely different. I mean, it’s part of the dehumanization of being a handmaid in the authoritarianism, that completely degrades women and puts them on a lower level than men. As a response to the second half of his post, I think that Jeff’s ideas could be a bit too deep. I actually think that some of the areas where there are no quotation marks are actually just poorly edited sections of the novel. The reason for this argument is because when I was reading the story, I noticed many spelling and punctuation errors, including those missing quotation marks. However, they may have been intentional, and Jeffrey’s analysis may be sound. Also, I’m not sure if I follow the part where you speak about the irony of the commander Jeff. Would you be so kind as to elaborate on that? I feel that it might be heading in the right direction for a timed write.
Name:Jacky
ReplyDeletePosting:Original
Atwoods stylistic use of flashbacks so often is something I apppreciate because it offers a comparision between life now and then for the women. As many of my classmates previously stated, it allows the reader to get an inside look into how much has been taken from the women. Life was not always like this for them but they've been forced to conform to these rules now.
By Atwood giving us these comparisons it puts the womens strength on display. Despite that throughout the novel so far women are put down and (somewhat) told they are weak they continue to life each passing day while continuing to deal with their heartache as well. It takes and emmense amount of courage, strength and character to succeed at this tactic.
Name: Vincent
ReplyDeleteResponse: Original
Something that I appreciate in the novel is Atwood's use of syntax throughout the story. Atwood either chooses to use quotation marks or to withdraw from using them in certain parts of the novel. Atwood chose to do this in order to emphasive Offred's narration. The reader is able to see the other characters through Offred's perspective. Although it allows for more of a one sided perspective, the reader is truly able to see the story from Offred's eyes.
An example includes when Offred says to Ofglen, "Under His Eye." (Atwood 59). Atwood uses quotations in this to represent that Offred is able to talk to Ofglen like how she would in the past. When Offred says, " Do they feel now?" (272), Atwood chooses to not use quotation marks. This represents a contrast in her use of syntax, showing a theme of change. This theme of change shows how society is different from what it was in the past, and how it is in the present.
Name: Donna Chow
ReplyDeleteResponse: Original Posting
In The Hand Maid’s Tale I appreciate Atwood’s vivid use of imagery. It allows the readers to see through things from Offred’s perspective and strengthens it as well. I believe that Atwood uses this device, because as a previous blog post quoted from Atwood is that she believes the current society sees things only in glances. What Atwood does is allows her readers to imagine a whole scenery or object with every single detail, unlike the usual everyday proceedings of a human in the modern century. An example of Atwood’s imagery is when Offred is describing her room which has “a chair, a table, a lamp. Above, on the white ceiling, a relief ornament in the shape of a wreath, and in the center of it a blank space, plastered over, like the place in a face where the eye has been taken out.” (Atwood, 9). I believe that Atwood also uses the imagery to show a theme in the book which is that “Sometimes the simplest things are underappreciated”, because the Handmaids barely get to see anything and everything they catch glimpses of they take in humbly.