Offred's Synthesis Essay

In Stillman and Johnson's article, they refer heavily to the fact that maintaining a sense of self in the troubling times of Gilead is the best way to resist. Many of the characters achieve this but Offred does not as she is lost in her selfish world of neutrality and inaction. In part one of the article, they discuss Offred's character. The authors write that she is "savvy about how to live under the constraints of Gilead. She recognizes the social and power relations and conflicts that impinge upon her life" (72). Offred is like this because she is very analytical when she observes everything around her and she has to be in a society like the one of Gilead. In part two, they talk about repression and identity. Gilead is a place where primarily

Offred was different because she chose neither so she remained neutral. Offred internalized the rules of Gilead and in doing so she began to lose herself and she tried to preserve it by hanging on to her past identity. She says that "the expectations of other have become [her] own" (Atwood 95). In part three, they talk about resistance and complicity. Offred doesn't clearly or actively resist to the system. She instead does minor things like making eye contact with the guardsmen or swaying her hips. It's something so subtle and further supports the fact that Offred only defines herself by her body and not her identity because she no longer has it. In the article they use the example of another handmaid, Moira. She attempts an escape but is unfortunately caught and is brought to a Jezebel, which is another term for whorehouse. Even in such a disheartening situation where hope is taken from her she keeps her humor, her identity. "Anyway, look at it this way: it's not so bad, there's lots of women around. Butch paradise, you might call it" (Atwood 249). Offred, on the other hand, slowly lost her identity as she never garnered enough interest to