The Handmaids Tale Flashcards
“we weren’t allowed out, except for our walks..around the football field which was now enclosed”
control, isolation - They can only see and go where their allowed to, their lives are being so heavily censored that they can’t go anywhere but the football field where they are being watched and where what they see can be controlled.
Links to the USSR as people who lived within the Bolshevik countries lives were also being heavily censored, they couldn’t watch TV, listen to news, read books or see art that hadn’t already been censored to fit the communist beliefs and values.
“flowers are still allowed”
control - they aren’t allowed so much that the small things they are allowed are emphasised.
flowers = symbolic of femininity, is a type of manipulation from the state.
“for ladies in reduced circumstances”
euphemism - giving her situation a gloss to help her cope with her life. 6
“I used to despise such talk. Now I long for it”
control, isolation, antithesis - took her old rights for granted, now she’s not. allowed to have friends, make small talk, have a partner.
“a darker crimson towards the stem, as if they have been cut and are beginning to heal there”
simile, symbol -
