So I don't have too much on analysis yet but the quotes I'm considering are: (and I'm not sure what parts of this we would want to use, but obviously the shorter parts)
"The church is a small one, one of the first erected here, hundreds of years ago. It isn't used anymore, except as a museum. Inside it you can see paintings, of women in long somber dresses, their hair covered by white caps, and of upright men, darkly clothed and unsmiling. Our ancestors. Admission is free" (Atwood 41).
"We stop, together as if on signal, and stand and look at the bodies. It doesn't matter if we look. We're supposed to look: this is what they are there for, hanging on the Wall" (Atwood 42).
For that first quote what I thought would be a good piece is the little comments that Offred makes throughout the book when you REALLY get to see what she actually thinks.
Like in the first quote, she has the long sentence starting with, "Inside it you can see paintings..." and immediately following that she expresses sarcasm with, "Our ancestors." And her just as concise statement of judgment about what message the society that allowed this church to stay up is really saying about the worth of free will: "Admission is free."
She, through these few to-the-point phrases, expresses not only the distaste and unbelief that she carries with her towards the expectations of her world, but also helps us to focus on the things that she is expected to think.
While the Aunts may be unaware that this phrase is written within Offred's cupboard, Offred finds it. It is a simple phrase that means "Don't let the bastards get you down." and presumably the bastards they speak of are the higher-ranked people of the society. This phrase, while powerful in its meaning, is a simple one. Whoever wrote this had been conditioned to keep their words in simple, concise sentences. They were conditioned by society to do so. The knowledge that the leaders of the society are full of it (haha, feel free to re-word that) is not to be known by the handmaids. Because they are restricted in what they can say, the handmaid that wrote this had to find a secret hiding place to write in, as well as a different language to write it in, so that nobody would know that she knew this knowledge.
And... sorry for the jumping, I'll just re post this quote:
"We stop, together as if on signal, and stand and look at the bodies. It doesn't matter if we look. We're supposed to look: this is what they are there for, hanging on the Wall" (Atwood 42).
This whole statement could be used, because even the long sentence is choppy and fragmented, but mainly it is the feelings and emotions that Offred is revealing by her saying (and I can't find a way to imagine her saying these things in a sincere tone), "It doesn't matter if we look. We're supposed to look..." and also how she does narrow down the simplicity of her expectation as a woman by saying, "this is what they are there for, hanging on the Wall."
"He riffled the pages. I felt myself leaning forward." (Atwood 201)
Offred's excitement over seeing a "vintage" magazine from the Old World is extremely high. However, it comes out in short, little bursts. Instead of going into detail about how excited she is, she keeps it to a bare minimum, as that is how she was classically conditioned. To SEE a magazine makes one liable for THE WALL, and here Offred was...about to TOUCH the magazine. The society restricts its citizens on their reading material, and it is seen through her short bursts of excitement in these small sentences that she is eager to rebel and read the magazine. While the society tries and restricts the citizens' lives by keeping these reading materials burned and hidden away, Offred finds herself with one and is closer to causing conflict and rebelling.
I have a few questions on some of the quotes, but I think it'd be best if we talked about it tomorrow. I'm basically putting whatever you put in this outline, i'll change a couple things, but basically your quote/analysis is yours
I was just able to get on the computer about 10 minutes ago. I'm looking for my quotes right now--hang in there!
ReplyDeleteSo I don't have too much on analysis yet but the quotes I'm considering are:
ReplyDelete(and I'm not sure what parts of this we would want to use, but obviously the shorter parts)
"The church is a small one, one of the first erected here, hundreds of years ago. It isn't used anymore, except as a museum. Inside it you can see paintings, of women in long somber dresses, their hair covered by white caps, and of upright men, darkly clothed and unsmiling. Our ancestors. Admission is free" (Atwood 41).
And...
ReplyDelete"We stop, together as if on signal, and stand and look at the bodies. It doesn't matter if we look. We're supposed to look: this is what they are there for, hanging on the Wall" (Atwood 42).
For that first quote what I thought would be a good piece is the little comments that Offred makes throughout the book when you REALLY get to see what she actually thinks.
ReplyDeleteLike in the first quote, she has the long sentence starting with, "Inside it you can see paintings..." and immediately following that she expresses sarcasm with, "Our ancestors." And her just as concise statement of judgment about what message the society that allowed this church to stay up is really saying about the worth of free will: "Admission is free."
She, through these few to-the-point phrases, expresses not only the distaste and unbelief that she carries with her towards the expectations of her world, but also helps us to focus on the things that she is expected to think.
"Nolite te bastardes carborundorum." (Atwood 190)
ReplyDeleteWhile the Aunts may be unaware that this phrase is written within Offred's cupboard, Offred finds it. It is a simple phrase that means "Don't let the bastards get you down." and presumably the bastards they speak of are the higher-ranked people of the society. This phrase, while powerful in its meaning, is a simple one. Whoever wrote this had been conditioned to keep their words in simple, concise sentences. They were conditioned by society to do so. The knowledge that the leaders of the society are full of it (haha, feel free to re-word that) is not to be known by the handmaids. Because they are restricted in what they can say, the handmaid that wrote this had to find a secret hiding place to write in, as well as a different language to write it in, so that nobody would know that she knew this knowledge.
And... sorry for the jumping, I'll just re post this quote:
ReplyDelete"We stop, together as if on signal, and stand and look at the bodies. It doesn't matter if we look. We're supposed to look: this is what they are there for, hanging on the Wall" (Atwood 42).
This whole statement could be used, because even the long sentence is choppy and fragmented, but mainly it is the feelings and emotions that Offred is revealing by her saying (and I can't find a way to imagine her saying these things in a sincere tone), "It doesn't matter if we look. We're supposed to look..." and also how she does narrow down the simplicity of her expectation as a woman by saying, "this is what they are there for, hanging on the Wall."
"He riffled the pages. I felt myself leaning forward." (Atwood 201)
ReplyDeleteOffred's excitement over seeing a "vintage" magazine from the Old World is extremely high. However, it comes out in short, little bursts. Instead of going into detail about how excited she is, she keeps it to a bare minimum, as that is how she was classically conditioned. To SEE a magazine makes one liable for THE WALL, and here Offred was...about to TOUCH the magazine. The society restricts its citizens on their reading material, and it is seen through her short bursts of excitement in these small sentences that she is eager to rebel and read the magazine. While the society tries and restricts the citizens' lives by keeping these reading materials burned and hidden away, Offred finds herself with one and is closer to causing conflict and rebelling.
sounds great guys!
ReplyDeleteI'll need the thesis...I'll text you, Alex.
Thanks for making the effort! Clearly 8:30 would have been fine as well ;)
the outline will be fini in ten! woooo
I have a few questions on some of the quotes, but I think it'd be best if we talked about it tomorrow. I'm basically putting whatever you put in this outline, i'll change a couple things, but basically your quote/analysis is yours
ReplyDelete