Setting - Quote

We reach the first barrier, which is like the barriers blocking off
roadworks, or dug-up sewers: a wooden crisscross painted in yellow and
black stripes, a red hexagon which means Stop. Near the gateway there
are some lanterns, not lit because it isnt night. Above us, I know there
are floodlights, attached to the telephone poles, for use in emergencies,
and there are men with machine guns in the pillboxes on either side of
the road. I dont see the floodlights and the pillboxes, because of the
wings around my face. I just know they are there (page 20).
Setting - Mini-Essay
Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale takes place in the Republic of Gilead, which used to be the United Stated before an ultra
conservative religious order overthrew the government. The president was assassinated and the government is now run as a
theocracy (rule by religion). Everyone in this society has a specific role: Commanders, Wives, Marthas, Aunts, Guardians, Handmaids,
Eyes are some that I have noticed so far. The narrator of the story is a handmaid.
In three words, I would describe the setting of Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale as suburban, isolated, and oppressive.
The physical setting of this story takes place in an a hollowed out suburban neighborhood. This is what I imagine as the narrator
describes her daily walk-- down sidewalks, past empty homes with white picket fences, past storefronts that no longer have names
painted on them because women are not allowed to read. The setting is desolate and quiet. Conversations are hushed and the sharing
of thoughts and ideas is nonexistent. The narrator spends the vast majority of her time alone in her room with nothing to do except
stare out the window and sort thoughts. When she is not in her room, she is on her daily walk to the market to pick up specific food
items. She walks with another Handmaid and they talk only very discreetly so that no one can tell they are conversing. Their
conversations are filtered and limited. In this way the setting seems oppressive. Very few have power to do what they want when they
want-- only men of high status, the Commanders and Eyes. Checkpoints are everywhere and someone is always listening.
In order to control others, the Gilead regime uses The Wall. Here, the bloodied bodies of rebels are hung for all to see and
made to be an example for anyone else who thinks of resisting. In addition to The Wall, there is also the threat of having to live in the
the Colonies, places heavily impacted by nuclear disasters and not safe places to be. Most people sent to the Colonies do not live
long. Finally, people are generally kept in the dark about what is happening beyond their neighborhoods. The secretiveness causes a
lot of confusion and disempowers people to take action or try to escape.
Offred - Handmaid
Real name unknown.
Motivated by: Remembering, nostalgia, holding on to sanity with
dear life
Freedom is found in: Successful conception, information, having
secrets
I would like to steal something from this room. I would like to
take some small thing, the scrolled ashtray, the little silver pillbox
from the mantel perhaps, or a dried flower: hide it in the folds of
my dress or my zippered sleeve, keep it there until this evening is
over, secrete it in my room, under the bed, or in a shoe, or in a slit
in the hard petit point FAITH cushion. Every once in awhile I would
take it out and look at it. It would make me feel like I have power
(page 80).
Photo credits: Pinterest.com - Drew Barrymore 2-3-2017
Serena Joy - Wife and former televangelist

Motivated by: Being respected and admired, controlling what little she
can as a woman in this society (so her peers, her designated spaces in
the home, Offred)
Freedom is found in: Having a child and no longer having to share her
husband. Feeling authentically loved.
She put her cigarette out, half smoked, in a little scrolled ashtray on the
lamp table beside her. She did this decisively, one jab and one grind, not
the series of genteel taps favored by many of the Wives. As for my
husband, she said, hes just that. My husband. I want that to be perfectly
clear. Till death do us part. Its final (page 15).
Photo credit: Cocoas delightly dorky weblog - Janine Crouch
Moira - Offreds best friend
Motivated by: Independence, rebelliousness, wits, raw strength and
determination
Freedom is found in: Subversion, wildness
They found out afterwards that shed dismantled the inside of one of
toilets and taken out the long thin pointed lever, the part that attaches
to the handle at one end and the chain at the other. It isnt too hard to
do if you know how, and Moira had mechancal ability Moira got hold
of Aunt Elizabeths cattle prod and her whistle, ordering her to unclip
them from her belt. Then she hurried Aunt Elizabeth down the stairs to
the basement Aunt Elizabeth could have screamed at this point but
she knew Moira meant what she said; Moira had a bad reputation
(page 131).
Photo credits: exclaim.ca - Alessia Cara
The Commander
Motivated by: Guilt, the status quo,
Freedom is found in: Undermining norms and rules while also
appearing to obey them, relieving boredom, fun
He is showing me off, to them, and they understand that, they
are decorous enough, they keep their hands to themselves, but
they review my breasts, my legs, as if theres no reason why they
shouldnt. But also he is showing off to me. He is demonstrating,
to me, his mastery of the world. Hes breaking the rules, under
their noses, thumbing his noses at them, getting away with it
(page 237).
Photo credits: Wikipedia.com - Jim Marshall