Handmaid's Tale

A detailed Summary of Handmaid's Tale


"Nolite te bastardes carborundorum" is what Offred always says in her prayer. She did not know the meaning of the phrase but she felt it was the right thing to say. Later on we learn that the phrase means "Don't let the bastards get you down". This short phrase, which was found by Offred in the cupboard in her bedroom, not a notable place at all, carries an ironic meaning.

In Gilead, people are given specific titles with fixed responsibilities. There are the Commanders, the Guardians, the Handmaids, the Wives etc. Before having a deeper understanding of the book, we can already tell that Gileadean men apparently have more power than women. Why? By looking at the titles they are given, we can see that the titles of the women are closely connected to their sex, to be more precise, they are derived from their sex. Whereas the titles of men do not really have much to do with their sex. Also, there are only Unwomen in Gilead but no Unmen and there are only barren women but no sterile men. Furthermor


The first sexual encounter between Offred and Nick was arranged by Serena Joy, but it is also Offred's own desire to have a child and a man that drove her to the destination. After all Offred realises that she could not live without men and has given up resisting them, but she has hardly resisted them anyway. At the end of the novel, Offred chose to believe in Nick by stepping into the Black van. Again, she did not have any other choices. Well she could commit suicide but deep in her heart she wished to stay alive, and at the moment Nick was the only one as well as the last one to trust since Offred herself practically does not have any power and any way to save her from the suppression of the country.

We know Offred does not like Gileadean society and she "constantly rebels" by doing things which are forbidden like reading and singing, but she dares not and is not able to have a full sized revolution. In a way she is self-protected and too smart to let herself into any troubles or dangers sinc

Some common words found in the essay are:
Joy Offred's, Gilead Unmen, , Commander Commander, Handmaids Wives, Offred Gileadean, Serena Joy, Offred Nick, te bastardes, serena joy, bastardes carborundorum, nolite te, real power, nolite te bastardes, te bastardes carborundorum,

Approximate Word count = 675
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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