Handmaid's Tale Quotes

This novel is a dystopian tale told by Offred who is a handmaid to her commander; simply she is an "empty vessel" only meant "for breeding purposes" and described as a "two-legged womb." (Atwood 157) As such, her very retelling of the pre-Gileadean society is an act of rebellion. Soon enough, the reader is left with a cliffhanger after Offred is taken away by the Eyes, the secret police thus not truly learning about her end.

In the case of Margaret Atwood, she has undoubtedly recognized and put emphasis on the use of language as power, as well as captured the very essence of it being ever-evolving, not to mention has used profanity as verbal modifiers to increase the connotation of words - to quote Austin Carroll a student from Garrett High School "Fuck is one of those fucking words you can fucking put anywhere in a fucking sentence and it still fucking makes sense." This quote is, of course, a linguistic and syntactic observation that Atwood herself has exemplified through her signature phrase "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. . . Don't let the bastards grind you down." (216) Offred has discovered that the use of language "can oppress, as well as express." (Conboy 350) As

well as grants her a certain degree of power.
Further, one particular quote from the text that begs analysis is:
He was not a monster, she said. People say he was a monster, but he was not one . . . She was thinking about how not to think . . . She did not believe he was a monster. He was not a monster, to her. . . How easy it is to invent a humanity, for anyone at all. . . She believed, because otherwise how could she keep on living? (Atwood 168)
Captured in this one quote we have repetition and chiasmus. Repetition is evident monster, monster, monster. Completely ingraining that thought in the reader; calling into question the novel entirely the monsters are the aunts, the commanders, the Gilead; everyone who takes part in what they have done and everyone who lives in this society - they are all monsters of their makings. Not to forget chiasmus paired with repetition; what a powerhouse, not only does one have the privilege to hear a word multiple times she also gets to hear it in a different order; thrilling is it not.
Regarding the actual significance of the quote, as one may know the women quoted kills herself a week later, which, in itself could be interpreted in multiple ways; one that she wholly lied to herself and was crushed by the overbearing guilt of it all.

Two that she, in fact, did not give a care about living. Alternatively, three that she believed that he was not a monster - she knew he was human. Now, this third option is notable and intriguing to think about; usually, calling someone a monster is because of some horrible, unspeakable, atrocities. In this case, one calls another a monster to dehumanize them. People, yes even oneself is capable of conducting crimes against humanity, more so one does not invent a humanity for them they are human it is not possible to justify it to avoid

shock.
As there are abounding allusions to the Holocaust, and mentions of genocide it is quite fitting, if not overdone to have the connection be related to it as well; the following text is a poem by Pastor Martin Niemoeller:
First[,] they came for the communists, and I did not speak out -
Because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me-
And there was no one left to speak out for me.
Obviously, the constant reference to the Holocaust is essential, one may think that the Handmaids and women, in general, are representative of the Jews. Alternatively, and more truly this is representative of people turning a blind eye to the appalling events happening around them until such a time as them being directly affected. Essentially, only caring that they are not in the way of harm which brings the thought that "Maybe none of this is about control. . . Maybe it's about who can do what to whom and be forgiven for it." (Atwood 157) This precipice is not only echoed in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, wherein the characters Tom and Daisy Buchanan are protected from their crimes due to their wealth, status and power; but echoed in the recent crimes of Canada. Whereas, "the practice of seizing aboriginal children permanently and usually unwillingly from their parents, placing them in state custody, and subjecting them to the forced labor and isolation" of residential schools, ultimately leading to a loss of identity, culture, and language.