Imagery And Symbolism In Offred's Red

In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the protagonist, Offred, expresses her wish that her “story [is] different,” that it is “happier,” or at least “more active, less hesitant, less distracted” than it is ultimately portrayed (267). However, as her story is told, these characteristics are evident in the way she talks and acts, especially around those with authority. Hesitant to express her true thoughts and feelings, and distracted by memories from her previous life, Offred attempts to piece together her role in the society that has taken her freedom. The result is a compilation of moments, of memories, both from her present, her past, and even speculation about her future.

What difference can an individual make against society? According to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the answer is not that much. Set in the Republic of Gilead, the characters all suffer under the totalitarian regime, and the few who actively try to change the system fail in the end. Even though Offred, the protagonist, periodically contemplates the inalienable types of an individual’s power, the actions throughout the novel indicate that such powers are negligible; because of this, The Handmaid’s Tale ultimately suggests that an individual is powerless to their environment. The most significant and potent form of power and thereby control in the strictly regulated state of Gilead is knowledge.

Offred does not claim her story to be completely true, leaving a room for ambiguity and doubt. In a search for accuracy, she constantly changes her stories, twists and recreates them in a new way. For instance, thinking about her husband Luke, she imagines him being dead, imprisoned, and escaped and believe in “all three versions of Luke, at one and the same time”(121). Another example is her description of her encounter with Nick in several completely different ways and the further confession that “it didn’t happen that way either” (317). Offred admits her story is a reconstruction, because “it’s impossible to say a thing exactly the way it was” (158).

Throughout the first third of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid’s Tale, the notion of hope is relatively frequent for a dystopian society. This notion is represented through Offred’s thoughts of her previous life, glimpses of the world outside of the Republic of Gilead, and her friend Moira. The most personal hope that Offred holds onto is her memories of a previous life, a better life. These include being free to do what she wanted to do with her Husband and child. “They seemed undressed.

Conflict can be described as the struggle between two opposing forces, whether the forces being person vs person, person vs self or person vs society. Good examples of conflict can be found in almost any book. Margaret Atwood’s novel, the Handmaid’s Tale is a source of all three types of conflicts. The Handmaid’s Tale is about a society where females are given specific duties and are restricted from reading, writing, talking to others and looking at themselves in mirrors. The protagonist, Offred whom is also the narrator in the novel faces conflicts with herself, with other people, and the society that she lives in.

What would become of the world, if our current societal flaws, such as sexism, racism, and classism were ingrained and executed at a systematic level? This is exactly what The Handmaid’s Tale set out to explore. The novel, which claims to be speculative fiction, is set in the theocratic Republic of Gilead (formerly the USA), where birth rates are rapidly declining and women have been marginalized by the patriarchal regime, forbidden to read, write or love and valued only if they are able to procreate. They are separated into classes, including Wives, Marthas, Aunts, Unwomen, and Handmaids, distinguishable only by the color of their clothing. The Handmaids are renamed by combining ‘of’ and the name of the Commander that they have been assigned to, stripping them of any individuality.

In The Handmaid's Tale, the title character and all of the other women in her position wear red. In the west, we have our own clear understanding of what the color red implies. Or do we? One of my favorite instances of the color red is in Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993). The whole movie is a masterpiece, crystal clear cinematography, a beautiful score and a fantastic cast of a-listers.

“To want is to have a weakness. It’s this weakness, whatever it is, that entices me. It’s like a small crack in a wall, before now impenetrable”(Atwood 136). In the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, follows the character and narrator Offred. The narrator is trapped in the Republic of Gilead, where the representative government is replaced by a religious totalitarian system.

INTRODUCTION: I’d like to share a quote with you this morning. It is “Power politics is the diplomatic name for the law of the jungle” - Ely Culbertson. We have all seen events that prove this statement true in our short teenage lives. For instance, the election of Donald Trump and regime of Kim Jong Un have shown us the struggle for power in a relationship can reflect the shocking injustice man is capable of.

Thesis: Atwood uses the concept of time through flashbacks to compare and contrast between past and present freedoms. Before the fall of Gilead, the women in society were free to do as they pleased; however, currently, they are forced to obey strict rules, and must give in to the commanders demands. Through constant flashbacks, the main character Offred remembers the freedoms granted to her under a democratic government, compared to protection granted under a totalitarian society. Atwood compares these differences to warn how life for common people would exist under a totalitarian government if freedom is given up for safety.