#16- Handmaid's Tale

"The three bodies hang there, even with the white sacks over their heads looking curiously stretched, like chickens strung up by the necks in a meatshop window; like birds with their wings clipped, like flightless birds, wrecked angles... If it weren't for the ropes and the sacks it could be a kind of dance, a ballet, caught by flash-camera: midair" (277).

Atwood's comparison between the bodies and chickens in a meatshop window gives this scene an especially gruesome feeling. Chickens are raised for the purpose of being meat, leading the reader to wonder if the women were hung for a reason other than the crimes they "committed." This is supported by the fact that Aunt Lydia does not announce what crimes the women committed. Flight is often used to symbolize freedom. Atwood compares the bodies to multiple things that have lost their ability to fly. This sense of losing freedom is more than simply dying. Just like a bird cannot control whether its wings get clipped, these women were most likely hung for no reason. Comparing the scene to a dance gives it an ironic twist - dance usually symbolizes celebration. This hanging is a sick celebration, one of the control that the Eyes have over the women.

Work Cited:
Photo Credit:
"Answers search engine: clipping bird wings." Qwikstep.com. 2010. Answers search engine. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://qwickstep.com/search/clipping-bird-wings.html>.

#15- Handmaid's Tale

"And the one on the pigeons, trained to peck a button that made a grain of corn appear. Three groups of them: the first got one grain per peck, the second one grain every other peck, the third was random. When the man in charge cut off the grain, the first group gave up quite soon, the second group a little later. The third group never gave up. They'd peck themselves to death, rather than quit" (70).

The third group of pigeons is similar to the Handmaids. Because there are never consistent results with producing offspring, the society would continue just as it is, even if something changed and made it impossible for the women to produce children (just as the man cut off the grain). By placing this metaphor in the book, Atwood is suggesting that the structure of the society of the Republic of Gilead could lead to the death of humanity. Just as the pigeons would "peck themselves to death" the society would continue trying the reproduce the way they already are - which would result in extinction - rather than attempt to find an alternative.

Photo Credit:
Gabriel, Christopher. "Lady Miller of the Pigeons." Christopher Gabriel. 12 Feb. 2008. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://cgabriel.com/2008/02/12/lady-millie-of-the-pigeons/>.

#14- Handmaid's Tale

"There Is a Balm in Gilead" (218).

This line is from a traditional United States African-American spiritual. It is found in the Old Testament of the Bible. The hymn as a whole describes the concept of salvation which is an idea from the New Testament. Atwood places this hymn in her novel to create a false sense of comfort. Those in charge of the society use the hymn to try to comfort others that the "balm" in their land will heal people, most likely meaning that it will heal women and allow them to give birth again. Atwood adds Moira's twist on the hymn, "There Is Bomb in Gilead" to mock this. This is important since it brings up the theme of destruction rather than healing. It suggests that the changes in the society are making things worse rather than better.

Traditional lyrics:
There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.
Some times I feel discouraged,
And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again.
(Chorus)
If you can’t preach like Peter,
If you can’t pray like Paul,
Just tell the love of Jesus,
And say He died for all.
(Chorus)

Work Cited:
"There Is a Balm in Gilead." Wikipedia. 18 Sept. 2009. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/There_Is_a_Balm_in_Gilead>.

#13- Handmaid's Tale

"I pray where I am, sitting by the window, looking out through the curtain at the empty garden. I don't even close my eyes. Out there or inside my head, it's an equal darkness. Or light" (194).

Offred does not close her eyes because figuratively, she sees the same thing whether she closes her eyes or keeps them open. Darkness is not only the absence of light but it usually represents evil or fear. In this way, Atwood is saying that the world of Gilead is evil and scary just like the darkness Offred sees when she closes her eyes. Light is usually used to symbolize good and hope but Atwood's use of it here is different. Because Offred is saying that the world is the same whether she closes her eyes or keeps them open, or whether she sees light or dark, it gives the impression that the situation is hopeless. The state of the society of the Republic of Gilead is at a standstill and it is hopeless.

#12- Handmaid's Tale

"Victory is on one side of the inner doorway, leading them on, and Death is on the other. It's a mural in honor of some war or other. The men on the side of Death are still alive. They're going to heaven. Death is a beautiful woman, with wings and one breast almost bare; or is that Victory? I can't remember" (166).

Atwood uses this passage to explain the battle between life and death. However, since life is portrayed as "Victory" it shows that life is not a right - it must be earned. It seems impossible that people on the side of Death could still be alive but because they are described as "going to heaven" it represents Offred's idea that, due to the way the Gilead society is set up, the only way to live freely is to be in heaven. Atwood first describes Death as being beautiful to represent the idea that the restrictive ways of Gilead make Death look like a wonderful option. The woman Atwood describes is most likely the statue Winged Victory of Samothrace (or Nike of Samothrace). This statue is of a beautiful woman who, in the eyes of the Ancient Greeks, was the perfect example of ideal beauty. This allusion stands as a reminder of the past, a time when Victory would be preferred over Death. It is interesting that Atwood portrays Death and Victory both as women with men standing behind them. Although women are restricted in the Gilead society, they are in actuality revered because the act of bearing children is worshipped. Portraying these two prominent acts - Death and Victory - as women demonstrates the true position of women in the society.

Works Cited:
"Winged Victory of Samothrace." Wikipedia. 24 Aug. 2010. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_Victory_of_Samothrace>.

Photo Credit:
"Eugene Delacroix (Liberty Leading the People)."SMARThistory.us. Podpress. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://smarthistory.us/site/romanticism/eugene-delacroix>.

#11- Handmaid's Tale

"The camera moves to the sky, where hundreds of balloons rise, trailing their strings: red balloons, with a circle painted on them, a circle with a stem like the stem of an apple, the stem of a cross" (120).

This scene shows a protest by feminists. The balloons, which represent freedom, have the female symbol painted on them. The fact that they are red symbolizes child birth since red is the color of blood. The female symbol originates in the symbol for the planet Venus - it is an interpretation of Venus' mirror which is a symbol of femininity. The way Atwood describes the symbol is important. Apples are often the symbol of love and sexuality which, when combined with the symbol of the balloon, represents the want for sexual freedom. The stem of an apple is where the fruit connects to the tree similarly to how an umbilical cord connects the baby to the mother. This represents a mother's connection with bearing children. In comparing the mark to the cross, Atwood points out that true spiritual beings give women the same respect as they give men.

Works Cited:
"Woman." Wikipedia. 31 Aug. 2010. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman>.

"Apple (symbolism)." Wikipedia. 17 Aug. 2010. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Apple_%28symbolism%29>.


Photo Credit:
"Female Symbol (for picks)." Weblog Post. Fanpop. 2007. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://www.fanpop.com/
spots/fanpop/images/41967/title/female-symbol-picks-icon>.

#10- Handmaid's Tale

"The first egg is white. I move the eggcup a little, so it's now in the watery sunlight that comes through the window and falls, brightening, waning, brightening again, on the tray. The shell of the egg is smooth but also grained; small pebbles of calcium are defined by the sunlight, like craters on the moon. It's a barren landscape, yet perfect; it's the sort of desert the saints went into, so their minds would not be distracted by profusion. I think that this is what God must look like: an egg. The life of the moon may not be on the surface, but inside" (110).

Atwood describes the egg as looking like the moon. Her use of an egg is important since it symbolizes rebirth which is a prominent issue throughout the novel. Her use of the moon is equally important as it is a symbol of the strength to perform duties. In Gilead, the Handmaids have to endure their duty of repopulating the society. The moon is also the symbol of the goddess Diana who watches over and protects women and childbirth. The fact that the egg is "a barren landscape, yet perfect" suggests that life's beauties lie in the simplest, most natural things, such as the natural human instincts (love, for example). Atwood suggests that God might look like an egg because even though an egg looks so simple, it is the core of all life. By saying that the life of the moon might be on the inside, Atwood is suggesting that things are not always as they appear on the outside. This can be applied to the rest of the novel - there is actually more to life than the restrictive society of Gilead.

Works Cited:
"Moon." House of Names. 2010. Swyrich Corporation. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp/keyword.moon/qx/symbolism_details.htm>.

"Diana (mythology)." Wikipedia. 27 Aug. 2010. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_%28mythology%29>.



Photo Credit:
Ashford, William. "Coca-Cola and Pepsi in Battle Over Bottled Lunar Water." Scrape TV. 17 Nov. 2009. 31 Aug. 2010 <http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Business/pages-3/Coca-Cola-and-Pepsi-in-battle-over-bottled-lunar-water-Scrape-TV-The-World-on-your-side.html>.