Similies in Handmaid’s Tale Section V

Simile
Explanation
“Time as white sound” (p.75) Life is monotonous and does not have any kind of events that could set it apart from the ordinary
“Like the wrong end of a telescope, like the window on a Christmas card” p.81 It shows how narrow her field of vision is
“I wait, washed, brushed, fed, like a prized pig” p 75 It shows that she is like property, that she is dehumanized, and even if she is treated like a “prize” she is still treated as an animal
“I used to think of my body as an instrument of pleasure” p. 79 This highlights the lack of pleasure in Gilead society, but also how even in the past she was maybe taught to see herself as some sort of object to be used.
“Their legs fluttering like the wings of held birds” p. 76 Birds are typically symbols of freedom, and here it is held down and held back
“They look oddly like baby coffins” p. 79 (talking about urinals) This shocking image strangly compares baby coffins to urinals in order to show the fact that baby coffins are perhaps common for her to see, and society’s obsession with fertility.
“I see despair coming towards me like famine” (p. 80) This shows how the emotion of despair could be so strong it could almost kill her, as well as her inability to express this despair. Also, since famine is the absence of food, this could be like the absence of joy.
“There is breath and the knocking of my heart, like pounding on the door of a house at night when you thought you were safe” (p 81) This image demonstrates the feeling of fear and panic in your body, as the anticipation of being violated in a moment of peace and safety. This is to describe the flashback of when she tried to run away with her daughter.

Thesis statements for opening of Section III, Handmaid’s Tale

Atwood uses the crescendo of would, need, and must to demonstrate the urgency of using storytelling as a coping mechanism.

In this extract Atwood uses repetition of you and I, sudden shift, and the extended metaphor of a story to show how the concept of telling a story is a coping mechanism for Offred’s survival.

 

Atwood uses the concept of a story as an escape from reality and the pronouns of you and I, and the concentration on the verb “tell” to show how Offred uses storytelling as a way to distance herself from her horrible reality and feel connected to others.

Paragraph on Chapter 2, written together in class

How does Atwood illustrate Offred’s state of mind in the opening of chapter 2?

 

Some mini-thesis statements:

After the initial shock of chapter 1, Atwood begins to introduce us to Offred’s state of mind to a greater extentin chapter 2. Through the descriptive paragraphs, Atwood shows  Offred’s mindset, specifically how she has been numbed to certain things that would shock today’s society and is contrastingly surprised at things that are normally common.

 

Atwood uses euphemism to show her conflicted state of mind.

 

In the opening of chapter 2, Atwood uses euphemism, repetition, and enumeration to show the conflict between Offred’s passionate (past) side and her survival-like (present) side.

 

 

Atwood uses anaphora and repetition, euphemism and alliteration to illustrate Offred’s will to survive and inner dillemma.

 

 

Examples and analysis:

For example, Offred states: “They’ve removed anything you could tie a rope to.” Without saying it directly, this phrase indicates that Offred has scanned her environment through the lens of suicide. Thus, this euphemism accentuates Offred’s fragile mindset. The casual manner in which Offred brings up suicide shows the extent to which death is normalized in her environment and her thinking. In Gilead, death is a daily occurence — from the bodies hanging on the wall, to the unwomen sent to the colonies, Offred is constantly confronted with violence.   So much so, that she doesn’t even see suicide in a negative light, but more so as an escape: “It’s those other escapes, the ones you can open in yourself, given a cutting edge.” Here is another euphemism which suggests that suicide is not only normal, but a potential pathway to freedom. However, Offred also wants to survive: “Thought must be rationed (…) I intend to last.” Here, Offred’s temptation to die quickly changes to a will to live, thus revealing her conflicted state of mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Collaborative paragraph written in class

How does Atwood make the opening of The Handmaid’s Tale intriguing?

In the opening of The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood uses “in media res” and retention and disclosure to make this introduction intriguing for the reader. From the very first words, the author creates an atmosphere of doubt and the unknown, with no knowledge of any past events, and yet seemingly thrown into the middle of the story. This style of introduction, known as in media res, creates the suspense that draws the reader into the book. The first line, “We slept in what had once been the gymnasium” poses many questions that need to be answered. First of all, the first word, the pronoun “we” adds mystery–who is “we”? Moving forward, “had once been” suggests the far past, and one wonders why the gymnasium would no longer serve its purpose. This introduces another technique, retention and disclosure. Atwood intentionally witholds information, and slowly reveals small details about Offred’s hopeless circumstances. For example, Atwood writes “We had flanelette sheets, like children’s, and army-issue blankets, old ones that still said U.S.” This line suddenly reveals a very important turning point in world history: the USA no longer exists. Offred narrates this as if it is common knowledge, she adds “still said U.S.” at the end of the sentence as if it is a decorative detail. Furthermore, Offred moves on immediately to describing the folded clothes, when the reader expects Offred to go much deeper into the facts of how the greatest military power just disappeared. Offred, however, gradually and randomly discloses this important information, creating suspense and forcing us to piece together the puzzle of this situation.

  1. Additionally, Atwood juxtaposes Offred’s relationship with the past and the present, in the contrasting passages of flasbacks described using sensory imagery and detail, and switching quickly back to a detached tone which emulates her survival mode in the present of Gilead.

Introduction to Prem BFI Literature

oib-prem_15435238

 

 

LITERATURE SYLLABUS 2025

 

SAINT-DENIS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

 

BACCALAURÉAT FRANÇAIS, OPTION INTERNATIONALE (OIB) AMÉRICAINE

SYLLABUS FOR THE LANGUAGE/LITERATURE EXAMINATION

 

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

A total of ten texts will be studied for the examination reflecting diversity in ethnic background and gender.  Six texts (core) will be studied in common by all candidates.  The remaining texts will be chosen freely by individual sections/schools.  The Tempest will be the in-depth (oral) text studied in common by all schools.  The remaining two in-depth texts will be chosen freely by each section/school from the novel and poetry category.

 

The following are the texts:

 

  1. One Shakespeare play: The Tempest  ** (CORE)  (specify edition)
  2. Two 19th-/20th-/21st-century English-language works of prose fiction:
  3. a) The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood  (CORE; American)**
  4. b) The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  5. Two English-language playwrights:

a.) Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage (CORE; American)

b.) Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams 

 

  1. Two English-language poets:

                                          a.) Core Poetry: A selection of 8 poems (CORE; American) : 

Adriene Rich

Twenty-One Love poems: III, VII, XVII

 Snapshots of a Daughter-in-law: 1 

Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers

I felt a funeral in my brain

I’m wife

After great pain, a formal feeling comes

      b.) A selection of 8 poems by Robert Frost (specify titles)**:                 An Unstamped Letter, Birches, Reluctance, Stopping by Woods, The Road Not Taken, The Tuft of Flowers, The Wood Pile, After Apple Picking 

  1. Two Works of World Literature (which may be in translation):
  1. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (CORE
  2. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee

 

  1. One English-language non-fiction work:
  2. a) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (1st half only )

updated November 2018 ** works in-depth (for oral examination)

 

 

OIB Literature, explained

 

140 Best Mari Andrew ideas | mari andrew, words, feelings

 

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Figurative Language

 Atwood uses many attention-getting instances of figurative language and imagery throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, particularly in the last several chapters. For example, in Chapter 42, the guards in dark helmets look “like beetles,” and a rope “winds like a snake” through various rows of cushions, “bending like a very old, very slow river viewed from the air.” 

 

Go back through the novel and make a list of ten examples of figurative language that particularly stands out to you. Concentrate on simile, metaphor, and imagery. Then make one example of each type, using a comparison that is unusual and designed to grab the reader’s attention.