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Since its original publication in 1985, numerous adaptations of The Handmaid's Tale have been made, including:

• a 1990 film directed by Volker Schlöndorff
• a 2000 dramatic radio prodution aired on BBC Radio 4 by John Dryden
• a 2000 opera by Poul Ruders
• a 2000 play by Brendon Burns, for the Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke, England

Circuitous

I don't like the way the book ends- at all. Offred’s final fate remains a mystery as the story ends abruptly. The final line, "Are there any questions?", makes the novel circuitous, as the question gives way unto dicussion of the issues previously raised... This makes me feel as though I finished where I started, or rather, read in circles.

Compensation

When Offred begin her affair with Nick, she becomes complacent and deveops a sense of contentment with her life. This is prime example unto the reason why such states as Gilead survive; so long as there are enough compensations to maintain stagnancy in the mind of its subjects, oppressive regimes will remain unchallenged. This reminds me of the perpetual state of ignorance seen in the characters of Brave New World.

Nolites te Bastardes Carborundorum

The Commander and Offred have developed an increasingly unorthodox relationship. At one point of their secret meeting, Offred asks him what the Latin phrase in her room means. The Commander translates it “don’t let the bastards grind you down." He also mentions that a former Handmaid, who scratched the phrase into the floor, later killed herself after Serena discovered, their too, secret liasions. This information clearly upsets Offred, but I don't know why. Was Offred troubled because her relationship with the Commander put her life at risk? Or, was she jealous that the Commander had relations with a former Handmaid?

Ofgroup

The scene in which Janine is blamed for her childhood rape is particularly interesting to me. It is horendous, but brings to mind a familiar theme. As a whole, Gilead supports and enables the oppresion of women by other women. This group condemnation is driven by the fear of punishment for nonconfornment. What is worse is that the women develop a sense of enjoyment in the condemnation, therefore, catalyzing ostracismn of the "individual"; the seperate members of the group, in effect, lose their identity in the name of the group- deindividualization. This theme is likenable to that of 1984, Brave New World, and the motivation behind The Salem Witch Trails.

Define Your Story- Free Your Mind

Alot can be said, and is shown, of Offred's character in Chapter 7: she is exceptionally wise and optimistic. Gilead seeks to silence women- Offred rebels against this concept as she speaks of the horror of her experiences. I love her quote "Those who can believe that stories are only stories have a better chance. If it's a story I'm telling, then I have control over the ending." Granted Gilead shackles her physical body, she denies it control of her mind. This theme runs prevelant to that of a graffiti stencil I made in which Auguste Rodin's The Thinker sat headless and shackled aside the text "Free Your Mind"- no matter your physical captivity or situation, you are the only one who controls your mind, for it knows no boundaries except the ones you set. Offred understood this.

Up-Close and Personal

Atwood's unique style becomes evident from the novel's start. Through the use of strong physical description and a non-chronological story-line, The Handmaid's Tale gives its reader a sense of personal involvement. The narrator follows the leaps of her own imagination and paints a colorful portrait of her surroundings: I can see the gym, Serena Joy's pinched face, and follow Offred's train-of-thought. As she changes scene and shifts tense in Chapter 2, I feel like I have put my book down and am alongside Offred in her daily life, merely reflecting upon past memories.