Chapter 1 Flashcards
“I could smell faintly like an afterimage”
olfactory imagery by the simile “like an afterimage”
Abstract noun suggests it is a memory but its “pungent” so she can vividly remember, desire for the past as her future has been drastically altered
“we slept in what had once been the gymnasium”
temporal deixis “once”- contrast between past and present- repurposed buildings
1st person plural pronoun- shaeed collective experience contrasts the isolation- emphasises Offred’s desire for connection
“old sex in the room”
adj old- sex has a new meaning now- biblical precedence instead of romance and love- the meaning of sex has been replaced.
“army issue… still said US”
-treating handmaids like soldiers- dehumanising- lack of individuality (dystopian), have to serve and fight for country
- change in geopolitics
so we could not talk
linguistic oppression
1984.
“two by two”
interrextual ref to Noah’s Arc
dehumanising- comparing them to animals
but it shows how regime takes biblical precedence as like in Noah’s arc, the handmaid’s have to breed that is their purpose.
“if only we could talk to them something could be exchanged”
conditional clause.
Anaphoric repetition of “if and adverb only”
- potential for humanity it’s shrouded in fear and threats.
“exchanged”
- due to repression, connections are commodities and have external value (1984 Julia and Winston)
but what Offred wants to exchange js her body, shows little option for freedom as all she has left is to objectify herself
- internalised sexism rooted within Offred from the time before
“Angels”
common noun.
Juxtaposes the peaceful and purity associated with it as the angels are “objects of fear”.
Weaponisation of religion
“we exchanged names”
asyndetic list of proper nouns
However audience is excluded from knowing the name of offred
-protection
links to the Canadian Lit trope of survival
- knowledge is power
