Comment on Atwood's use of imagery in chapters one to thirty-three of "The Handmaid's tale".

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Comment on Atwood's use of imagery in chapters one to thirty-three of "The Handmaid's tale"

Atwood's use of imagery if a very significant part of The handmaid's tale. The imagery used helps to establish depth in Offred's story and even contains hidden meanings and messages, which are not otherwise made explicit by Offred in her narrative.

  During chapters one to five the first of the themes, which run throughout the novel are introduced. During Offred's narrative, colour imagery appears many times and this is first shown in chapter two when Offred describes the colours of the flowers in her picture. Colour is used to describe almost anything in Offred's tale, from clothes to carpets. Red is a colour that is reoccurring, partly because of Offred's clothes but also because of its connotations with regards to blood, love, death and the menstrual cycle.

  Flowers are also a prominent part in Offred's imagery and they are frequently added to descriptions of things which would have otherwise seemed terrible, to lighten the mood of the story. Later on in the novel Offred even says, " I've tried to put some of the good things in as well. Flowers, for instance, because there would we be without them?" She seems to add descriptions of flowers and to go into great detail about other things which are pretty irrelevant, such as colour when she has come across a particularly painful point in her tale or when describing some event which she is ashamed of. This seems to be her way of protecting herself from having to think about the actual event, which she is describing because it may have been too painful for her to simply tell in full. Flowers are also a symbol of fertility so by using this flower imagery throughout her story, Offred could be making references to the great importance placed on fertility in the Gileadean society.

  Eggs are also mentioned in chapter two, which also occur later on in the novel because they are also a symbol of fertility. Images of Tulips appear at the beginning of chapter three and are described, again with a lot of colour imagery. Offred mentions her old garden at the beginning of chapter three and uses imagery of seeds (which are obviously symbols of fertility) and her bulbs and the way it felt for her to touch them. Offred tends to use a greater depth of imagery when describing experiences, sights, and smells or from her past which could be because she becomes engrossed in past memories when she considers them.  

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 Images of pigs are associated with the handmaids at various points during the novel, the first of which is during chapter four when Offred describes Offglen as a "trained pig". Later on Offred goes into a lot of detail about how she feels like a pig and how she wishes she had a "pig ball" to occupy her. This pig imagery is probably used to show how much the Gileadean society has dehumanised and debased its women. As the handmaids are related to farm animals who are trapped and caged, this imagery could also represent the lack of freedom in ...

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