ESSAY PLANS/QUESTIONS:

Question 1

‘Every relationship in Handmaids tale is toxic’. How does this explain the novel?

Answer 1

Offred and offred’s mother (Offred felt pressure to be like her mother)
Offred and the commander (commander uses Offred to break the rules)
Offred and Serena joy (nemesis’ also sleeps with her husband)

Question 2

“The unreliability of Offred’s narrative diminishes Atwood’s satirical intentions.” How
far do you agree with this statement?

Answer 2

Unreliability of offred exhibits the negative effects
Unreliability of offred makes us feel less sympathetic to the oppression as we don’t know if it’s true
Historical notes increase unreliability, the novel becomes a metaphor for the unreliability of history

Question 3

‘Aunt Lydia is the real villain of the piece’. How far does this view help you to understand the significance of Aunt Lydia?

Answer 3

Indoctrinates the handmaids
Merciless matriarch
A symbol of oppressive control