Category Archives: PREM

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Student thesis statements on narrative voice

BFI type question:

How do two authors on your syllabus use narration to highlight questions of morality?

(Compare the use of narrative voice in Disgrace and The Scarlet Letter)

In The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne addresses the question of morality by employing third person narration, which contrasts perspectives between characters. On the other hand, Coetzee in Disgrace uses a much more limited and focused third person narration and detached tone to criticize and highlight the morality of his protagonist.

In both TSL by Hawthorne and Disgrace by Coetzee, third person narration crticitzes the dominant form of society’s imposed morality. On the one hand, Coetzee shocks the reader with a patriarchal voice, and on the other hand Hawthorne provides a compassionate voice that questions Puritan rigidity.

The SL by Hawthorne is a novel riddled with extensive and elaborate descriptions, bringing the Puritan world forth with striking imagery. This vibrant method of narration clashes with the Puritan society it establishes, invoking the notion of rigid morality as a result. In contrast, in JM Coetzee’s Disgrace, the limited omniscient narrator uses a completely opposing numb, detached tone to make the reader uncomfortable and highlight questions the lacking morality.

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Handmaid’s Tale courses

https://h5p-live.nolej.app/documents/52f3c209-f8d1-40f4-9e27-4a41f4daa69b/previews/ibook/index.html

https://h5p-live.nolej.app/documents/d0d3a13a-9463-4403-b4d0-75eb8d9b1e20/previews/ibook/index.htmllink

https://h5p-live.nolej.app/documents/404decf4-7462-49fb-9b11-

073a851b80fc/previews/ibook/index.html

https://h5p-live.nolej.app/documents/86e6858e-cd6c-443d-9c16-54a440c586fe/previews/ibook/index.htmllink

https://ladigitale.dev/digimindmap/#/m/67125dec8e41d

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

 

https://witeboard.com/74ecc250-8d53-11ef-8dbe-675f78dcf0ed

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Freedom to and Freedom From

 

“There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.”

 

Offred thinks of Aunt Lydia’s words as she walks down a street and recalls the precautions women had to take to stay safe before Gilead. Aunt Lydia describes the time when women were free to do as they chose as “the days of anarchy,” suggesting that free people cause chaos. Aunt Lydia also wants the Handmaids to think of protection as more valuable than freedom, showing how little she herself thinks of other women’s intelligence.

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Paragraph on Atwood’s opening written together in class

How does Atwood create an opening that captivates the reader’s attention?

 

Atwood captivates the reader’s attention by using in media res, retention and disclosure, and sensory imagery. First of all, the novel begins with the phrase “We slept in what had once been the gymnasium.” This hook leaves the reader with more questions than answers – creating a mysterious beginning where we are plunged in the middle of an uncomfortable setting. This also is a form of retention and disclosure – Atwood withholds the basic information about the setting and situation, creating tension and inciting the reader to continue reading until he can fill in the blanks. Another instance of this same technique occurs when Atwood writes: “we had flannellette sheets like children’s and army issued blankets old ones that still said US.” The words “old” and “still” suggest that the United States no longer exists. Atwood refrains from giving more information, therefore encouraging the reader to imagine what happened to the USA until the true information is disclosed. Moreover, the narrator Offred writes this detail as if it were unimportant–whereas for the reader it is shocking news.

 

Sensory imagery also involves the reader in the story.  For example, Offred uses flashback to describe the generations of dances in the gymnasium: “dances would have been held there; the music lingered, palimpset of unheard sound(…)”. Here, the sensory imagery transports the readers through the senses, especially through auditory imagery, allowing us to experience the same feelings as Offred. Furthermore, this sensory imagery suggests the memories are very strong in her mind–contrasting with her detached descriptions of her present environment. In addition, the author uses sensory imagery to demonstrate the power of memories. Her descriptions are much more detailed and brilliant than the dismal gym she currently occupies.

 

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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.
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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.