Blog no. 11, To: Reader, From: Atwood

Blog no. 11      11/17              To: Reader, From: Atwood   

            When one is reaching their final ending, whether that be an ultimate death or something less drastic, simply as a goodbye, the final words reveal everything about a character.
Within the final chapters of the Handmaid’s Tale, the tone drastically changes that how it had started with. Offred shares about various endings her friend Moira possibly faced, the various romantic fantasies between her and Nick, and ultimately her whole situation in the story.
            “I wish this story were different. I wish it were more civilized. I wish it showed me in a better light, if not happier, then at least more active, less hesitant, less distracted by trivia. I wish it had more shape. I wish it were about love, or about sudden realizations important to one’s life, or even about sunsets, birds, rainstorms, or snow… I’m sorry there is so much pain in this story. I’m sorry it’s in fragments, like a body caught in crossfire or pulled apart by force. But there is nothing I can do to change it. I’ve tried to put some of the good things in as well. Flowers, for instance, because where would we be without them? (266-267).

            The tone in the text and addressing the audience has the reader questioning if this is Offred speaking her final words, or Margaret Atwood coming out from behind the curtain to share her views. She recognizes that her work is so important, ‘I wish it were about love, or about sudden realizations important to one’s life, or even about sunsets, birds, rainstorms, or snow’ that it outweighs what would have been easier to read/accept. Admitting the un-pleasantries within this alternate universe as an adversity the reader too had to face is an extremely empathetic gesture. This level of thoughtfulness is not out of character for Offred, but unusual for an author. Especially when considering that the historical notes are a continuation of narrative texts not Atwood again, revealing herself as a grand puppeteer. These final sentiments are what readers will take with them after they close the book, as it is one final reminder as well as a warning for society’s behavior towards women.

Comments

  1. Leah EricksonNovember 16, 2017 at 5:43 AM

    I found your point about the tone shift to be very interesting to read into! I really like that you included the question about Offred either saying her final words or Atwood sharing her views. While reading, I definitely thought about the final words, but had not considered Atwood's position on this being revealed during this section. While I loved this book, I felt that it ended so abruptly. This all makes sense if Offred was keeping a diary so it would not have a clear ended but nonetheless I still found it so frustrating. I found your last line to be very compelling and it is so sad and scary to think that our society loosely reflects this dystopia because of the gender roles that are displayed.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What We Hunger For: Deep Thoughts

"Just because you survive something does not mean you are strong." To be completely honest, this story was one that I could almost watch in my head. Perhaps part of that was because it was written vividly with strong imagery and diction; perhaps because I could see a reflection of myself in Gay's story. This year has been a transformative one for me, as I have learned to become more self-aware and acknowledging that there is immense power in naming our struggles. I am consistently told by my friends how "strong, courageous, and unfuckwithable" I am... which, I think, genuinely stems from my inability to be comfortable. I've survived too much. I've been exposed to and made it through too much... and apparently, the fact that I managed to make it "out" of those immediate situations is seen as strong. However, I am very thankful that Gay made the comment above. To me, I've always seen strength as how people cope with the long-term effects o...
Read more

Macbeth´s reaction to lady Macbeth's Death (Act 5 sc 5)

She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word.  To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow , Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.  Looking at this paragraph, I am looking at lines it seems as though Macbeth does care about his wife dying before her goes to battle. I would think from a man that the husband would be more sympathetic about his wife dying. By him saying “ she should have died hereafter” seems like he doesn’t care about his wife. But I think that Macbeth wanted to her to die after the battle so that he would have time to morn the death of his wi...
Read more

Building Each Other Up

In Gay's essay, "How to be Friends with Another Woman" she talks about the competitiveness between women. Almost anything is fair game when it comes to tearing one another down behind each other's backs. But why is this necessary? We're all in the same position when it comes down to it. In order to rise above our oppressors, we must stop judging other women so harshly, and start building them up. We are all guilty of passing judgement over other women who are dressed differently than us, or like the same guy as us. Everything has become such a competition, that we are unable to realize the benefits of helping one another become the best version of themselves.
Read more