For my capstone, I wanted to connect with my community, and learn from others. This website is a collection of audios from many different kinds of people, answering the question “what would you do if you could speak to your younger self?” The interviews are either in English and in Spanish, and each one is transcribed in both the original and translated language. They are organized by age on different pages. With such a broad scope of topics, my hope was that anyone who wanted advice or a specific question answered, they could find it here.

Link to website: https://sites.google.com/scienceleadership.org/liadunakin-capstone/home

“The Road” by Cormac McCarthy explores many themes through the relationship between the man and his son. During their journey, they encounter lots of enemies. This includes not just other humans that they find along the way, but silent enemies too. The man constantly acts in the name of survival, and in contrast, the boy needs constant reassurance that they are still good, due to his extreme compassion. We wanted to show that with our map. Along our road, we drew the moments that made the boy question the morality of their actions. The very first person that they communicate with on the road turns into a violent event. After the man shot another person, the narrator describes the boy as “Lying in his lap with no expression on his face.” (page 68) This part shows how truly shocked the boy was by the man’s actions, he could not even react. Later, they run into another horrific scene, of which the boy states they would never eat people “Because we’re the good guys.” (page 129) He again has the same reaction after they find a large supply of canned food, asking if they can eat it because those who left it are the good guys. Finally, he asks his new companions whether they were good so he would know whether it was okay to go with them or not. The motif of good guys vs bad guys throughout “The Road” made it hard to follow who the enemies were, and who you were supposed to be rooting for. We wanted to represent that confusion in our artwork, showing all the different kinds of people that were encountered along the way.

link to our artwork:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GLMl5l21pelmmvRJ3ZaUEt1dSWl3XluxyAoSgm5S7KI/edit?usp=sharing

The Way Things Go- Beabadobee

This song describes Luke and Offred’s marriage during the start of Gilead in many ways. For example, names are very important in The Handmaid’s Tale. Throughout the story, we learn about many small things from Offred’s life before Gilead, that she took for granted, such as her name. The readers do not know her real name yet, but Luke’s name is known. Something that can be viewed as insignificant, like your name, is being taken away from women in this society, but lots of men have not lost this privilege. This song also relates a lot to Offred’s flashbacks, like the lyric “There’s too much on my mind.” The narrator’s mind wanders a lot, and this is how she tells her story, on her own terms. The lyric “There’s so much left to say” relates to her feelings towards Luke, because they didn’t choose to end their relationship, yet it ended so abruptly, and she didn’t get to say everything that she wanted to say to him. She sometimes catches herself referring to him in past tense, and corrects herself, because to her, he is still real, and such a large part of her life. For example, after her moment with Nick, she thinks to herself that Luke would understand, because he is still constantly on her mind. Throughout this song, the artist Beabadoobee sings about toxic relationships she has had, where when she was in them, she thought this was the norm. During her flashback to when Luke tries to reassure her when she was fired and lost her economic freedom, he says to her on page 179, “You know I’ll always take care of you.” This moment connects to the lyric and common phrase “I guess that’s just the way things go,” because he implies this, because he can’t change it, but he can say what he thinks he is supposed to say to comfort her.

Lyric Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAzq1kS7Euc

Space Song- Beach House

When Luke and Offred are trying to escape with their daughter, they are driving toward their new life. The slow, calming nature of this song fits this moment perfectly, because it is what the two of them need. The anxiety is so high because they don’t know what’s going to happen, but they have left their entire life behind. This song focuses on the connection that two people feel. The lyrics “You held on tight// I’m on your side,” are perfect for this moment, because they know at this moment they only have each other, because they can’t trust others. Even with all of this uncertainty, they both choose to escape together. They don’t truly understand Gilead yet, because it is so new, which reminded me of the lyric “What makes this fragile world go round.” Throughout this entire story, there is so much confusion, and that forces the reader to ask themselves, why is Gilead like this? And what are the similarities with our current society?

Lyric Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDv_oMJXZow

Spring- Antonio Vivaldi

While this classical song doesn’t have any lyrics, the title, and the high paced mood connects to the motif of gardens, which I think represents motherhood. Tending and maintaining the garden consistently can be interpreted as watching out for your child and always being there for them. However, this choice has been taken away from Offred. During her flashback on page 12 of her own garden after she first witnessed Serena Joy’s, she describes “Time could pass more swiftly that way.”: Is she really talking about the garden? Having a garden used to be so normal, she can’t have anything that’s hers. Her garden used to be hers, just like her daughter, but her daughter doesn’t even remember her anymore. This is shown when Serena Joy secretly gave her a picture, she says, “It (time) has washed over me, washed me away, as if I’m nothing more than a woman of sand…Still, I can’t bear it, to have been erased like that.” (page 228) Finally, the fact that this song is not performed by one instrument, but by an orchestra, relates to her strong relationship with her daughter, and how before it was not one-sided.

Link to Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3nSvIiBNFo

Think Fast: Dominic Fike (ft. Weezer)

Throughout the novel, there is a recurring theme of indoctrination, and you don’t know if it’s always Offred talking or it’s Gilead’s ideals that have creeped into her own personal thoughts. In this song, Dominic Fike is trying to find meaning in a confusing world. The lyrics, “She talks and nothing makes sense to me.”//“If it’s not a puzzle, it must be nonsense,” are also related to indoctrination. When she is learning how to become a handmaid and live in this new society, she is extremely overwhelmed, and some of the things the aunts were saying were mixing around in her head, which is shown when sometimes a thought is prefaced by “Aunt Lydia says,” letting us know that it might not really be Offred talking, and all of those opinions are the same category in her head. This indoctrination shows us performative religion, such as doing everything for power rather than faith. An example of this would be the Soul Scrolls, which really just show your wealth and status, not your commitment to the religion. The part of the song where Dominic Fike sings, “Had clues to dead ends, I’d lose them lost faith,” I think is a good representation of how Offred feels, because we do see her praying prior to Gilead on page 225, “It’s going to be all right, I said, prayed in my head.” However, now because she doesn’t pray on her own accord, she makes small changes to feel rebellious, like when she was praying The Lord’s Prayer.

Lyric Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upadCWGCbF0

Happy Now- Kali Uchis This song is Kali Uchis reflecting on a past relationship of hers, which is exactly what Offred is doing when she tells us her and Luke’s story. Many times, Offred admits that she is doing something wrong, but she is always trying to justify it. Her relationship with Luke and her relationship with The Commander are similar in many ways. She is “the other woman” in both. Going to hotels, only together behind closed doors. On page 193 she says, “You have to create an it, where none was before.” That section is her talking about how you have to make yourself believe something is real so that it becomes real, in her case justifying her poor actions. In the song “Happy Now”, the lyrics “It was never their business anyway. Let’s, you and me, start over today, be happy,” for me, describing Offred’s perspective on her relationship with Luke prior to marriage. When he was cheating on his wife with her, because Luke’s wife didn’t matter to her, only the relationship she had with him. Finally, “I’ve gotta free my mind. Don’t wanna think about the pain or the heartaches. Just wanna remember all the good things,” can show how Offred only wants to remember Luke as this amazing man, he was her husband, doesn’t know what happened to him, creating an image of him in her head because she only wants to think positively. She constantly gives us reasons to make us believe that they are good people, because she doesn’t believe it herself.

Lyric Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eixxLxVrh_o

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood speculates about what a world without choice would look like. Nobody within the world of Gilead has any choice for anything in their lives. The narrator states on page 24 that the reason for this control is that before Gilead, “Women were not protected.” In Offred’s flashbacks about what life was like before, there are many experiences that lots of women in The United States can relate to, like catcalling or someone’s appearance. The fact that Offred is still thinking about all of this shows that none of it is really gone. The main difference between Gilead and society now is that nobody has any choice. They don’t have a choice about their names, their clothes, their diet and other aspects of their day to day life.

The idea of choice is very prominent in The United States right now. Politicians have been debating about it. The media is reporting on it. Ever since states have been granted the power to decide the legality of abortion by The Supreme Court, everyone is hearing the word choice used in this context. It seems like everyone is being put into two categories, are you pro-choice or not? The case Roe V Wade was decided under the right to privacy and the reason given to overturn it was that there was an abuse to judicial authority. However, many are asking whether the government should take away the ability to choose to have an abortion. According to NPR and a poll from Gallup, the majority of adults in the country identify as pro choice, but that is not what policies reflect. The many conversations being had and arguments being thrown out does not change the fact that a major choice to take control of their own life has been taken away from so many people.

Amy Coney Barrett is one of the justices that was for the decision regarding abortion made by The Supreme Court, and because of this opinion, many have speculated about how religious ideals have incorporated themselves into American politics. There is a “tight-knit faith community” based in The United States called The People of Praise. Barrett has never publicly spoken about being part of this group, but some have come out to say she is a member. While according to The New York Times, they are falsely accused of inspiring The Handmaid’s Tale, there are still some connections that can be made about this religious group and Gilead. For example, they agree with traditional gender roles. In Atwood’s novel, women in the house are expected to split up the household jobs. While in The Handmaid’s Tale choice has been completely taken from everyone, members of The People of Praise have a choice to make. Whether they want to marry, or stay single and celibate. Single members often live in houses with other families and help with chores.

Another example of how religion has creeped into other aspects of daily life comes from Dr. Wang, who is a member of The People of Praise. He talked to one of the heads of the community about whether he should prescribe contraceptives to his patients even though it goes against religious teachings, and after this conversation, he decided to not prescribe them since they are against his own personal beliefs. Finally, The People of Praise do not support the LGBTQ+ community, like many others around the world. While it is not specifically said in the book, it is implied that this is also the view of leaders in Gilead. When the main character vividly describes the scene where people are hanged for their crime, she says that some were punished for “Gender Treachery,” on page 43. This term hints at open sexuality or gender identity, which is the opposite of their message.

While this religious group is not doing the same extreme work as the fictitious religious group in Atwood’s speculative fiction novel, they are one example of a publicly talked about topic, when it comes to the idea of choice in society and in American politics. Choice has not been absolutely taken away from all citizens in this country. Everyone can still decide what to do day to day. While some might not think so, small decisions matter, and that is displayed in The Handmaid’s Tale, through many examples, such as not being able to even use their real names. The Handmaid’s Tale shows what society could become if these decisions were taken too far. There is comfort in the fact that the world has not reached that level yet, and leaders in Gilead thought that too because as Offred says on page 25, “We were a society dying… of too much choice.”