Pages 321-322, #264. Spinster

Upon looking at the definition of the word ‘spinster’ in the Webster’s New Ninth Collegiate Dictionary, several results appeared.  A spinster, in all its glory, could be a woman whose occupation it is to spin, an unmarried woman of a gentle family, an unmarried woman and one past common age for marrying, and/or a woman who seems unlikely to marry—in that order.  Now, the reader is no Einstein, but as far as an audience is concerned, it can be assumed safe to disregard the first suggested definition, unless Sylvia Plath’s (1932-63) poem is about exercise routines.  The second definition is plausible, as for the last two, as well.  Still yet, the correct definition pertaining to Plath’s poem is there, and here is how all others fail to meet the criteria.  From first sight, the most interesting word of the very first verse is “girl.”  “Girl” implies a young lady—innocent, youthful, inexperienced.  Although our poem’s leading protagonist is not a little child, she certainly is not past common age for marrying.  This is supported by the notion of a suitor, found walking with the “girl” throughout most of the duration of the poem.  Therefore, definition number three is unacceptable, leaving definitions two and four up for grabs.  “During a ceremonious April walk /With her latest suitor . . .” (Plath, Page 321, Lines 2-3).  This line proves the presence of a suitor and indicates a ritualistic walk in the springtime—a time of rebirth and life anew.  It is implied that walks are something the young lady likes to do in her spare time, and something she does quite often.  With an interested young man by her side, the two share time partaking in a common occurrence for most people with aims of marriage in mind.  Unfortunately, upon strolling, a disturbance is caused in the nature of the path.  “She /Observed her lover’s gestures unbalance the air, /His gait stray uneven /Through a rank wilderness of fern and flower” (322, Lines 7-10).  The young man, realistically or in accordance with some quarry of the girl’s mind, caused a disturbance in the natural walking path, a sentimental part of the lady’s own personal ritual.  Elements so dear to the woman should not be affected so harshly by an awkward, eager suitor!  Still, the April season of new birth is not what the young woman has in mind for herself.  “How she longed for winter then!” (322, Line 13).  Although the text says that she judged the look of her pathway, she was instinctively judging her walking partner.  Because spring is a time of rebirth, the season could have predicted the birth of a new relationship, marriage, or even the eventual birth of a child.  Stanza three offers forces in reference to what is true to the girl’s heart; she aches for a winter “Of white and black /Ice and rock” (322, Lines 15-16).  “White and black” is symbolic for simplicity, the “ice and rock” symbolic metaphors of the walls of the girls mind and emotions.  Obviously, marriage is neither a priority nor a need at this point in time, and to have become so suddenly annoyed by elements generally pleasing to her is a symbolic sign.  Her negativity is not directed necessarily towards the young man, but towards the idea of marriage.  Therefore, definition number three is out. 

“A burgeoning /Unruly enough to pitch her five queenly wits /Into vulgar motley” (322, Lines 19-21).  Deeper into the story, realizing that allowing prestigious members of her party located in the vicinity of her house to hear her wild thoughts and ideas is not wise, she finalizes them to be stuck in the realm of spring—otherwise, a symbolic metaphor for a distasteful society.  The reader finds the number of wits (five) perplexing, however certain that such persons are of high-ranking society.  Diction such as “queenly” indicates prestige and the regard for esteemed reputation.  “Burgeoning” is in reference to the new growth or realization in the girl—she wishes to follow her heart.  Regardless of her barren winter, she finds spring a “bedlam” or insane place to dwell, viewing all its inhabitants as such.  The poem itself is considered a Ballad, mainly due to the fact that it is set and told in the form of a story.  Imagery is apparent all throughout the stanzas, referring either to the “rank wilderness of fern” (322, Line 10) or the “barricade of barb and check” (322, Line 26) she set “round her house” (322, Line 25).  The imagery provides a detailed or specific description (however diminutive) of what the words portray, adding realism to the story and work and placing the audience in the position of the leading character of the story.  The work is of five sestets and a peculiar rhyme scheme with the general pattern of ‘abcbac.’  Although most of the stanzas follow the same rhyme pattern, stanza two does not completely.  The end rhyme scheme, hence, supports the general theme of peculiarity, simply in relation to the girl who chooses not to conform within the boundaries of society, but to the boundaries of her own will.  Additionally, the technique known as “Last Syllable Rhyme” is more of a major aspect to the rhyme scheme than compared to most poetry:  “then . . . discipline” (322, Lines 13-17), “wits . . . idiots” (322, Lines 20-22), “weather . . . either” (322, Lines 27-30), etc.  Ballads, regardless, are known for their exceptions with rhyme schemes.  Additionally, they are known for usage of alliteration, which softens and lightens the mood of the poetry:  “By the Birds’ irregular babel” (321, Line 5), “leaves’ litter” (321, Line 6), “fern and flower” (322, Line 10), “season, sloven” (322, Line 12) and “barricade of barb” (322, Line 26).  The words are fun to recite and easily roll off the tongue.  Assonance may also be found in the line, “round her house” (322, Line 25) with the usage of the ‘ow’ sound, having the same effect on the work as alliteration. 

“And round her house she set /Such a barricade . . . /Against mutinous weather” (322, Lines 25-27).  The concluding aspect of stanza five of the poem is the girl willingly choosing to separate herself from what she sees as an absurd society.  Stanza four allows an insight to the girl’s thoughts:  “Let idiots /Reel giddy . . .” (322, Lines 22-23).  Stanza five is the literal action of the young woman forming a metaphorical barrier against the love of any man, which may also symbolically represent a barrier to protect her sexuality or virginity, violated by and during marriage.  The sentence structure throughout the whole poem vividly adds an irregular effect, as well.  Each sentence remains uneven in many ways, each stanza similar in structure.  For example, every third verse of each of the five stanzas is shorter than the rest of the verses.  In accordance to the rules governing the structure of a Ballad, the Meter has an altering patter of and Iambic tetrameter (1^st and 3^rd lines) and Iambic trimester (2^nd and 4^th lines) with the 1^st verse of a stanza having 8 syllables and the 3^rd with 6.  This does not apply to all stanzas; however, it does with this one.  Also, the number of syllables in each 3^rd line (in this case specifically) is about the same.  The odd theme is only supported once more by the unusual punctuation markings.  At the end of most versus there are no periods, but a strong End-Stopped effect includes periods and ends to tangible sentences in the middle of many verses.  The curious punctuation also involves exclamation marks preceding hyphens—possibly a visual expression of the girl’s feelings:  “How she longed for winter then!—” (322, Line 13).  “Let idiots /Reel giddy in bedlam spring:” (322, Lines 22-23) is another concurrent example such an effect, keeping the words and sentences in constant motion up to every important point in the poem.  Colons prepare for points of interest.  In this case, the important aspect for the audience to understand is that the girl did indeed “withdraw neatly” (322, Line 24) from her unfavorable crowd in the end.  Although Ballads are not one of the reader’s favorite types of poetry due to the unnecessary complexity in structure and meter measurement, etc., the idea was still an interesting one and easy to understand as an “upper-class” ballad.  Victory over society at the conclusion of the poem was a delight and made the ‘story’ worthwhile.  So, what can one infer?  The “girl” may not be likely to marry anytime soon—still, the reader wonders if she will ever marry at all!

Pages 320-321, #262. The Imperfect Paradise

Such a poem, as the reader noticed, contained a less amount of literary devices compared to many of the other poems looked over in Perrine’s Ninth Edition of Sound and Sense.  Mainly, one of the most significant literary techniques demonstrated in Linda Pastan’s (b. 1932) “The Imperfect Paradise” is the biblical allusions to Genesis of the Old Testament.  Biblical diction such as “Eden” (Pastan, Page 320, Line 2), etc. is found throughout the Sonnet.  Particularly, the poem is an English Sonnet, comprised of 14 lines and a rhyming pattern of ‘ababcdcdefefgg.’  English Sonnets generally provide a conflict, and then present a solution.  Typically, such poems are about love—this one, specifically, focuses on love and grief.  It explores the patterns of loneliness, and the natural cliché of the choice one may have to love and loose, as opposed to never loving at all.  Structurally, each sentence is about the same in length, giving the appearance of a ‘square,’ according to “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” by Tom Foster.  The whole poem is an allusion and a question, questioning the paradox of being happy and satisfied living alone in an Eden or utopia, or simply wanting more.  This is the reason for such allusive punctuation (the many question marks and colons preparing the audience for the peripeteia).  Although the reader generally favors poems longer in length, one may argue that the meaning the author was attempting to convey in this shorter piece came across to its audience very well/easily.   

From the beginning of the poem, the title hints to readers the irony present in the poem.  “The Imperfect Paradise” already gives notion of how ironic it is to have an imperfect utopia, since such a place (if one even exists any longer) is considered the place of ultimate peace and happiness.  “If God had stopped work after the fifth day /With Eden full of vegetables and fruits” (320, Lines 1-2).  In accordance to the rules of the English Sonnet, a conflicting question is presented at the start of the poem.  Pastan portrays an opposite world where humans do not exist.  God the Almighty, known as “a wise and just creator” (321, Line 12), is questioned as to whether or not such a being could withstand loneliness in his Eden.  This contradictory argument, however, does not necessarily refer to the Heavenly Father, but to all of creation.  The poem is directed towards its audience, using the biblical allusions to allow the audience to compare themselves to the situation Pastan places the Lord in.  “And God must look to wind for lamentation” (320, Line 7).  Instead of turning to people for comfort, one must turn to the wind with such sorrows.  Furthermore, the theme is more of one questioning the ability to withstand love preceded by loss.  Repetition is palpable in the poem from start to finish—the constant questioning and usage of the words “if” and “and” at the beginning of each verse provide suspense and mysterious elements to the poem.  It emphasizes the list of all that would be if Creation ended at the fifth day, placing pressure on the last question in the last two versus.  The end-rhyme scheme keeps pace within the reading of the lines, breaking down the poem into three quatrains and one couplet, all steps leading up to the climax of the poem.  The climax is the ending:  “Which would a wise . . . creator choose” (321, Line 12). 

Alliteration (even if only one line) forces the reader to focus solely on the line and places emphasis on those particular words.  “Which would a wise and just creator choose” (321, Line 12).  This line (focus on words that begin with ‘w’ and ‘c’) places emphasis on the most important question before the options to answer with are revealed.  Other examples include “picture postcards” (320, Line 8) and “hunger for a human” (320, Line 11).  An example of the Last-Syllable Rhyme technique is found in “creation . . . lamentation” (320, Lines 5 and 7).  Two of the few obvious examples of the End-Stopped method are, “If oak and lilac held exclusive sway /Over a kingdom made of stems and roots” (320, Lines 3-4) and “Would he have rested on his bank of cloud /With nothing in the universe to lose” (320, Lines 9-10).  Such a method keeps the first lengthy question (out of two) in the work incessant and unremitting.  Finally, irony is the most imperative literary device used Linda Pastan’s “The Imperfect Paradise.”  As mentioned before, there is irony in the title.  Finally, at the end, irony offers a demonstrative idea contrary to what is expected (situation irony):  “Which would a wise and just creator choose:  /The green hosannas of a budding leaf /Or the strict contract between love and grief” (321, Lines 12-14)?  This question forces the reader to question their own beliefs about the topic and place themselves in the conflicting situation.  It is used to express regret.  Would a God with the world at his feet be satisfied alone with paradise created by his perfect hands?  Or is it better to have had the love of another despite having to watch them decease in the end?  The poem even states:  “Would he have rested on his bank of cloud /With nothing in the universe to lose” (320, Lines 9-10), which implies not having to deal with the loss or death of a loved one (because they would not exist).  The author challenges the audience to question themselves:  is loss worth it in the end?  The theme provides evidence sustaining the concept that if even a God grows lonely, then all humans naturally must, as well. 

Pages 312-313, #252. Aubade

The word Aubade, according to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, represents the farewell parting of two lovers.  This meaning, in contrast with the Horation Ode “Aubade” by Philip Larkin (1922-85), puzzles the reader after reading a devastating introduction to the work found in the first stanza.  The speaker appears to have a worthless, wasted life ongoing, simply because he chooses to allow the fear of death control his happiness while living.  At a closer look, it is not verily the fear of death itself that frightens our character so copiously, but the fear of what lies beyond death.  This stems an absence of the belief in the existence of a God or post-life “life after death.”  The speaker indulges himself in that “This is a special way of being afraid” (Larkin, Page 313, Line 21), which possesses vague meaning—the only significance in the way that this character wishes to fear lies within the shear possibility of truth in it.  If something is absurd enough to be discarded as false, the fear disperses.  The lack of faith born from existentialist ideas (or possibly this reversed) only further deepens such a man’s anxiety, encouraging disbelief over things not seen.  This argument continues with the speaker’s reference to past religious establishments who preached the notion, “No rational being/ Can fear a thing it will not feel” (313, Lines 25-26), reveals the true nature of his anxieties.  In other words, the church discoursed that people should not be afraid of death, or more so what lies beyond death, because such persons will have no mortal feeling or pain.  Still yet, that is the cause of apprehension for our speaker.  The mere inability to feel anything after a life fully lived seems incomprehensible and nonsensical.  Yes, he argues, the idea that there will be no pain is a comforting and attractive idea, though furthermore deceiving.  Larkin provides the audience, moreover, with a visual of death as a “small unfocused blur, a standing chill” (313, Line 32), enhancing the uncertainty of the situation.  This metaphor, like many, are found in the work supporting the idea of death manifested—it is a very real, very frightening concept that all the living must grasp.  Death is also visualized as an “anaesthetic from which none come round” (313, Line 30), or a sleep from which none awaken.  It is embodied through the figure of a thought; forever lingering on the mind of the living—because of this, his life is drowned in perpetual worry.  The man becomes angry with the knowledge that death will someday come his way, waking every morning with the reminder that death is unresting, “a whole day nearer now” (312, Line 5).  Having courage, according to Larkin, betrays people into serenity, which is argued as a crime being committed against them.  “Being brave/ Lets no one off the grave” (313, Lines 38-39).  Finally, whining does no good.  The poem is concluded with a reflecting hopelessness for the future; a deceptive dispute in which the character’s inability to accept death is its foundation. 

The poem itself is filled with symbolism and other literary schemes which support the themes of hopelessness and the inability to accept one’s own demise.  Again reaching the conclusion that the title “Aubade” was placed in reference to a farewell, the reader would suppose the separation of the two lovers (in essence) is the separation of life and man/soul.  From the beginning, the rhyme scheme may be noted as ‘ababccdeed,’ found commonly in Odes.  This particular poem, however, is a form of lyric poetry discussing a personal matter reflectively expressed in five stanzas of ten verses.  There are normally a varying number of stanzas, and each stanza has the same metre and rhyme scheme.  The end-stopping and end rhyming quality leaves an impression of continual motion within the poem, providing support to the idea of “eternity.”  “Last Syllable Rhyme” may also be noted in the first stanza at use with the words “die” (312, Line 7) and “horrify” (312, Line 10).  Personification leaves a mark on the poem, as well; “the curtain edges will grow light” (312, Line 3) and “unresting death” (312, Line 5) are both good examples of this literary technique used in Larkin’s Ode, but yet even more menacing uses target the last stanza.  “Meanwhile telephones crouch, getting ready to ring/In locked-up offices” (313, Lines 45-46) provides evidence of personification paired with harsh diction, leaving an impression of telephones acting as predators do, awaiting prey.  This concept, of course, can be related to death waiting to consume life—collect souls of the living. 

“That vast moth-eaten musical brocade/Created to pretend we never die” (313, Lines 23-24), “to hold and horrify” (312, Line 10), “In furnace-fear” (313, Line 36), “And specious stuff that says” (313, Line 25), etc.  Alliteration keeps the suspenseful pace constant, found in all parts of the work.  Consonance, too, adds to this attribute; some examples include, “Flashes afresh” (312, Line 10) and “so it stays just on the edge of vision, /A small unfocused blur, a standing chill /That slows each impulse down to indecision” (313, Lines 31-33) in stanza four for which the constant focus is on ‘s’ sounds.  Similes such as “It stands plain as a wardrobe” (313, Line 42), “The sky is white as clay” (313, Line 48), and “Postmen like doctors” (313, Line 50) are used to compare and further involve the audience with the story—allowing them to make their own connections to themes within the text.  Repetition, naturally, puts emphasis on a specific topic or theme, and is found in stanzas one and three, an example being “This is what we fear—no sight, no sound, /No touch or taste or smell, nothing to think with, /Nothing to love or link with” (313, Lines 27-29).  Repetition increases the tension in the mood of the work and reinforces the uncertainty the speaker is attempting to convey.  In disparity, symbolism is one of the most important features in this poem, as well as in any.  “The sky is white . . . with no sun . . . /Postmen like doctors go from house to house” (313, Lines 48 and 49).  The absence of a sun may be described also as the absence of hope, any man’s shining star.  As the whole poem exists during the night (darkness) two hours before dawn, when the light appears, life awakens.  When Larkin writes “what we know . . . /we can’t escape . . . one side will have to go” (313, Lines 42-44), although this line confused the reader, one can infer that the two sides the author speaks of would be the contrasting inability to accept death versus the inability to escape it.  The conflicted must choose to accept the end of his life as it approaches in the future, or deny natural/divine will.  Both sides weigh heavily on his mind, always a thought in the back of his head.  Finally, what the reader believes to be the most important symbol within this work of poetry, the last line (“Postmen like doctors . . .”) conveys the eternal theme that all living creatures on earth will eventually die.  Similar to a postman delivering mail, soon enough this aspect can be related to a doctor delivering people in each house to the grave at the appropriate time of death, since this is to be the fate of most likely all in such an area.  “Slowly light strengthens, and the room takes shape” (313, Line 41).  The poem is an interesting one depicting much imagery not only in the beginning with descriptions of the bedroom in which the main speaker sleeps at night, but also in the last few stanzas describing death standing as a “wardrobe,” etc. in the darkness.  It is a melancholy, expressive testimony of fear, embodied in the most realistic of ways. 

Analysis of Symbols of Choice

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale was written as a representation of a time when the ideals of independence, liberty, and freedom are stolen and government joins with religion to create a theocratic regime.  Embracing the teachings and traditional values of the Old Testament, the Republic of Gilead exists following a nuclear war.  The United States of America and all of its founding principles are abolished, and strict religious standards are upheld by a government run only by males.  Mass pollution and toxic radiation has caused a frightening drop in the number of healthy births.  This introduces a vast number of biblical allusions found within the text, dating back to the Old Testament of the Bible in reference to Jacob, Leah and his wife Rachel and his two Handmaids Bilhah and Zilpah, and Abraham and Hagar.  Women have been assigned a place in society; if ovaries are in good condition, they are sent to a Commander’s home to become Handmaids.  Each month, sexual intercourse through the procedure of ceremony is in occurrence between the Commander and the Handmaid, who lies upon the wife mating with the male through her.  In this way, if the Handmaid becomes impregnated, she bears the children through her own body to bestow upon the wife of the Commander.  This ritual is held as an allusion to those figures of biblical history.  Neither the Commander nor the other members of the party are comfortable in this situation.  Moreover, if a woman remains unable to produce offspring, she is declared an “Unwoman.”  This incredible loss of womanhood, apart from the general restrictions and oppression laid upon women by this society, is a main theme.  During one scene of the novel, Offred hides butter in her shoe after stealing it from the dinner table.  She reflects on her usage of it: 

I look for the pat of butter, in the toe of my right shoe, where I hid it after dinner . . . I rub the butter over my face, work it into the skin of my hands.  There’s no longer any hand lotion or face cream, not for us.  Such things are considered vanities.  (Atwood 96) 

This moment is Offred’s attempt to regain her womanhood, or a piece of femininity recognizable from past experiences.  This society deprives women of the ability to feel good about themselves.  In fact, it even turns the women against each other:  “Stabbed her with a knitting needle, right in the belly.  Jealousy, it must have been, eating her up” (11).  In Offred’s case, those who become pregnant become the subject of envy among other Handmaids.  Econowives are either jealous of Handmaids, or disapprove as Martha often do:  “Beneath her veil for the first one scowls at us.  One of the others turns aside, spits on the sidewalk.  The Econowives do not like us” (44).  Survival is essential for all members of Gilead, unless one seeks to liberate themselves with suicidal actions, which are also regulated by official Guardians.  The color a Handmaid wears, red, is the representation of lust and adultery.  Although declared legal and morally accurate, the position of the Handmaid is a vulnerable, exposing, humiliating act and is as close to rape, infidelity, and deceitfulness as anything can get!  The fruit of the Garden of Eden, also part of Genesis in the Old Testament of the Bible, can be compared to the “Fruit of a mother’s womb” ideal; fruit is fidelity.  The underlying indication present in this situation, however, is that woman who can not give birth to healthy children are blamed as they were in earlier times, although it is a man’s sperm who is the dominant, controlling factor in the process.  Anyone who objects to this is considered to be committing an act of treason against the Republic.  Other Biblical allusions may be found near the beginning of the novel where Offred and her walking partner Ofglen walk to the marketplace to shop for the Marthas.  Process signs such as “All Flesh” (27) and “Milk and Honey” (25) are observed by Offred while walking.  This connection is made to the Biblical land of milk and honey found in Exodus of the Old Testament.  Greetings are significant, as well.  Upon greeting, Ofglen says to Offred, “‘Blessed be the fruit,’” (meaning of the womb) with a reply of “‘May the Lord open,’” (19) in reference to sexual fertility. 



Personal Commentary

Altogether, I see Atwood’s version of the struggle for independence and freedom without persecution or amidst oppression a lovely example of a novel embracing feminist principles when male dominance has become overwhelming.  It focuses on the struggles of a woman in a completely totalitarian government situation, performing small acts of rebellion against what she believes to be corruption—even an act as small as stealing a stick of butter to hide in her shoe.  I loved the symbolic connections, good pace within the novel, constant Biblical allusions, point of view, and Offred’s character.  The title itself, The Handmaid’s Tale is interesting in itself.  A tale customarily represents a fable or story, commonly like a fairytale.  If one were to make a connection between Handmaids and a fairytale, a classic would be in reference to the story of “Little Red Riding Hood.”  The girl of this classic wears a long red cape to her grandmother’s house in the woods, and ends up being eaten by the wolf, who pretends to be her grandmother.  This connection is the embodiment of deception, false pretences, secrets, control, and innocence/vulnerability.  Just as Little Red remained vulnerable at the wolf’s hands, Handmaids remain at the mercy of their Commanders and their government. 

The Feminisms opinions made unmistakably obvious throughout the storyline is only the focus of one woman’s point of view during a near-futuristic time of male domination over the female sex: 

The pen between my fingers in sensuous, alive almost, I can feel its power, the power of the words it contains.  Pen Is Envy, Aunt Lydia would say . . . warning us away from such objects.  And they were right, it is envy.  Just holding it is envy.  I envy the Commander his pen.  It’s one more thing I would like to steal.  (186)

Offred admires the Commander, and all men for that matter, their sexual orientations!  The idea pondered here is asking how differently life may have been for her had she been born a man.  Offred’s womanhood is the thing that condemns her to this life of misery, and holding the sexuality of a man is equivalent to the same amount of power sing a pen or writing utensil may possess.  In essence, this novel was spectacular.  The writing was appealing and context fascinating to decipher.  Atwood’s thoughts were clear, decisive, and organized.  The novel presents highly advanced diction and questioning allusions, but all symbols and themes are clear.  The novel, once again, is the representation of feminist individualism and the effects of oppression by gender and societal status. 



Favorite Citation with Explanation

A story is like a letter.  Dear You, I’ll say.  Just you, without a name.  Attaching a name attaches you to the world of fact, which is riskier, more hazardous:  who knows what the chances are out there, of survival, yours?  I will say you, you, like an old love song.  You can mean more than one.  You can mean thousands.  I’m not in any immediate dancer . . . I’ll pretend you can hear me.  But it’s no good, because I know you can’t.  (40)

This passage reflects on Offred’s personality.  It reveals concern to her listeners—her readers and audience.  It reveals remorse and longing—even the mention of an old love song of the time before would lead to the assumption that Offred yearns for the life she had before with her daughter and husband Luke.  It reveals her hope that her audience is comprised of thousands of individuals, who will read this story and share the news of this atrocity to others.  Finally, it unearths regret.  Offred is aware of the fact that her story may never touch the life of another person.  She is completely alone in this world, and no one will she be able to relate with about her experiences; no one will ever feel remorse for a tale they have never heard of.  Ironic, as well, that the people who do end up reading her memoirs at the very end of the novel and who study such endeavors over a period of time during an educational course find points of this journey humorous.  This insensitivity is heightened the analytical tone of the text: 

This . . . was unearthed on the site of what was once the city of Bangor, in what, at the time prior to the inception of the Gileadean regime, would have been the state of Maine.  We know that this city was a prominent way station on what our author refers to as ‘The Underground Femaledroad,’ since dubbed by some of our historical wags ‘The Underground Frailroad.’  (301)

Another quote offers the same evidence:  “[Offred] appears to have been an educated woman, insofar as a graduate of any North American college of the time may be said to have been educated” (305).  The reader feels a sense of outrage and confusion after having felt pain and sadness for Offred and other Handmaid’s throughout the reading experience.



Personal Commentary

I was completely unhappy with the novel We.  Although I respect Yevgeny Zamyatin as a dignified, well-known author, my reading experience was difficult; the unpleasantness residing in unsynchronized sentence structure, unnecessary detail, annoying changes in mood swings by the characters, perplexing or odd diction, and lack of connection between the reader and the character D-503.  This entire novel was written in the point of view of D-503, his thoughts utterly contradictory and hypocritical.  I found it interesting the way the author trails off sentences so often to show word of thought, but because the human mind is such a complex tool and the thinking process very intricate, I often became confused with the storyline.  I understand that this was the author’s intent; it was not, however, favorable to my humor.  This novel was challenging, and although I admire this in an author for being able to provide such a challenge, it is a time-consuming endeavor.  D-503’s miscommunication with the reader, of course, was another distracting factor throughout the course of the novel.  Not being able to understand D-503’s set and distinct attitude towards someone or and ideal is incredibly frustrating while trying to relate.  I also found myself constantly growing tiresome of the storyline in general.  The ending of the novel, however, I found tragic yet exciting; despite all unnecessary observation to detail and unnecessary gratuitous descriptions of scenes.  Overall, I found the novel quaint and an abnormal selection piece.  Still, I must conclude that I enjoyed the subject matter and viewed the novel as immensely creative.