Topic > Plot Analysis and Summary of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The narrator of The Handmaid's Tale is Offred, whose real name is June, and the book is from her point of view, which is first person, because explains and describes everything he sees. He describes his thoughts and if he is thinking about something, we will know what it is. An example of tone in The Handmaid's Tale is dark and depressing, because Offred always talks about how she wishes the days were like they used to be and describes that she wants to have a normal life. In The Handmaid's Tale, “I wish this story were different. I wish it were more civilized. I wish it would show me in a better light, if not happier, then at least more active, less hesitant, less distracted by banalities. I wish it had more shape. I wish it was about love, or about sudden realizations that matter in your life, or even about sunsets, birds, storms, or snow… I'm sorry that there is so much pain in this story.” Offred wants to have her normal life again and not the life she has now. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The setting in the book takes place in numerous locations, but primarily in the Commander's house which is located in the Republic of Gilead. The book shows that it is set in modern times because the main character, Offred, describes seeing large vehicles, watching movies, and running factories on her own. The main problem in The Handmaid's Tale is that the handmaids are slaves to the Commander and his wives. The commander must impregnate the handmaid and the handmaid is responsible for becoming pregnant to bear a child for the commander and his wife. In The Handmaid's Tale, she explains: “Most of them old boys can't take it no more, she says. Or they are sterile. I almost gasp: he said a forbidden word. Sterile. The sterile man no longer exists, unofficially. There are only fertile women and sterile women, this is the law... Give me children, otherwise I die. Offred doesn't get pregnant because the Commander is sterile, meaning she can't have children. And if the aunts find out that Offred is not pregnant they will instead punish her or take her to the Colonies, where handmaids go to die if they have not fulfilled their duties or do not have children. The resolution of the story is Serena Joy, the Commander's wife, finds out when the Commander took Offred out and she used her cloak to make it look like she was a wife. Offred is insulted by Serena and a black van comes for Offred and she doesn't know what will happen to her. One of the main characters is Offred who is one of the handmaids, she changes her perspective on life because she wishes she could go back to her normal life in front of Gilead and the handmaids. Offred sometimes remembers what her normal life was like and compares it to her life now, and wishes her life hadn't changed at all. In The Handmaid's Tale, it is stated: "The guards... two by two around the football field, which was now enclosed by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire... That was our fantasy." In Gilead, the handmaids are trapped in the barbed wire fence, and Offred describes this imprisonment as their "fantasy." Two themes present in the book are that love should be cherished and no matter how dark everything gets, you can overcome it. The first theme is that love should be appreciated because throughout the story Offred always talks about the past and how much she misses it and how much she loves her family. The second theme is that no matter how dark everything gets, you can get through it because Offred has been through so much and always manages to get through it. Offred knows that just sitting there and doing nothing won't solve anything. The Handmaid's Tale is set in the Republic of Gilead, where there are aunts, Martha, handmaids, commanders andwives of commanders.wear different colors to determine status. The protagonist tells her story of the past and present. At the beginning, Offred talks about how the handmaids stay in the gymnasium in their military cots with a barbed wire fence surrounding them making sure they don't escape. Having strong security is important in Gilead. The next day Offred goes down to the kitchen where Rita, the cook (Martha), gives her tokens to go shopping. When handmaids go walking, they walk in pairs so they can "catch up" with what they are both doing. Offred's partner is Ofglen. They go to the grocery store together and Offred sees women of all different statuses walking to do their tasks. Once Offred and Ofglen arrive at the grocery store, they get all their necessities that Rita told her to get. Afterwards, Offred returns from shopping and is allowed to watch TV with the Commander's wife, from whom she later learns that he mentioned her on a TV show and that her name is Serena Joy. Serena Joy warns Offred that the ceremony is just business and that she should leave her husband alone and not communicate with him in any way. The next day Offred sees the Diver, whose name is Nick, and he winks at her and she begins to suspect whether it is him and Eye, a spy, because he winked. The guards are prohibited from making eye contact or touching the handmaid's and Offred tries to move her hips more so she can get their attention and have sexual tension. Later, the Ceremony came and the Ceremony occurs when it is the time of the month when the Handmaid is most fertile. After the Ceremony, Offred lies on her bed thinking about how much she misses Luke, her husband, her daughter and her old life. Then, Nick went to tell Offred that the Commander wants Offred to meet him in his office, but no women entered his office, not even his wife. Offred worries about why the Commander wants to see her. Then the night came to meet the Commander and all he wanted was to play scrabble and kiss each other goodnight. Later Moria, Offred's closest friend, disappears and Offred worries about where he is. Discovering that Moria has escaped from Gilead, Offred is worried that Moria will be captured and punished. When Offred went to see the Commander, he surprised her with a magazine that is forbidden because handmaids are not allowed to read. Therefore, Offred leaves the magazine in her office so as not to get into trouble. A few days later, the Ceremony is repeated and Offred does not feel uncomfortable since she has spent a lot of time with the Commander and it is the same with him that he feels more comfortable with her. The next day, Offred and Ofglen are walking and end up talking instead of keeping quiet, they start to get to know each other more than usual. Finding herself in Commander Offred's office again she had a Latin phrase engraved in her room and she finally got the courage to ask him what it meant and he replied that it's a nonsense phrase and not to worry. Over the next few days, Serena Joy stops Offred and tells her to sit and knit with her and she tells her that Ofwarren has become pregnant. Later in the story Offred goes into the past and remembers how Luke and his daughter were leaving the country. go to Canada to escape Gilead. Afterwards, Offred went to the commander's office and had the surprise of taking Offred out. Offred worries that she might be caught and punished, so the Commander gives her a fake pass. While looking around, Offred goes to the bathroom and sees Moria and Offred get excited to see her again. Moria tells her that she is still passing as an aunt and how she ran away and is afraid of what to do next. This is the last time Moria and Offred will see each other again. Serena begins to suspect that the Commander is sterile and decides to.