Offred, Nick and the Ending

I think one of the more interesting relationships of the book is the relationship between Nick and Offred. Nick has this mysterious aura around him because we, and even Offred, know so little about him. It confuses me because if I was unsure about someone’s motives, I would not be as trusting as Offred is of Nick. She feels that he loves her even though it doesn’t even seem like he’s paying attention to her when he speaks. I guess she simply just craves the attention after the loss of her family.

As some of the discussion questions stated on Wednesday, I’m also shocked by the abrupt ending, or lack thereof. I chose to google it and see if I was missing something when I initially read the ending of the book. It seems as though it is left up to the reader to interpret what had happened. It made me question what the significance is of this? There could be two endings, one where she is arrested for treason and one where she is taken to safety. I think it is definitely worth the risk for Offred because she misses her freedom and longs for the new beginning that could be offered if salvation is given to her. I think this gives a sense of hope to the reader, or at least it did for me. It made me think about a theme that can be seen throughout the book, one where there is always hope no matter the dire circumstances and constant, neverending unhappiness. As an article said when I googled the actual ending, it is up to us to see the glass as either half empty or half full. We can see it as her finding escape or her being captured. It is up to us to make the decision for ourselves.

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