Who's Who
The police force of Gilead. Men who have not been selected to serve in the army.
Who are the Guardians?
These are the "spies" of Gilead
Who are the Eyes?
Gilead uses this technique frequently to soften the perceived meaning of things such as the Ceremony or the Manhattan Cleanup
What is a euphemism?
This was the form of feminism that Atwood was largely responding to in her book (and her concerns for how society was responding to it)
What is second-wave feminism?
The name of the Handmaid who was shamed at the Red Center, when others chanted "Her fault"
Who is Janine?
These women serve in the Commander's homes as domestic servants.
Who are the Marthas?
This once prestigious university now displays public punishments to spread fear at this place.
What is the Wall?
Atwood's use of Offred's narration, flashing back and forth without a linear plot. It largely just reflects the actual way Offred's thoughts occur to her.
What is stream-of-consciousness?
Atwood's vision of a theocracy was, in part, a response to this phenomenon/trend in U.S. politics in the 1980s.
The rise of the religious/Christian Right
These colors represent the clothing designated to the Wives and the Commanders
Blue and Black
The men have been selected to serve in the army, on the front lines.
Who are the Angels?
Gilead sends political prisoners here to clean up toxins and nuclear waste.
Where are the Colonies?
Gilead uses this technique frequently to form new definitions/meanings, such as calling lower-class individuals "econowives/men"
What is a neologism?
Atwood calls her book this, rather than dystopian, because she wants to emphasise the more immediate possibility of this reality.
What is speculative fiction?
The name of the woman who "introduces" Pieixoto in the Historical Notes.
Who is Crescent Moon?
These are feminists and radicals opposed to Gilead. This is also the term for handmaids who do not have a child.
Who are unwomen?
Public gatherings to celebrate weddings and victories
What are Prayvaganzas?
Atwood developed Moira with this technique, so that she directly contrasts Offred's personality in relation to rebellion.
What is a literary foil?
One reason why Atwood chooses to set Gilead in Boston, Massachusetts
Harvard, Puritans
The last line of the book.
Are there any questions?
Gilead uses a biblical allusions to label this group of people and force their removal.
Who are the Children of Ham (African Americans)?
Execution carried about by a large group of people.
What is a particicution?
Moira uses this technique as a part of her rejecting/rebelling in response to indoctrination, when she intentionally twists language to make things appear harsher (ex; "loony bin")
What is dysphemism?
This is one of the factors that caused Atwood to base Gilead on a concern about fertility rates and the environment.
What is the use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War?
The three sources Atwood cites in her epigraphs.
The Bible, "A Modest Proposal" and a Sufi proverb