The Handmaid's Tale Chapter Summary

Invention and Arrangement

The book begins with “A few words about this book”, “Prologue”, and “Deborah’s Voice”, which offer some background information preceding the actual story, and differs in format with the rest of the novel. The rest of the book is divided into three large sections: “Part 1: Life” (1940-1951), “Part 2: Death” (1951-1973), and Part 3: Immortality” (1973-2001). Each of these sections is structured by chapters, each chapter with varied titles. There are 11 chapters in Part 1 and Part 2, while Part 3 has 16 chapters. What makes the novel unique is that next to each title is a year, which tells the reader what time period the Skloot is referring to. Additionally, the author alternates between 2 general time periods every couple chapters: the time period when Henrietta Lacks was alive, and her struggle with cervical cancer, and the time of Skloot’s investigation, and her personal experience discovering information regarding Henrietta . Additionally, Skloot often switches from Henrietta’s personal life, family, and experiences, to

In the Prologue, Skloot explains her exigence for writing her novel, what sparked her interest in Henrietta Lacks, and how she was first introduced to it. The section begins with a description of a photograph of Henrietta on her wall, and explains a brief overview of who Henrietta was. She then proceeds to discuss how she was first introduced to Henrietta’s life by a community college professor, who had little information about her. Fascinated with Henrietta’s story, Skloot describes the lack of knowledge the Lacks family had on the HeLa cells, and decides to properly tell the story of Henrietta, her family, and Skloot’s personal journey with Deborah (Henrietta’s daughter). This short chapter explains Skloot’s exigence and purpose for her novel, and introduces us to the topic at