Chapters 1-3 Flashcards
What is the narrator’s name? Where is she staying?
Offred (Of Fred - Fred’s property)
Staying in a gymnasium with a bunch of other women, sleeping on army cots.
What are the 2 Aunts called?
What do they patrol with?
Aunt Sara and Aunt Elizabeth
Patrol with electric cattle prods
What are the women forbidden to do?
Forbidden to speak aloud, whisper, and read and write.
Where do the women walk during the day, and how many times is this?
Twice a day - walk in the former football field.
Surrounded by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire (sounds like a prison - remember, a reader has no idea what is happening at this point!)
What are Angels?
Armed guards.
Symbolism in their names - sound like protectors, this is what a reader would assume they are.
Why do the women long for the Angels to turn and look at them?
Imagine if the men talked to or looked at them they could use their bodies to make a deal.
What tense is Chapter 1 written in?
Past tense.
What is the tense shift from Chapter 1 to Chapter 2?
Past to Present.
Where is Offred living in Chapter 2?
In a room - fitted with curtains, a pillow, a braided rug and a framed picture. There is no glass over the picture frame, and the window glass is shatterproof. The window doesn’t open properly.
What did Aunt Lydia say to Offred about her circumstances of her room?
‘Where I am is not a prison but a privilege, as Aunt Lydia said.’
What colour uniforms do the Marthas and Wives wear?
Who are Marthas and Wives?
Marthas wear green uniforms. Wives wear blue uniforms.
Marthas are household servants. Wives are the wives of the Commander (the owner of the house the handmaids are staying in)
What did Offred’s new mistress tell her on her first day there?
To stay out of her sight as much as possible, and to avoid making trouble. Emphasises how terrible their living conditions are due to how they’re treated.
What 3 things are handmaids forbidden?
Coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol.
Who does Offred recognise the mistress as?
Serena Joy
