paper 2

THMT color symbolism quotes x4

1. red, the color of blood, which define us

2. White wings keep us from seeing, but also from being seen

3. black for the commander

4. The ‘Long power-blue robe’ of Serena Joy

red, the color of blood, which define us x3

c2

The red uniform is a motif for fertility, menstruation.

visual reminder of the Handmaids' biological utility while stripping them of individual identity.

We are two-legged wombs, that’s all. Sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices x3

c23

Atwood utilizes Christian jargon and bodily imagery to exemplify how Christianity and religion have facilitated the dehumanisation of the Handmaids

Atwood’s deliberate use of synedoche emphasises how females are only seen as ‘two-legged wombs’, where the womb represents the identity of women as a whole.

TCP imagery of death quotes x3

to die a martyr is to inject blood into the veins of society

Young kids (in dark silhouettes), promised a better life, exploded on the minefileds with their keys around their necks

in the end he was cut into pieces (the heroes)

to die a martyr is to inject blood into the veins of society (the cigarette) x3

visual imagery: silent painful suffering

metaphor to suggest that the death of a soldier is glorified by the regime to enforce propaganda

criticise romanticized martyrdom & ritualised self-harm causing a collective loss of agency

TCP color symbolism quotes x3

split panel of her standing between contrasting ideologies

GoR depicted in black hijabs to villainize them, while protestors with diverse hairstyles are rendered in white

children killed in war as black silhouettes

THMT first person x3

I would like to believe this is a story I’m telling

fascinated, but also repelled

It’s so good to be touched by someone, to be felt so greedily, to feel so greedy

I would like to believe this is a story I’m telling (the night section) x3

modal verbs and breaks the fourth wall to emphasise Offred’s desperation to highlight the subjectivity of the feminine voice

seeks the power to re-narrate her ‘story.’

Atwood outlines the desire for possession and selfhood amidst totalitarian control

fascinated, but also repelled x2

oxymoron in the contrasting emotional language reveals Handmaids are so conditioned by the restrictive, modest dress codes of Gilead that they are shocked by the exposed skin of the tourists, whom they perceive as "undressed"

criticises how indoctrination manipulate their thoughts and handmaid’s psychological subjugation

TCP first person quotes x3

no scream in the world could have relieved my suffering and anger and the black negative space

With this cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye

Wearing a denim jacket with a Michael Jackson button and sneakers

no scream in the world could have relieved my suffering and anger and negative space x3

when she witnessed the aftermath of an Iraqi missile strike that killed her friend Neda

hyperbolised ‘in the world’ depicts how her resentment cannot be salvaged

panel illustrate her disillusionment and devastation that is indescribable and signifies her loss of innocence

THMT religious motif and neologisms quotes x4

1. a store with ‘a huge wooden sign outside it, in the shape of a golden lily; Lilies of the Field (c5)

2. blessed be the fruit

3. salvaging

4. Give me children, or else I die

The ‘Long power-blue robe’ of Serena Joy x2

symbolise Marian purity and spiritual superiority

The wives are a way to symbolise Gilead’s ideal version of a woman: domestic, subservient and pure

White wings keep us from seeing, but also from being seen x2

Act as veils to enforce invisibility

symbolize purity, innocence, and compliance required of the Handmaids to suppress their freedom and knowledge of the outside world

The store has a huge wooden sign outside it, in the shape of a golden lily; Lilies of the Field x3

‘Lilies of the Field’ allusion to a bible verse, where Jesus says, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow". to imply that Handmaids should be passive and obedient their masters, while disregarding their true identity.

Flowers is a motif for the temporary beauty and fragility of women

The golden lily symbolizes the facade of innocence and purity that Gilead seeks to maintain, masking the brutal reality of sexual slavery

It’s so good to be touched by someone, to be felt so greedily, to feel so greedy x3

when Offred describes her passionate, forbidden encounter with Nick

tactile imagery, anaphora outlines her physical & emotional hunger

her affair with Nick is a reclamation of her body, an act of autonomy, proving the state cannot legislate true human connection & relationship

With this cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye x2

Smoking as a symbolic act of defiance

after a fight with her mother, she steals a cigarette from her uncle and smokes it in the basement to embrace adulthood and independence, marking a definitive break from her mother's authority

Wearing a denim jacket with a michael jackson button and sneakers x2

rejection of the strict, fundamentalist conformity imposed by the Iranian regime

Western, pop-culture significance, which the Islamic regime deemed "decadent" and "immoral"

Give me children, or else I die x4

1. alludes to Rachel’s plea in the bible, out of personal desperation and grief over her infertility.

2. a demand for women in Gilead

3. the phrase has "more than one meaning". The threat is death.

4. If a Handmaid fails to produce a child after being posted to 3 Commanders, she is declared as a Unwoman and sent to the Colonies to clear toxic waste, which is a death sentence

salvaging analysis x2

Euphemism for public executions and state-sanctioned murder, serving as a tool for terror, indoctrination, and enforced complicity

In the bible, it refers to a divine act of rescuing humanity from sin, death, and spiritual separation from God; however, in Gilead, it is ironically done through the brutal act of killing

THMT irony quotes x3

Being in the Red Center “is not a prison, but a privilege (c2)

the night is mine. as long as i am quiet. as long as i dont move. as long as i lie still.

She doesn't make speeches anymore. She has become speechless

Being in the Red Center “is not a prison, but a privilege (c2) analysis x2

Irony is a tool of psychological manipulation used to force Handmaids into accepting servitude.

She ironically reframes the brutal life in Gilead as a "priviledge" to induce gratitude for survival

The night is mine. As long as I am quiet. As long as I dont move. As long as I lie still. analysis x2

anaphora highlights her desperate search for autonomy, yet "freedom" exists only within her own mind, which she can only own by being completely inactive. Despite the restriction, she treasures the capacity to mentally escape reality through imagination and memory

verbal irony emphasizes the absurdity of Gilead’s "freedom."

TCP irony quotes x3

now the devil has left!’ when the panel was surrounded by a devil

‘Polar opposites’ of women’s clothing in public versus in private

Full page panel where they celebrate the fall of shah (The Party)

now the devil has left!’ when the panel was surrounded by a devil analysis

Devil = a spirit that incites humans to sin, and foreshadows that oppression has not left, and the worst is yet to come.

Shadow = they endeavour to look away from their past, but shadows follow wherever they go

Marjane is the only person with her eyes open, symbolising her skepticism of the sudden peace and freedom

Full page panel where they celebrate the fall of shah (The Party) analysis x4

The reader (with the benefit of historical hindsight) knows that it is not the end of oppression, but the beginning of a much stricter religious autocracy

However, most people are unconscious, their oversaturated smiles, peace signs symbolise unity and solidarity

Distinct patterns of clothing represent the celebration of diversity

Only Marjane’s and her mother’s eyes are open, symbolizing how they are the only people who tries to envision the future and is conscious of the possible threats in the future

‘Polar opposites’ of women’s clothing in public versus in private analysis x3

contradiction between the state's intended goal and the reality of the women' lives

top panel: identical veils, uniform modest religious identity VS situational irony on the bottom panel: different clothes and hairstyles as expression of their identity

Fundamentalism only forces individuals to deceive the regime to preserve their identities

THMT imagery of death quotes x4

salvaging

We are two-legged wombs, that’s all. Sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices

They are like scarecrows, which are meant to scare. Their heads are zeros. A child’s idea of smile

in a gradually heating bathtub you'd be boiled to death before you knew it (c10)

in the corner where the darkest shadow fell… Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. analysis x4

1. gothic imagery and latin = Handmaid’s passive psychological resistance

2. illicit dialogue between handmaids

3. subtle empowerment of women, who find ways to surpass the rigid principles of Christian fundamentalism and hold on to the little freedom

4. persistence of the self

We are two-legged wombs, that’s all. Sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices analysis x2

Bodily imagery and metaphor “wombs” “vessels” = dehumanizing commodification of women, erasing their identity, autonomy, and humanity

christian jargon “chalice” exemplify how Christianity and religion have facilitated the dehumanisation of the Handmaids

They are like scarecrows, which are meant to scare. A child’s idea of smile analysis x4

gothic imagery and simile "scarecrows," = human figures used to frighten pests away from crops

dehumanizing language reflects how the state views its citizens: as inanimate tools to incite fear and remind them of death for those who defy the regime.

Atwood creates a grotesque imagery in red bloodstain seeping through the white cloth of one bag, which is ‘a child's idea of a smile’.

juxtaposition of a child's innocent imagination of a smile is referred to the horrific reality of execution, which highlights the perversion of life and death in Gilead

She doesn't make speeches anymore. She has become speechless x4

1. paradox of what serena joy campaigned for and her current state

2. promoted traditional domestic roles for women, but now trapped by her own ideology, having lost her voice, power, and autonomy, and restricted within a domestic sphere

3. Even though Serena Joy is at the top of the female social hierarchy, she is still a subject of the patriarchal state

4. Internalised oppression within females

blessed be the fruit x4

1. a scripted greeting

2. constant, verbal reminder of their role reinforcing submissiveness

3. Handmaids can only communicate with each other; the manipulation of language entirely degrades their agency of thought, enforces surveillance, and erases individual identity

4. forces compliance through fear

TCP motifs x3

veil

cigarette

the key to paradise

veil motif analysis x3

symbolizes the imposition of patriarchal and religious values

erasure of individual identity, representing both the oppression of the regime and a target of rebellion for Marji.

Although the veil is present throughout the novel, her character transitions and changes the way she wears the veil, becomes more rebellious

key to paradise motif x3

commodification of the lower class

highlight class disparity

motif for the betrayal of the lower class by the fundamentalist elite

THMT setting x3

foresee future in 2195

the wall

gilead

colonies

The ‘Wall setting analysis x2

the Johnston Gate, the main entrance to Harvard Yard. It is supposedly a space of enlightenment, not executions.

The Wall gains symbolic resonance and is ironic due to how drastically it has been repurposed as a site for public executions

colonies setting analysis x3

Areas that have been contaminated by radioactive waste and pollution

For people who do not conform to Gilead’s ideals or useful

Symbolise social ostracisation and to manipulate Gileadeans through fear

TCP settings x2

Tehran transitions from a Westernized, cosmopolitan city under the Shah to a restricted, war-torn space under the Islamic Republic

private VS public spaces

context of THMT x2

Written in 1984

Gilead mirrors the rising neoconservatism and televangelism such as the moral majority after Ronald Reagan was in power of the States whom campaigned against the Second-wave feminism of the 1960s/70s

context of TCP x3

published in 2007

The Iranian Revolution (1979) when the shah is brought down by the Islamic Republic led by Ayatollah Khomeini

The Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), when she experienced massive trauma of death and martyrdom of the lower classes

evaluation comparison of color symbolism x2 each author and x3 comparisons

1. BOTH: visualise the state's manipulation of societal roles.

2. Atw: create labels of societal roles, to remind them of their reproductive or domestic utility. e.g "red" = organs. reduced to means of production and utility with little dignity.

3. Atw: compartmentalize a population, BUT Sat: graphic weight represents erasure of individuality through homogenization.

4. Sat: monochromatic scheme = dichotomised morality, colour contrast = polar opposition between the regime and the rebels.

5. different purposes: Sat: criticise Western prejudices on the Iranian culture BUT At: warn readers of the rising right-wing values that are weaponized against women.

evaluation comparison of motifs x2 each author + x1 comparison

1. At: biblical motifs → theocratic monopoly on truth. how easily their own values can be weaponized against themselves.

2. significance of linguistic motifs highlighted by the unreliable first-person narration; state’s manipulation of language feels more insidious and claustrophobic, leaving the readers to question the reality of every "Scriptural precedent" cited.

3. Sat: iconography, e.g. Veil + Key, to visually represent political submission.

4. visual elements in graphic memoir outlines the darkness of censorship, how the regime consumes the private lives and historical heritage of the Iranian people.

5. Sat visual motifs is more effective: systematic erasure of the body and culture, ultimately as an act of cultural preservation.

evaluation and comparison of first person narration x1 each and x2 comparisons

1. differences in their purpose and effect.

2. THMT: fragmented narrative that deconstructs history, signifying the psychological dysfunction of a disjointed identity.

3. TCP: linear reconstruction of history with higher clarity.

4. While Atw highlights the vulnerability of the human spirit, Sat asserts the resilience of the human spirit to remain intact.

evaluation of irony x1 each author and x1 comparison

1. At: verbal irony = psychological claustrophobia of a theocratic state. e.g. euphemisms "Salvaging" and "Ceremony," → warns of the lethality of distorted language and loss of a moral compass.

2. the darkly satirical visual irony in TCP reveals the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime.

3. stark visual irony is more convincing than verbal in its impact on readers as it visualises the dichotomised reality to expose the absurdity of fundamentalism

imagery of death x1 each author x1 comparison

1. At: sensory and bodily imagery of death evokes a visceral response from readers, immersing them in the protagonist’s harrowing experiences and prompting reflection on the dehumanizing effects of totalitarian regimes.

2. Although TCP also portrays the loss of agency due to state indoctrination, the effect on readers is different.

3. Sat: gory and iconographic imagery of death illustrates the psychological toll of societal upheaval and the tumultuous reality of revolutionary Iran and the Iran-Iraq War.

in the end he was cut into pieces (the heroes) analysis x4

• Visual imagery to depict gruesome violence

• Illustration = her attempt to comprehend a traumatic event that cannot be described with words alone

• body as still and motionless, emphasizing the finality of death and the inability of the victim to fight back

• Negative black space reinforces the horrific scene of killing

what is the significance of the historical notes and unreliable narrative in THMT? x2

• confront the patriarchal bias in historical recordings

• Offred is an "unreliable narrator" because she is restricted by patriarchy

in a gradually heating bathtub you'd be boiled to death before you knew it (c10) x3

• When Offred reflects on the transition period when women’s rights were being stripped away

• Metaphor bathtub to compare Gilead connects comfort with ‘death’, a slow erosion of self-identity, before you knew, outlines the unconsciousness of being adapted to Gilead’s oppression.

• Atwood depicts the dangerous indoctrination of Gilead that victims are becoming insensitive to violence and pain.