Essay about The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood

In The Handmaid’s Tale, much use is made of imagery; to enable the reader to create a more detailed mental picture of the novel’s action and also to intensify the emotive language used. In particular, Atwood uses many images involving flowers and plants. The main symbolic image that the flowers provide is that of life; in the first chapter of the novel Offred says â€Å"†¦flowers: these are not to be dismissed. I am alive.† Many of the flowers Offred encounters are in or around the house where she lives; it can be suggested that this array of floral life is a substitute for the lack of human life, birth and social interaction. The entire idea of anything growing can be seen as a substitute for a child growing. The Commander’s house contains†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The tulips are too red in the first place, they hurt me.† â€Å"Their redness talks to my wound, it corresponds.† â€Å"A dozen red lead sinkers round my neck.† The mention of tulips in â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tale† also includes somewhat violent imagery; the shade of red is likened to something â€Å"beginning to heal†. However, it is soon mentioned that â€Å"The tulips are not tulips of blood† – Offred soon removes herself from her neurotic state. In direct contrast to the fiery red of the tulips, the bathroom of the house is â€Å"papered in small blue flowers, forget-me-nots, with curtains to match.† This time, not only the colour but also the name of the flower is relevant. The calming, feminine pastel blue contrasts with Offred’s red clothing, but the name† forget-me-not† is also relevant, as Offred is reminiscing of her former life with her husband andShow MoreRelatedThe Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood954 Words   |  4 PagesImagine growing up in a society where all women are useful for is to reproduce. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is an excellent novel of what could potentially be the fate of the future one day. The main character, Offred, moves into a new home where she is there to perform â€Å"rituals† with the Commander, head of the house, so she can hopefully reproduce herself. Basically, she is a sex slave and birthing a healthy child is all she is wanted for. A lso if she does have a child then she will beRead More The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood583 Words   |  2 PagesMargaret Atwoods novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, satirizes the movement of religious conservatives that was occurring during its time of publication in the 1980’s. 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