THT StudyGuide Ch.24-30 Flashcards
How does Offred interpret Aunt Lydia’s teachings about men?
That women can control men - can get what they want - by manipulating them.
“Context is all.” [154/138] Explain.
Things have significance relative to their situation. Scrabble is harmless and mundane except in the context of Gilead where it is illegal and therefore exciting.
What is the point of the story about the death camp commander’s mistress?
It reinforces the theme of ‘ignoring’ And of “Context is all”. She saw her lover in a different light from other people.
Offred suggests the woman’s situation parallels her own. She spends her evenings with the Commander and comes to almost like him. The Commander seems to be a good person. Yet he is also the agent of her oppression - both directly, as her Commander, and indirectly, through his role in constructing the oppressive edifice of Gilead society. Like the concentration camp commander, he is “not a monster, to her”; yet he is still a monster.
Offred compares Serene Joy’s gardening with “blitzkrieg” and “kamikaze”. What do these words mean?
‘blitzkrieg’: used by the Nazis in WW2; it means ‘lightning war’, and came to describe all out, total war.
‘kamikaze’: the Japanese pilots in WW2 who attacked with their planes, so dying in the process.
What is suggested by Offred’s use of them?
That there is a great anger, a great aggression, in Serena Joy. She is angry at the world and the only outlet she has is her garden. Also parallels Gilead’s ruthless treatment of the old and unwanted
Why does Offred covet Serena Joy’s shears? What do these occasional dark comments tell us about the state of her mind underneath her usual bitterly sarcastic narrative?
Like Cora’s knife, the shears could provide her with means of suicide, or of murder. There is more than a streak of despair under her determination to survive. There are many references to sharp objects: knives, razor blades, scissors etc – objects that can ‘open an escape in you’.
Women’s fashion magazines such as the Commander offers Offred were once the target of fierce criticism from feminists. What does Offred say these magazines offered? How do the pictures of the women impress her?
They offered promise: transformations, endless possibilities, ways to improve one’s looks, one’s wardrobe etc. Rejuvenation, romance – immortality. She sees the women in them as “bold, striding, confident”. What she once was.
The same old thing. It was too banal to be true.” Explain what Offred means.
It is such an old joke – men justifying affairs on the grounds that their wife doesn’t understand. ‘Banal’ means trite, commonplace, ordinary.
How have these meetings between Offred and the Commander changed the atmosphere of the Ceremony? What problems have the meetings created for Offred?
The Ceremony has become “indecorous”, embarrassing; she has become aware of herself, of her lack of grooming. The Commander tries to touch her, which could have given things away.
She feels shy; she knows him now and cannot detach herself the way she did. She feels guilty but is happier.
What does Offred feel when she finds out that Ofglen is not a ‘believer’?
Happy, relieved that she is not alone - “I want to laugh, shout, hug her.” - but mostly hopeful that there may be a future after all.
Why did Moira disapprove of Offred’s relationship with Luke? How did Offred defend herself?
Luke was married; Moira believed women should be loyal to one another, and not steal another woman’s man. Offred argued that Luke was not a “fish” she was poaching, that he had free will. She said she was in love – which Moira said was no excuse.
Computer banking had replaced the use of paper money; how did this help the revolution?
With all money controlled by linked and networked computers, it is the easiest thing in the world to change a few instructions and so control everyone’s money. We already know how our credit cards leave an electronic trail of use; this is one step further.
Why did the teenaged Offred find her mother embarrassing? How has her attitude changed now?
She marched, she swore, she used violence, she was noisy, she dressed like a teenager and not a mother. She talked about sex. She was rebellious and outrageous; she moved around a lot. She was not like other mothers.
Now Offred just wants her back, so she can tell her that she did a good job as a mother.
What did Offred fear about Luke after she lost her job? Why was she afraid to ask him about it?
She felt that the power had shifted in the relationship, that they were no longer equal partners. She now belonged to him. Luke had been given authority over her, responsibility for her, and she feared that he enjoyed it.
She was afraid to ask if this was true, because if it were, their relationship might founder and she would be unprotected and unable to support herself.
“Serena found out,” says the Commander of the previous Handmaid who killed herself. What is the significance of this? What is Offred’s reaction?
The previous Handmaid also used to visit the Commander in his study; Offred is not the first. Offred is unsurprised; it confirms her sense that she is a “whim”, a pet, that his interest is not in her personally. “If your dog dies, get another.” But she also has a hold over him – he should feel guilty over the death of the previous Handmaid, though he does not show any remorse.
