https://docs.google.com/document/d/11vKXc5EoeKgBtAGOWNtSTcilzMQfniaKLwUAtx31bOA/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z78sUgU9RXxykQS7clXNSe-ZwyNT7Hp12ie_kF9J4eo/edit?usp=sharing

On page 228 of The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred receives a photograph of her kid. The kid who was in the backseat when all three of them tried to escape and then failed miserably. The kid that she birthed and loved so very much. But after not seeing her child for so long, it seems like she has lost some of this connection. She never knew if Luke and her child had ever made it out alive, so it was difficult to keep hope and believe that they were really out there. She is immediately washed over by emotion when looking at the photo, and Offred first notices how much she has changed. “Time has not stood still. It has washed over me, washed me away, as if I’m nothing more than a woman of sand.” (228) We notice that Offred hasn’t thought very much about how others must have changed during this time; she was too focused on her survival and looking for ways to revolt and escape. The phrase “woman of sand” can be looked at in many ways. I see it as she has been worn away by Gilead’s oppression. It is more than just a physical hardship; it is internal and psychological, taking her down from within. Now, when having flashbacks, which were once a form of escape and a way to remember more from the past, she will only think about her daughter and if she is ok. Gilead has not only taken her freedom but also her loved ones, too.

This idea of having a new person to take care of is really scary to Offred, and I totally agree with what she is feeling. It is one thing knowing you’re in a bad situation, but a totally different thing to know that someone you love and care for is in a bad situation too. We also see this in many movies, when a character won’t give some information up and is willing to die for their cause, they often bring in someone close to that character and inflict punishment on them. You can often see how fast their attitudes will change, and whatever information they were holding back before will soon come out. When it was only Offred in this messed-up world, it was difficult, but only fending for herself wasn’t impossible. But now that she has a connection to someone else in this system, someone that she loves so much, she feels the motherly duty to help.

“Better she’d brought me nothing.” (228) is what Offred thinks soon after looking at the photo. This photo gives her a horrible realization that her daughter had become a product of Gilead. This sense of permanent distance from her daughter is terrifying, and the thought that she could face what Offred is currently going through. She notices that she has been erased from her daughter’s life, and even if they do get out of Gilead, they will never have the relationship she wanted, because she missed so much of her childhood. It is very difficult to maintain a relationship after not talking for a long time, if that was willingly or not. This is because people change so much so fast, especially due to the circumstances around them. Offred’s daughter could be a totally new person now and not even recognize Offred, and that is what she is terrified of.

All of the flashbacks to her previous life with Luke and their daughter become much more important now. Before these memories were a link, some of the only things she could remember from her previous life, and a reason for her not to fully give in to Gilead, and a reason not to try anything too rash. She believed that Luke and she would come for her one day. That they had made it to the safe haven and were waiting for the right time to come and take her away.

While it seems like Serena Joy was trying to be nice for once and finally help Offred, what she has done might have done the exact opposite. We see the effects right after Serena Joy leaves, and Offred thinks about how she is never allowed a knife when eating. “When there’s meat they cut it up for me ahead of time, as if I’m lacking manual skills or teeth. I have both, however. That’s why I’m not allowed a knife.” (228) She knows that she is too valuable to this society because she is fertile and this rule has definitely been implemented because of other handmaids in the past using the knife to either escape or take their own life.

“In the Stars” - Benson Boone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmcEXd1K9XM

“We thought we had such problems then , How could we know we were happy?”(pg. 51)]. This song fits with this moment, because as you listen to the song, you feel this dark, grieving tone, which usually comes from reflecting on something you can never get back. The soft piano and echoing vocals almost make it sound like a loss…The theme of grief is used all throughout the Handmaids tales, especially through Offred’s flashback of her old life. Offred isn’t just mourning her past, her daughter, Lulke, but she’s mourning her freedom, her sense of security and safety that her old life. The people she loves may still be alive, but it would be easier for her to pretend they were gone, because hope hurts a lot more. The song’s legato rhythm mirrors the emotional pull between the pain that comes with remembering and trying to forget the pain. It’s almost like every note is a memory forcing her to remember what Gilead took from her.

Escapism - Raye

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EBw-CWc4Uw

This song reminds me of Moira. The title”Escapism” caught my attention because that was what Moira was tryna do the entire time: escape. She almost made it too, but got caught when she was close to the finish line. She ended up at Jezebel’s and found herself in a “little black dress”. Then not too long after there was a shift in her. She used to be strong, rebellious and full of fire but now it seems she’s just surviving. The lyrics “And I’m out on the town on a simple mission, In my little black dress and this sh*t is sittin” and “I don’t wanna feel how I felt last night, captures that same same exhaustion and numbness Moira was feeling about her new life. When Moira tells Offred. “Don’t worry about me…I’m still here you can see it’s me. Anyway look at it this way:it’s not so bad…”(pg. 249) It sounds like she is trying to convince herself that she’s okay rather than Offred. The dark, moody, and fast paced almost restless rhythm match that emptiness that Moira is probably feeling. Moira isn’t escaping anymore; it seems like she’s surrendering to what she was running from.

All the Good Girls Go to Hell - Billie Eilish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmMqFCyfPLo

This song reminded me of the moment when the Commander pressured Offred to have sex in a spare room in Jezebel’s. “All the Good Girls Go to Hell” fits that scene perfectly. The line “Lucifer was lonely” makes me think of the Commander, seemingly powerful but still capable of feeling lonely. In class discussion,we stated that the Commander desired human touch, intimacy but from this scene its clear he’s trying to do it by control. By bringing Offred to Jezebel, he assumed that she would be willing to do what he wanted her to do. He definitely framed Offred in a way because originally it seemed he had no sexual intention, but once they reached the hotel room, it showed his true intentions. The song’s dark rhythm and slow, almost haunting bass, creates this tension that was shown, in the scene, something tempting but wrong. The feel of this song also captures how powerless Offred feels. She has no choice in the matter, forcing her to convince herself that she is okay. The beat of the song moves almost like a racing heartbeat, building this pressure, tension, just like the power imbalance showcased in this scene.

Jealous - Labrinth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5nrZ5sHgxk

The lyrics of this song really spoke to me because it reminded me of the moment where Offred saw the picture of her daughter. In chapter 35 it says “She grows and lives. Isn’t that a good thing? A blessing? Still I can’t bear it, to have been erased like that. Better she’d brought me nothing”(pg. 228). From this we can see that Offred was able to relief a sign of relief because she was able to see for herself that her daughter was alive and seemingly taken care of, but it also reawakened the grief she has been carrying since her daughter was taken from her. Her role as a mother was stript away from her and seeing this picture reminded her that her child is now being cared for by someone else, and the possibility that she would get that back is almost impossible. The song “Jealous” fits this moment so well because it carries that same quiet ache that Offred was feeling. The piano and instruments used in the songs makes it seem creates the feel of someone not trying to cry. The slow rhythm mirrors the heaviness that Offred feels when looking at the photo torn between gratefulness and heartbreak. The line “ it’s hard for me to say, I’m jealous of the way you are happy without me” captures exactly what Offred feels but can’t say out loud. She’s jealous and broken that she can no longer be a mother.

Back To December - Taylor Swift

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awdH9ChjsUg

In chapters 34 - 35 Offred and the Commander talk about love and its role in people’s lives. During their conversations, Offred brought it to the Commander’s attention that when they built this new system they “forgot about love” The Commander responded by saying, “ Was it really worth falling in love “(pg. 220). This response shows that maybe he never experienced love or didn’t have a great experience with it, like he is out of touch with that emotion. The tone of the song “Back to December” has a sort of nostalgic air to it, like someone is replaying memories that they can’t let go of yet. Which reminds me of how Offred often reminisces about her and Luke’s love. It was an almost necessity for her, a way for her and love ones to connect. Love used to have meaning, but now in this new system love is unheard of. The lyrics “Maybe this is wishful thinking, mindless dreaming” mirror Offred’s quiet reflection and almost regret of not realizing how much she took her old life for granted. She knows that love brought both joy and pain, but it was real, despite how much Gilead tries to control that narrative. In summary, The vibe of the song shows that Offred isn’t angry, just aware that what Gilead took could not be replaced.

Reading chapter 33 of the Handmaid’s Tale left me with a complicated mix of sadness, in a way fascination and anger. Margaret Atwood’s portrayal of a society that celebrates female subjugation under the guise of holiness hit me deeply. What resonated most wasn’t just the obvious cruelty of Gilead’s rituals, but how normal and even “beautiful” they appear to those within the system. That distortion of morality, when oppression is dressed up as virtue, reminded me of many moments in my own life where conformity was rewarded more than compassion. In chapter 33, Aunt Lydia urges the Handmaids to view the ceremony as a “victory”. She tells them that “We must all be joyful for the good that is being done”, referring to the arranged marriages of very young girls to older men. Offred’s narration, however, strips away the holiness Aunt Lydia tries to impose, her tone is weary, observant and quietly resistant. She sees through the ceremony facade. “There is something indecent about the way they are so happy” she notes about the Wives, watching them smile and clap. This tension between what the regime demands people say and what they actually feel. Looking at their lives and how they lived, in comparison to mine, it was a difference but similar but more so towards my appearance and the way you looked and appeared to other adults, in which my grandparents cared most about. You had to appear, dress, act a certain way, you couldn’t wear certain things because it would be deemed as “improper” or “uncanny” in a way of unacceptable or strange. Appearance and the way you carried yourself mattered and a lot of it is shown in the Handmaids tale, based off of the roles you had to play in society, what you had to do, instead of what you wanted to do, in both, there wasn’t an option, but it was a demand. Reading about the young brides in chapter 33, dressed in white, and paraded as symbols of virtue, I thought about those moments in my past when I felt defined more by what I shouldn’t do than what I could do. Atwood’s description, “They are being given to men who have served the state” perfectly captures that transfer of ownership. It made me realize how easily language can normalize control. Another moment that “resonated” with me was Janine’s behavior. Once celebrated for her successful childbirth, she now appears detached and unstable. Offred describes her as “smiling vacantly” and speaking nonsense, her mind clearly fractured by the trauma she endured. Another moment shown, Offred and Ofglen’s whispered exchange during the ceremony also struck a personal chord. Their small act of connection felt quietly revolutionary. In a world where even speech is dangerous, that moment of shared recognition, the simple acknowledgment that they both see the truth felt profound. It reminded me of times I’ve found solidarity in silence: glancing at a friend across a room during an uncomfortable moment, or sharing a private joke in a setting where we had to act “proper.” Those tiny acts of rebellion remind me that resistance doesn’t always look like protest, sometimes it’s just the courage to whisper when everyone else stays quiet. The chapter also made me think about how rituals, whether religious or social, can both comfort and constrain. The Prayvaganza is meant to unify, but it erases individuality. In contrast, I’ve experienced rituals like weddings, graduations, or even shared meals that bring people together in joy and equality. Atwood’s ceremony feels hollow because it’s built on fear, not faith. That distinction helped me reflect on the kind of community I want to be part of: one that values questioning and compassion over blind conformity. Ultimately, my reaction to Chapter 33 comes from recognizing how fragile freedom can be. Gilead’s world doesn’t feel entirely fictional, it’s an exaggerated version of patterns I’ve seen in real life, how societies justify inequality, how trauma hides behind ceremony, and how women are taught to celebrate their own limitations. Offred’s quiet awareness, her ability to observe without completely surrendering, feels like an act of hope. I connect to that deeply. Like her, I’ve learned that survival sometimes means holding on to the smallest sparks of truth, even when you can’t say them out loud and this goes for anything and everything. Atwood doesn’t just critique patriarchy in this chapter, she exposes how easily people adapt to it, even celebrate it. That realization unsettled me, but it also strengthened my resolve to question the systems I live in. When Aunt Lydia praises the ceremony as sacred, and Offred internally recoils, I felt that recoil too not just as a reader, but as someone who has learned that questioning authority is often the first step toward freedom.

In Chapter 23, Offred sees the Commander outside the ceremony and in his public duty. Offred is instructed by Serena Joy to visit the commander’s office. She is nervous because secret meetings between handmaids and commanders are forbidden, and it could potentially be dangerous. But to her surprise, she isn’t called to be interrogated or punished; the commander asks her to play a game of Scrabble with him.

Offred is confused and a little suspicious because reading is forbidden for women in Gilead. She feels guilty about this meeting. But as she and the commander continue through the game, she feels a mix of excitement and power. “We play two games. Larynx, I spell. Valance. Quince. Zygote”, she feels memories of her old life coming back to her, when playing a simple game of Scrabble was not frowned upon. The commander has one more thing for Offred, an old-fashion magazine. This magazine is from pre-Gilead, but it is also now banned. “This is freedom, an eyeblink of it”, she feels as if this moment is intimate, showing the reality of how starved she has been for a real human connection.

Offred does not let this feeling blind her; she knows this “relationship” is dangerous for her, and she cannot tell anyone. If she and the commander are caught, they would be severely punished. But why does the commander consider Offred? Why does he offer her a game of Scrabble even when he knows reading is forbidden for Handmaids? This meeting isn’t random; it’s connected to what happened to Fred and Serena’s previous handmaid before Offred arrived.

Though we don’t know her name, we know her story. She was the one who wrote words that Offred found; she was the one who took her own life, and she was the one who left both emotional and physical stains on the household. The commander has this meeting with Offred because he wants to prevent the same thing from happening to her. Even though he wants to make her life easier as a handmaid, he still hopes for a genuine human connection. The commander is lonely and bored in the power-obsessed world that they are forced to live in. He wants normalcy and a companion. But this is not fully pure, the commander is still centering his needs. Scrabble becomes his form of rebellion. By inviting Offred to play, he thinks he is being kind, but it’s also a power move. Offering Offred something “illegal” can make her feel indebted to him and give him more control.

For my art piece, I made Scrabble tiles that spell out themes that appear so far in our readings. I chose seven words: autonomy, handmaids, self, men, power, less, and fertility. I feel like all of these words relate to THT completely because we know the struggle of autonomy, fertility, and a sense of self for the handmaids in a world that just discards them. I added the word men because they are at the hierarchy in Gilead. Even though the words power and less are separate, when you look at my art piece, they are connected at the “E” in power and less. This adds an artistic touch and puts a play on words.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E_Xb5mpeNJmfKd9BNSnY5qjXNa-6I5KnVnuebg1gsSo/edit?usp=sharing

Lagunas-Peso Pluma Throughout the book, Offred is constantly being haunted by her past. Her memories are now just constant reminders of what she could’ve had and of the things she wishes were still real. She craves the connection she once had with her loved ones, “I want her back, I want everything back, the way it was. But there is no point to it, this wanting.” (122) But she is aware that the likelihood of even getting to see them is low. But perhaps in another life, or another galaxy, she could’ve lived out her life the way she had planned/wanted to. Lagunas, though its main focus is on romantic heartbreak and not systemic oppression, it is similar in the way the artist reflects back on past relations. Ideas of what could have been, just like our character, Offred, float around in his mind, hence the name “Lakes” or “Lagoons.” These two situations are connected in the sense that they both use memories as ways that continue to develop. They both reflect on the possibilities of what could’ve been if things had turned out the way they had planned, but maybe for them, it’s in another galaxy.

Let Down- Radiohead Another song that could resonate with the situations and characters of Margaret Atwood’s novel is Let Down, released in 1997. Both of these pieces of media capture the silent despair of being contained in a world that tends to strip away any sense of individuality or identity. Offred frequently feels helpless throughout the book to the point where she detaches herself from her body and identity, “I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am…” (73,74). And, in Gilead, her every move is constantly being monitored and controlled by others, causing her to feel powerless and disappointed, much like how the songs describe the overwhelming heaviness of having to endure the constant routines that often lead to disappointment. But, similarly to the previous song, she not only uses her memories and beliefs to keep herself sane but also to give herself hope, “Someone must be out there, taking care of things. I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather no shadow unless there is also light. There must be a resistance…” (105). Though she might feel “hysterical and useless,” at the moment, she still has the desire and hope to be free, much like how the artist does as well; “One day, I am gonna grow wings…”

Good Looking- Suki Waterhouse Both of these pieces of media explore themes of intimacy and tension between relationships that are constructed by circumstances. Offred is often reflecting on her memories of love and affection and compares them to how her situation is today, where any close and genuine relationship is forbidden under Gilead. As she reflects back on her relationship with Luke, she thinks about the possibilities of his current situation and what he could be feeling, “I believe Luke is… I also believe that Luke… Any day now there may be a message from him…The message will say that I must have patience: sooner or later he will get me out…, that keeps me alive, I believe in this message…. Does Luke hope?” (106). Likewise, Good Looking transmits the bittersweet feeling of closeness and detachment in relationships. And the lyrics, “You’re not who you are to anyone/to anyone/you’re not who you are to anyone/to anyone, these days, I’m not who I am to anyone/no, not me at all/I’m not who I am to anyone these days/not at all,” mirror how Offred is feeling in this moment. She knows she isn’t considered a person anymore, and she suspects that Luke isn’t considered one either.

Amor Eterno- Rocio Dúrcal This song, released in 1984, is about grieving, about what could’ve been done to prevent misfortunes. Offred is unaware of the state that her daughter is in, and given the circumstances, she assumes the worst. She often thinks about her loss, and it is something that haunts her constantly. “I can see her, going away from me, through the trees which are already turning, red and yellow, holding out her arms to me, being carried away… Of all the dreams this is the worst” (75). Similarly, the artist thinks about her current situation and talks about how she wishes she could’ve done something to prevent the tragedies she faced, “Cómo quisiera, ay/ Que tú vivieras/ Que tus ojitos jamás se hubieran/Cerrado nunca y estar mirándolos/ Amor eterno/ E inolvidable/ Tarde o temprano estaré contigo/ Para seguir amándonos.” Similarly to the artist, she and Offred want to return to her loved ones. Offred makes it clear that even though her daughter was taken away, there is still some part of her that knows or believes that she will be reunited with her and things will go back to how they were; “ She’ll remember…and we will be all three of us together.” (106).

Homesick- Wave to Earth The song Homesick is not just about wanting to return home, but about how certain events led the artist to feel held back and disappointed about his situation, even though the artist just wanted to chase his dreams. Offred is also feeling her own sense of homesickness. She mentions how she yearns for freedom, for identity, to be valued as a person, and to be free from the restrictions set in Gilead, “I want to be held and told my name. I want to be valued, in ways that I am not; I want to be more than valuable. I repeat my former name, remind myself of what I once could do, how others saw me.” (97). The song acknowledges a similar feeling through the lyrics, “Erase me from here and set me free/All I wanted was to fly high/I can’t believe my wings are broken/And fell against the sky”. Both the artist and Offred express a great desire to be able to escape their circumstances, but because of things beyond their control, they’re forced to be confined and are met with disappointment. Offred, as much as she wants to be erased from Gilead, can’t be, her “broken wings” symbolizing her denied freedom.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YkxNzs9013DN-Llx3NYKAHPOEI-ehrW1sUuZVC6CUJc/edit?usp=sharing