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“The Handmaid’s Tale” chapters 30, 31 and 40

Chapter 30: Compare the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Offred’s own version. Why do you think Atwood chose to include this re-worked version of a well-known prayer?

Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be Your name,

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen.

My God. Who Art in the Kingdom of Heaven, which is within. I wish you would tell me Your Name, the real one I mean. Offed says this instead od “hallowed be Your name”. It shows that she thinks of God as a person, as s friend almost, who she can ask questions. Names are very important in Christianity, as to name is to own. Not knowing God’s real name means she doesn’t own him. However, to Offred this feels like a barrier that keeps her from feeling good while praying. It also relates to the fact that Offred cannot use her real name, which makes them two hidden identities in her eyes. But You will do as well as anything. I wish I knew what You were up to. But whatever it is, help me to get through it, please. Though maybe it’s not Your doing; (“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”) Offred questions whether she should say this, as it is difficult for her to accept that God would want such a world. I don’t believe for an instant that what’s going on out there is what You meant. I have enough daily bread, so I won’t waste time on that. (“Give us today our daily bread”) She does not have a problem with leaving a part of the prayer out, saying it is not necessary, as she has more important issues. She also says it is difficult to choke down on it, the bread, the reality of Gilead that she has to face right now. It isn’t the main problem. The problem is getting it down without choking on it. Now we come to forgiveness. (“And forgive us our debts”) Offred says she does not need to be forgiven. She wants to take away the burden of forgiving her from God, saying she does not care about herself, but others. This shows how much Offred’s prayer is different from any Roman Catholic values, where God will forgive anybody. Don’t worry about forgiving me right now. There are more important things. For instance: keep the others safe, if they are safe. Don’t let them suffer too much. If they have to die, let it be fast. You might even provide a Heaven for them. We need You for that. Hell we can make for ourselves. I suppose I should say I forgive whoever did this, (“as we have forgiven our debtors”) Offred knows what the next part of the prayer is, yet struggles to do so, saying try is the most she can do. and whatever they’re doing now. I’ll try, but it isn’t easy. Temptation comes next. (“And lead us not into temptation”) Here Offred runs off into a loose stream of thoughts about the centre, as if she were not speaking to God, but to herself. Later we learn that is exactly how she feels. At the Center, temptation was anything much more than eating and sleeping. Knowing was a temptation. What you don’t know won’t tempt you, Aunt Lydia used to say. Maybe I don’t really want to know what’s going on. Maybe I’d rather not know. Maybe I couldn’t bear to know. The Fall was a fall from innocence to knowledge. I think about the chandelier too much, though it’s gone now. But you could use a hook, in the closet. I’ve considered the possibilities. All you’d have to do, after attaching yourself, would be to lean your weight forward and not fight. Deliver us from evil. Then there’s Kingdom, power, and glory. (“but deliver us from the evil one. For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever”) Offred says this part in whole, but questions how relevant it really is in her current situation. The first part could be a way to stop her suicidal thoughts, she asks God to take them away. It takes a lot to believe in those right now. But I’ll try it anyway. In Hope, as they say on the gravestones. You must feel pretty ripped off. I guess it’s not the first time. If I were You I’d be fed up. I’d really be sick of it. This part is not in the prayer anymore, but it is extremely informal. Offred talks to God as if they were on the same level, something opposite to what the Church says (where God is even shown in portraits above us). I guess that’s the difference between us. I feel very unreal, talking to You like this. I feel as if I’m talking to a wall. I wish You’d answer. I feel so alone. All alone by the telephone. Except I can’t use the telephone. And if I could, who could I call? Oh God. It’s no joke. Oh God oh God. How can I keep on living? The prayer has not answered her questions. Her prayer cannot help her current situation and she doe not know what to do. She hopes on an answer from God, but knows it will not come, at least directly.

Offred’s prayer is a loose stream of thoughts, while the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 is a formal prayer that should be repeated accurately. While praying, she seems to recite the words in her head, remind herself every part (“Temptation comes next”) and say what is important for her in that aspect. Her language is informal, giving it an almost chatty style, which is not a custom of the Roman Catholic Church. It doesn’t seem right to her to say the same prayer as was used before Gilead, as the priorities in her life have changed completely. Atwood could have chosen to portray it like this, because the prayer is known to everybody and it shows how different Gilead is from our world and how everything changes in a regime. Even such a simple prayer does not seem right anymore. As everybody knows this prayer, it makes is easier for the reader to relate to Offred’s situation and make them feel how she feels.

Chapter 31: Offred says at one point of herself and Serena Joy that ‘There’s not much common ground’, but also ‘For the moment at least we are cronies.’ Consider in what ways throughout the novel there are similarities between the situations of Serena Joy and Offred.

Gilead, separating women into categories, makes them hate each other. Throughout the book, Serena Joy and Offred often show each other dislike, although there are a few moments where they bond. This conversation is the first real one they have, later they also talk about Offred’s daughter and arrange her visit to Nick together (only the first one is allowed by Serena Joy). Saying “there’s not much common ground, except

this one mysterious and chancy thing” the main character shows why she instantly understands the Wife’s question. They don’t talk at all and all their contact is limited to child-related issues. This is the only function of the Handmaid, therefore Gilead finds any other contact unnecessary. It is also the main goal of Serena Joy, she wants to have a child and it would help her husband’s career. Throughout the novel, Serena Joy and Offred are both women that have suffered from the regime. Even though Offred is in a difficult situation and mostly dislikes Serena Joy, there are a few moments where she expresses compassion towards her. In chapter 26, Offred says “But I also felt guilty about her. I felt I was an intruder, in a territory that ought to have been hers” while thinking about her relationship with the Commander.

Chapter 40: Atwood is always alert to the nuances of language and the importance of being aware of shades of meaning. In Chapter 40: Offred says that using the clichéd language of romance, such as that used in old movies, was a way ‘to keep the core of yourself out of reach’. The same has been noted of the use of euphemism in journalism and politics, where language may conceal the real significance or horror of events. Look at some current stories in magazines and newspapers, deciding where real meaning is obscured by the use of cliché and euphemism. If you prefer, look up these terms (cliche, euphemism) on the internet and note the examples given.

Source: https://tvn24.pl/polska/zamieszki-na-marszu-rownosci-w-bialymstoku-dwadziescia-postepowan-ra959551-2284900

The online article is from August 2019 and talks about the turmoil during the Pride Parade in Białystok. It is important to note that the media outlet that the article came from is funded by the government, which is openly discriminatory against the LGBT+ community. This means that even though they report on the story, they have an incentive to make it in favour less harsh, therefore using euphemisms. The article summed the events up as a “turmoil” (“zamieszki”), even though the reality shows that it was a major riot, going into a fight in many places and a lot of violence was involved. Further, the article states that the counter manifestation “tried to block” (próbowali zablokować) the parade. The use of this phrase insinuates that all they did was stand on the way and not let them past, and did not manage, as “tries” means that the action was not effective. This is an extreme euphemism, that could be even categorized as manipulation of information. It also put the counter protestants in the position of victims, which is incredibly harmful to anybody on the march, especially those who were harmed and their families. Lastly, the article says the counter protestants said some “offensive words” (obraźliwe słowa) towards the parade. However again this is made much smaller, as the offensive words were actually slogans full of hate and aggression. Even though the author od the article expressed doubts about the extent to which police officers fulfilled their duty, as they would have supported the counter-protestants, this is also very lightly expressed and is not extended as much as it should be. The police were there to protect the parade and the fact that they let their personal opinion go over fulfilling their duty is not accurately represented.

There is a major difference in the use of euphemisms in Atwood’s novel and this online news issue. Offred uses euphemisms to protect herself, her vulnerable side, from the regime of Gilead, whereas the article uses it to manipulate people and shift political views. The way the article hides the true horror of what happened can change people opinion or make them view the counter protestants in a positive light, not knowing what they really did. This could be seen as an abuse of power and the extent to which the news has been filled with euphemisms poses potential questions about the truthfulness of this article.

The article uses a cliché when mentioning that part of the counter-protestants were football supporters. This uses the often opinion that football supporters are violent and creates the assumption that in this case, they were also violent.

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