A+Handmaids+Tale

= //A Handmaid's Tale// = [|The Handmaid's Tale-- Style.ppt]

[|The Handmaid's Tale Unit.doc]

Before embarking on the STUDENT GUIDE, you should have read and have a working knowledge of the text of //**The Handmaid’s Tale**//**.** You will also need to consider each chapter in detail, before attempting the UNITS of work that follow. These can be used as a basis for discussion, annotation, individual research and feedback or for written response. A list of possible coursework essay titles is provided towards the back of the booklet. The six study UNITS are as follows: - UNIT 1: Title, dedications, epigraph and ch. 1-13 UNIT 2: Ch. 14-24 (Meeting 1) UNIT 3: Ch. 25-30 (Meeting 2) UNIT 4: Ch. 31-39 (Meeting 3) UNIT 5: Ch. 40-46 (Meeting 4) UNIT 6: //Historical Notes (Meeting 5)// =**FINAL EXAM- (Meeting 6)**=
 * THIS GUIDE WILL GIVE YOU OPPORTUNITIES TO ** :
 * familiarize yourself with the text;
 * study the presentation of the main character, Offred, her reliability as a narrator and relationships with other key characters and with the reader;
 * study the presentation of other important characters;
 * examine Atwood’s major themes and preoccupations in the //Tale//, especially: -
 * feminism/the search for individual identity & freedom
 * political extremism/religious fundamentalism
 * victimization/survival/Atwood’s //Canadianism//
 * the need for individuals to accept responsibility for society’s problems and to //pay attention//
 * writing and communication as forms of resistance;
 * understand the time-scale of the novel and to assess the success of Atwood’s dystopian vision;
 * examine the ironic texture of the novel and the different narrative strands: -
 * Offred’s fragmented memories
 * // Night // sections
 * // Historical Notes // ;
 * examine the different types of language: -
 * Offred’s (including the slang used by Moira, Offred and Offred’s mother in the //time before//)
 * the official language of Gilead
 * the language of Pieixoto in the //Historical Notes//;
 * look closely at Atwood’s style of writing, in particular: -
 * the importance of narrative detail
 * imagery and symbolism, especially of colour/light, human body/mutilation, nature, pairings/opposites/ambiguities, mirrors and fairytales
 * use of Biblical and literary allusions;
 * consider the relationship between the //Historical Notes// and the rest of the novel.
 * IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT, ALTHOUGH YOU WILL BE WRITING IN RESPONSE TO AN INDIVIDUAL TITLE, A COMPLETE AND ROUNDED KNOWLEDGE OF THE TEXT IS ESSENTIAL IN ORDER TO WRITE CONVINCINGLY. **