Chapters 43 & 44
English Lit: Edexcel A Level The Handmaid's Tale, topic 9.1.22
Chapter 43 - Key Quotations
Here are three quotations from Chapter 43:
"Tear, gorge... isn't Luke"
- "I want to tear, gouge, rend"
- The hatred echoes the 'two-minute hate' in Orwell's 1984. Citizens are encouraged to hurl abuse at Goldstein, a scapegoat, so that they're too distracted to criticise the regime.
- "It isn't Luke. But it could have been"
- Although Offred is initially roused to hatred, she soon realises that the victim is not just an anonymous figure to loathe, but a human being like Nick or Luke whom she cares for.
"An it"
- "He has become an it"
- In chapter 30, Offred claimed that to murder something, you need to think of it as an 'it' instead of having actual living worth.
Chapter 44 - Key Quotations
Here are three key quotations from Chapter 44:
"She isn't Ofglen"
- "She isn't Ofglen ... I am Ofglen"
- A few hours after her death, Ofglen is replaced. This shows how quickly and efficiently Gilead eliminates subversive elements.
- "May the Lord open ... Which I receive with joy"
- Gilead gets rid of all meaningful dialogue by making the Handmaids speak in Biblical lines.
"I'll incriminate anyone"
- "ll say anything they like, I'll incriminate anyone"
- Offred's desperation recalls Winston's panic in Orwell's 1984 in ‘Room 101'. This is the room where people face their worst nightmares.
- The Party threaten Winston with the idea of a cage of rats gnawing his face off. Out of fear, he becomes willing to incriminate anyone.
Test yourself on Chapters 43 & 44
What does this quotations show?
"It isn't Luke. But it could have been"What idea from Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four does this quotation echo?
"I want to tear, gouge, rend"