Seneca
Sign up

Chapter 27

English Lit: Edexcel A Level The Handmaid's Tale, topic 2.10.3

Chapter 27 - Summary

Time shifts to the middle of summer and Offred and Ofglen are shopping again.

Shopping and the Wall

Shopping and the Wall

  • They buy fish which is becoming extinct and Offred has a memory of her daughter buying ice cream in one of these now-gone shops.
  • As they pass the Wall, they see new bodies hanging. Offred remembers that behind the Wall was a large University library, which is now illegal to enter.
Soul Scrolls

Soul Scrolls

  • They pass the shop called Soul Scrolls. These are machines which print out and read aloud prayers for people who can afford this service.
  • The commodification of such a sacred act makes both Handmaids admit to each other, secretly, that these prayers would never be heard by God.
Ofglen's confession

Ofglen's confession

  • Ofglen then admits to Offred that she is part of an underground resistance group, but this secret is interrupted by a black van pulling up and Eyes rushing out to grab a man off the street.
  • This outlines the danger of such rebellious activities and Offred is relieved that she has not been captured.

Chapter 27 - Key Quotations

Here are 6 key quotations from Chapter 27:

Loaves and Fishes...Siamese"

Loaves and Fishes...Siamese"

  • "Loaves and Fishes"
  • This refers to the feeding of the 5,000 in the Bible. Jesus managed to feed 5,000 people with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. There is barely any food in Gilead because humans have destroyed the environment and over-fished.
  • "Siamese twins"
  • This refers to Ofglen and Offred and reminds us of the theme of doubles.
  • "Now it's treason"
  • Free speech is forbidden in Gilead.
"Vanities...there's a we"

"Vanities...there's a we"

  • "Vanities... shut down"
  • Gilead has banned things like cosmetics and jewellery that women may have wanted to buy.
  • There's an us then, there's a we"
  • Offred has a chance of being part of a community - opposing the faceless beings who rule Gilead.
"Hope"

"Hope"

  • "Hope is rising in me, like sap in a tree"
  • This garden image implies restored life. Hope was one of the words on the cushions taken from Offred's room. This symbolises Gilead's attempts to take hope away from the Handmaids' lives.

Test yourself on Chapter 27

  • What does Offred remember was behind the Wall in Chapter 27?

  • What is described as "treason" in Chapter 27?

  • What kind of things are described as "vanities" in Gilead?

Practise this topic for free