Handmaids tale blog #1: Then and Now

Ross Schonberg

Ms. Gubanich

English

April 15, 2016

Then and Now

In the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, the author, Margaret Atwood, likes to use flashbacks as a means of giving the reader information (which is just exposition). Atwood will do this throughout chapters and will then transfer back to present day. This is a very effective way of writing, it allows us to see the changes that have happened to the main character and the world in which she lives, while also giving us some background information.

First, the story begins with a flashback, so we start out in the past. Later on in the story we learn that our main character’s name if Offred, and she is a Handmaiden. It begins in the past and Offred seems to be in a gymnasium, with guards, called Aunts, surrounding them, it appears that she is going through (with what I can assume is) Handmaids training. Then she talks about how they walk around on a football field, but there are fences with wires all around them. We begin to get the feeling that she was in some sort of prison. This helps us realize what sort of world that she is living in. We know that it takes place in the future, but it seems that they don’t really care about education if they are using a school for prison-like facility. It can also be inferred that there used to be a society similar to ours (not so long ago), since there are mentions of pictures (of the high-school girls) that would reference a different type of living, and use of the gymnasium. Also, there is a flashback that goes even further back. Its is when Offred is a girl and is watching television and remembers about a singer, who in the present has become a wife, which is higher than a handmaid. In the story, giving information about the past is very helpful for the reader to have a much better understanding of what Offred's present is like.

Next, The story transitions back to the present, and Offred is in a room. We learn that this room is also like a prison, in which there is no escape and is basically suicide proof. What is different in the present that isn’t mentioned in her past is that she seems to serve a purpose that is sexual. In this present we also learn that everyone has a job, like how Offred is a handmaid, there are two other characters, Rita and Cora, who are Marthas, which is a job, higher than a handmaid’s job. So it is clear that there isn’t much choice or freedom within the world Offred lives in this future society. There is a big similarity between the flashbacks and the preset, which is that this world is very much centered around control.

In conclusion, flashbacks can be a very helpful means of storytelling, it can help the story progress without having the reader get lost or confused (including myself). It can also help us get an understanding of the characters and world that we are presented. Also, like with most dystopian literature there is some form of control over the people, and how the story tells us that Offred has been under control almost her whole life. Many (dystopian) novels don’t use flashbacks in their stories, and (I think) that this story uses it in a good and helpful way.