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 the society.
There is a strong theme of "doubles" throughout the handmaid's tale and Offred constantly makes references to walking in pairs and even describes the handmaid's walking towards the "Prayvaganza" as "salt and pepper shakers" and a "flotilla of swans". When talking about the past, Offred uses beautiful imagery and seems to want to remember the past as being better than it may have been in reality. She even says, " when we remember the past, it’s the beautiful things we remember, we want to believe it was all like that". This is a very useful quote for the novel because it hints at the fact that Offred's tale may not be completely accurate.
One particularly disturbing piece of imagery is used in chapter six when Offred describes the bodies hanging on the wall. She describes the "red smile" on one of the hanging men's face but then goes on to state that" The tulips are not tulips of blood, the red smiles are not flowers". From this comment Atwood allows the reader to see the distinction between Offred's use of imagery to describe the situation from this and the reality of the situation, we are able to see what is really happening in the story.
Offred also conjures up a lot of imagery by associating words with other words. She will start by thinking of a word and then relate it to other words in her mind. This enables the reader to see more deeply into her thoughts and it allows images to form in the reader's mind, which would have been in Offred's at the time.
During chapter nine a lot of imagery is used when Offred describes "her" room. It seems like this has been done to demonstrate the boredom faced by the handmaids and the mundanely of their lives and to fill in time before Offred continues her story.
The song lyrics Offred uses at the beginning of chapter ten evokes images of escape and loneliness. In chapter twelve Offred describes her daughter as a ghost, which suggests that Offred has given up hope of ever finding her alive. In chapter thirteen Offred describes herself using images such as "I'm a cloud" and "the shape of a pear" this allows the reader to imagine how Offred feels about herself and is an effective use of imagery because of all the pictures the words used evoke in the reader's mind.
Another very descriptive part of chapter thirteen is when Offred tells of her attempt at escape. She describes every sound, thought and feeling that she had during this time, which is really captivating and allows the reader to empathise with Offred. When describing her daughter, Offred always use intense imagery and a large amount of description. This is demonstrated in chapter fourteen when Offred is again describing her attempt to escape with her daughter and she describes every little detail, even the colour of her shoelaces. This is again, another example of the fact that Offred probably picks out the good things in her past and focuses on them to stop herself from having to deal with the reality that faces her.
A lot of similes are used throughout Offred's story and she constantly refers to objects or people as being like other things that they would not usually be associated with. An example of this is when Offred compares her heart to "waves on the shore". This also conjures up images in the reader's mind and allows them to become more engrossed in Offred's story.
Offred uses a great deal of description and imagery when describing her thoughts as to what has become of Luke. She compares him to a "jellyfish, drying on sand" and says that he has the smell of "a cooped up animal in a dirty cage". These metaphors and similes allow Offred's descriptions to seem more realistic and they show that she has thought about what has happened to Luke in great detail.
The beginning of chapter nineteen is extremely thought provoking. Offred uses rhetorical questions, which automatically make the reader think of what the answer could be the. She also uses imperatives by saying "consider this: maybe they're drugging me."This sort of command immediately makes the reader think of the question and the possible answers which in turn makes them more eager to learn the truth.
When Offred describes things that her mother used to say in chapter twenty, you are almost able to hear her speaking. The things that she says are what would be expected for her to say given the character that Offred gave her earlier on in the novel and you can almost imagine being in the room when she said it. This is therefore a brilliant description.
When describing the coming of spring in chapter twenty- five Offred uses some fantastic images such as "even the bricks of the house are softening, becoming tactile". Images like this are so good that it is almost possible to feel what the air would have felt like.
During chapter twenty-eight Nick is described using cat imagery and Offred says that "He stretches in the sun, I feel the ripple of his muscles go along him, like a cat's back arching". Cat imagery is also used when Offred describes Moira. As Offred uses Moira as a symbol of hope, escape and freedom and this could also mean that she sees Nick in the same way, as a symbol of hope.
There is a brilliant passage at the beginning of chapter thirty in terms of imagery. Offred is describing the night and uses similes and a series of visual images from the past such as "wavering upwards like the shimmer above highway tarmac at noon". There is also a theme of past and present during this passage because Offred uses a lot of visual imagery which reminds her of the past but also combines it with images of the present such as "the eyes" when saying "a thick curtain pulled up over the eyes". Offred also uses very eloquent and descriptive language such as "searchlight moonlight" when she thinks of the past, which demonstrates her frustration at having language taken away from her and her small amount of power at being able to use it at night. This passage is one of my favourites because of the depth that Atwood has gone into when describing Offred's thoughts, smells and images from her past.
The opening passage of chapter thirty-three is, however my favourite in terms of its imagery. There are so many similes and metaphors used in this one passage that the images evoked are almost hard to comprehend. Offred compares the handmaids to "Dutch milkmaids on a wallpaper friez and a shelf full of period-costume ceramic salt and pepper shakers". She compares them to Dutch milkmaids to show that they too are stuck in time and costume, and compares them to salt and pepper shakers to show that they are objectified and only recognised when they are to be used (in the ceremony).
In conclusion we can see that the imagery used in the handmaid's tale is a very poignant part of the novel and without it the reader would not be able to empathise as well with Offred.