Escaping Gilead with Song
When reading Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, there are many central themes. One of the themes that I have picked up the most on is escapism, attempting to push down the feelings of wanting to get out and being unhappy with the current state of the world. Offred experiences this a lot, even thought the aunts try to sway her the other way, trying to convince her that she is safe and better off in this world. She finds herself trying to justify her life, and trying to be appreciative but she can’t help but want to get out.
Be Quiet and Drive Far Away- Deftones- Offred slowly starts to notice that the world in which she lives is irregular; therefore, she attempts to adjust to this new normal. The aunts tell her she needs to adjust, like when in the book it says, “Ordinary, said Aunt Lydia, is what you are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after some time it will.” This quote shows that in Gilead, they attempt to make the scenario seem normal. After all of this, Offred still longs to get away. This song expresses a longing to escape from one’s current life. Offred also experiences similar feelings. She is having trouble adjusting to this new normalcy and thinks about her life before, and longs to go back similar time to the song.
Exit Music For a Film- Radiohead- This song encapsulates a plan to escape, and, similar to the last one, shows the longing for escape. This theme is central throughout the whole book, wanting to escape the current system. Offred soon starts to acknowledge that she will have to forget her past life and loses all hope in escaping the world in which she lives now. She says, “Time’s a trap and I’m caught in it. I must forget my secret name and all ways back.” This presents a very important plot point in the story, in which she officially gives up her past life, and turns to acceptance in the life in which she lives now, similar to the song.
Back to the Old House- The Smiths- To add onto my previous point, Offred soon moves to accept her current situation and says she cannot go back to the world she once lived in. In the song, it says, “I would rather not go back to the old house. There are too many bad memories, too many memories.” This is very reflective of Offred’s mental state as well, trying to cope by saying her son had died, trying to recall bad memories from the life she lived before, to attempt to comfort herself that she is in a better place right now. She tries to tell herself that she is safer in Gilead than she ever was in the real world, even though she knows it’s not true. She thinks that thinking like this will ease the pain of reality.
Mask Off- Future- In the beginning of the story, Offred says, “In the night is when I can be myself.” This is similar to the lyrics of this song because the artist talks about how he is tired of faking things, and he wants his metaphorical mask to come off. Similar to this, Offred describes how in the night she is unchained by everyone around her, that she can be herself no matter what others want her to do. However she is still restricted to a certain extent, she can be free to think what she wants and to move how she wants during the night time. Therefore her figurative mask comes off and she can rid herself of the appearance she has to uphold with everyone else (commanders, aunts, angels, etc.) Her mask comes off during the night, therefore letting her be herself.
Rosemary-Deftones- “Our minds set free to roam.” This is a good song that can tie all of the story together, because throughout the story we are shown that the only freedom which the handmaids have is mental freedom. Even though the aunts tell them things to try to infiltrate their thinking, the handmaids are all ultimately responsible for what they think. This is why Offred enjoys the night time so much, because she has the freedom to think whatever she wants, without anyone trying to tell her what else to think. Therefore this song, about your mind roaming to other places while your body is in one place, is accurate to describe the situation in which the handmaids are in.
https://youtu.be/dAW8CoH_lN0?si=rEo-pzAzVFvcJQq2 https://youtu.be/Bf01riuiJWA?si=maxzt5zeOkpadOnv https://youtu.be/laXY5e5JaV0?si=pt7M4-gJ4isVEkm7 https://youtu.be/aWb8z-KhZdo?si=zHA3W_Pw53xBdLm7 https://youtu.be/fZcAQ0kuw1s?si=pKK4wNsisyGduE6_