9.2.2
Survival & Language -Quotes
Quotations About Belief and Survival
Quotations About Belief and Survival
Here are two quotations about belief and survival:


Quotation about survival
Quotation about survival
- "I would like to believe this is a story I'm telling. I need to believe it. I must believe it. Those who can believe that such stories are only stories have a better chance. If it's a story I'm telling, then I have control over the ending. Then there will be an ending, to the story, and real life will come after it. I can pick up where I left off."


Quotation about belief
Quotation about belief
"By telling you anything at all I'm at least believing in you, I believe you're there, I believe you into being."
Quotations About Language
Quotations About Language
Language helps Offred stay sane in a regime that tries to silence every thought.


Biblical phrases
Biblical phrases
- The Handmaids can only speak to each other in accepted Biblical phrases:
- "Blessed be the Fruit"
- "Under his eye").
- These phrases remind them of their reproductive role and the threat of surveillance/punishment.


Quotation: Offred's use of words
Quotation: Offred's use of words
- Offred uses language in a very creative and satirical way when recalling moments from her past. She subverts the patriarchal ideology that influences most language in Gilead.
- "The difference between lie and lay. Lay is always passive. Even men used to say, I'd like to get laid. Though sometimes they said, I'd like to lay her. All this is pure speculation. I don't really know what men used to say. I had only their words for it."


Quotation: gustatory imagery
Quotation: gustatory imagery
- When Offred plays Scrabble with the Commander, the reader sees the joy and delight she feels when she is given access to "making" her own words. Atwood uses gustatory (taste) imagery to show how starved of language and intellectual stimulation Offred is:
- "I would like to put them in my mouth...The letter C. Crisp, slightly acid on the tongue, delicious"


Words during Scrabble
Words during Scrabble
- "LARYNX"
- Refers to the voice box which makes noise in the human throat. Offred may be suggesting that she, as a Handmaid, is voiceless and is limited to what she can say.
- "ZYGOTE"
- When a sperm and an egg fertilise in the first stages of conception - ironically, the only time Offred and the Commander create a Zygote is on a [Scrabble] board.
1Author Background
1.1Margaret Atwood
2Chapter Summaries
2.1Chapter 1: Night I
2.2Chapters 2-6: Shopping II
2.3Chapter 7: Night II
2.4Chapters 8-12: Waiting Room IV
2.5Chapter 13: Nap V
2.6Chapters 14-17: Household VI
2.7Chapter 18: Night VII
2.8Chapters 19-23: Birth Day VIII
2.9Chapter 24: Night IX
2.10Chapters 25-29: Soul Scrolls X
2.11Chapter 30: Night XI
2.12Chapters 31-39: Jezebel's XII
2.13Chapter 40: Night XIII
2.14Chapters 41-45: Salvaging XIV
2.15Chapter 46: Night XV
2.16Historical Notes
3Dedications & Epigraph
3.1Dedications & Epigraph
4Context
4.1Setting
4.2Literary Context & Genre
4.3Political Context
4.4Historical Context
4.5Parallels: Read World & Gilead
4.6Religious Context
5Narrative Structure & Literary Techniques
5.1Narrative Structure
5.2Literary Techniques
6Themes & Imagery
6.2Imagery
7Characters
7.1Female Characters
7.2Male Characters
8Readings
8.1Readings of The Handmaid's Tale
9Recap: Main Quotes
9.1Quotes by Chapter
9.1.1Chapters 1 & 2
9.1.2Chapters 3 & 4
9.1.3Chapters 5 & 6
9.1.4Chapters 7 & 8
9.1.5Chapters 9 & 10
9.1.6Chapters 11 & 12
9.1.7Chapters 13 & 14
9.1.8Chapter 15 & 16
9.1.9Chapters 17 & 18
9.1.10Chapters 19 & 20
9.1.11Chapters 21 & 22
9.1.12Chapters 23 & 24
9.1.13Chapters 25 & 26
9.1.14Chapters 27 & 28
9.1.15Chapters 29 & 30
9.1.16Chapters 31 & 32
9.1.17Chapters 33 & 34
9.1.18Chapters 35 & 36
9.1.19Chapters 37 & 38
9.1.20Chapters 39 & 40
9.1.21Chapters 41 & 42
9.1.22Chapters 43 & 44
9.1.23Chapters 45 & 46
9.1.24Historical Notes & Epigraphs
Jump to other topics
1Author Background
1.1Margaret Atwood
2Chapter Summaries
2.1Chapter 1: Night I
2.2Chapters 2-6: Shopping II
2.3Chapter 7: Night II
2.4Chapters 8-12: Waiting Room IV
2.5Chapter 13: Nap V
2.6Chapters 14-17: Household VI
2.7Chapter 18: Night VII
2.8Chapters 19-23: Birth Day VIII
2.9Chapter 24: Night IX
2.10Chapters 25-29: Soul Scrolls X
2.11Chapter 30: Night XI
2.12Chapters 31-39: Jezebel's XII
2.13Chapter 40: Night XIII
2.14Chapters 41-45: Salvaging XIV
2.15Chapter 46: Night XV
2.16Historical Notes
3Dedications & Epigraph
3.1Dedications & Epigraph
4Context
4.1Setting
4.2Literary Context & Genre
4.3Political Context
4.4Historical Context
4.5Parallels: Read World & Gilead
4.6Religious Context
5Narrative Structure & Literary Techniques
5.1Narrative Structure
5.2Literary Techniques
6Themes & Imagery
6.2Imagery
7Characters
7.1Female Characters
7.2Male Characters
8Readings
8.1Readings of The Handmaid's Tale
9Recap: Main Quotes
9.1Quotes by Chapter
9.1.1Chapters 1 & 2
9.1.2Chapters 3 & 4
9.1.3Chapters 5 & 6
9.1.4Chapters 7 & 8
9.1.5Chapters 9 & 10
9.1.6Chapters 11 & 12
9.1.7Chapters 13 & 14
9.1.8Chapter 15 & 16
9.1.9Chapters 17 & 18
9.1.10Chapters 19 & 20
9.1.11Chapters 21 & 22
9.1.12Chapters 23 & 24
9.1.13Chapters 25 & 26
9.1.14Chapters 27 & 28
9.1.15Chapters 29 & 30
9.1.16Chapters 31 & 32
9.1.17Chapters 33 & 34
9.1.18Chapters 35 & 36
9.1.19Chapters 37 & 38
9.1.20Chapters 39 & 40
9.1.21Chapters 41 & 42
9.1.22Chapters 43 & 44
9.1.23Chapters 45 & 46
9.1.24Historical Notes & Epigraphs
Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium
Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions
Mini-mock exams based on your study history
Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books