Language and power:

Question 1

Assignment and power:

Answer 1

• Handmaids have new names: Offred, Ofglen, Ofwayne, Ofwarren.
• The removal of identity forces the handmaids to be remoulded into the Gilead ways.

Question 2

The Red Centre: Indoctrination:

Answer 2

• Place where language is used to dictate and internalize the ideology of the power system.
• The Red Centre prioritises the collective belief over the individual one. The handmaids become the puppets of this system.

Question 3

Atwood with the use of language and power:

Answer 3

• Atwood utilized Gilead oppressive manipulation of language in The handmaids tale to reveal the hierarchal dynamics of power in the theocratic state.
• Because knowledge facilitates power and the religious writings can be manipulated by people in power to maintain order.

Question 4

Connection between the handmaids and Rachel and Leah:

Answer 4

• The passage of Genesis 29,30, the story of Leah and Rachel is deliberately decontextualized and serves justification for the state sanctioned rape.
• There are certain situations where women could not describe for lack of words which relate to the handmaids being unable to speak to each other.
• Language is a vehicle which strips women from power.

Question 5

Key Quote:

Answer 5

” I feel like the word shatter”.

Question 6

Scarbbele:

Answer 6

• In the handmaid tale, playing scrabble was a symbol of the loss of freedom.
• When the commander gives her the chance to start, she uses it as his weak point to overthrow the patriarchal language.
• The scrabble game, the breaking point of patriarchal language, as it gives the deprived access to use the forbidden word.

Question 7

Scrabble words and its meaning:

Answer 7

• Larynx - Voice box.
  >Suggests the inability to use her own voice.
• Valance - A pleasant border the side of the bed. Also refers to an event of goodness or badness.
  > Suggests that she’s trying to explain her situation. Being raped.
• Quince - A type of fruit, a hard acid pear shaped used in preserves or flavouring.
  > Associates with fertility.
• Zygote - To fertilise eggs.
• Limp - To walk slowly.
• Gorge - A narrow valley