Literary Techniques

The following literary techniques are seen in _The Handmaid's Tale_:

The following literary techniques are seen in _The Handmaid's Tale_:

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The following literary techniques are seen in The Handmaid's Tale:

A metaphor is when you compare one thing to something else that has symbolic significance, even if not directly related to it.
Atwood uses metaphors throughout to display Offred's state of mind. In this following example, Offred uses grotesque imagery to objectify the naked body of the Commander. This may show her disgust at the nature of the Ceremony:
- "His tentacle, his delicate stalked slug's eye, which extrudes, expands, winces and shrivels back into himself."

Paronomasia means a pun, or a play on words.
In the Historical Notes, the name of the University is Denay, Nunavit, a pun on "Deny none of it!"
Moira also makes a pun on the Biblical reference "There is a balm in Gilead", changing it to "There is a bomb in Gilead" in Chapter 34. She is attacking the beliefs of the theocracy through her language.

A simile is when you compare one thing to another using 'like' or 'as'.
In the novel, Offred uses many comparisons. Offred describes the brutality of the world in very prosaic, normal language. This may show how desensitised she is to it all:
- "Helped onto the high stool as if she's being helped up the steps of a bus... the noose adjusted delicately around the neck, like a vestment."

Patronyms are names that derive from the name of a father/grandfather.
In Offred's case, it is of her Commander, with the preposition "Of" and the proper noun "Fred" joining together to give her an identity based on the Commander she belongs to.
- Atwood was most likely referencing the act of slave owners using their own names to denote ownership of their slaves.
- Atwood may also be referencing the convention of women taking their male partner's name after marriage.

Literary Techniques (Cont.)

The following literary techniques are seen in The Handmaid's Tale:

Neologisms are made-up words. They're usually made by blending two existing words together or adding an unexpected prefix/suffix on to a word to change its meaning.
Atwood follows the conventions of dystopian writers like George Orwell and Ray Bradbury and creates her own neologisms to give Gilead its own lexis. By creating these new words, Atwood shows how language holds meaning and ideological control over those who use it.
- "Unwomen"
- "Particicution"
- "Compucheck"

Polyptoton is when words which are derived from the same lexical root are repeated.
Atwood uses this technique when Offred thinks about the power of language and its many different meanings:
- "Night falls. Or has fallen. Why is it that night falls, instead of rising, like the dawn?"
- "I wait. I compose myself. My self is a thing I must now compose, as one composes a speech."

Chremamorphism is the opposite of personification; it is where a human is given the characteristics of an object/something inanimate.
Atwood uses it to show how objectified Offred feels in her role as a Handmaid.
- "Buttered, I lie on my single bed, flat, like a piece of toast."