Symbols In The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale
Chapter 12 (“Is That a Symbol”) of How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster, relates to the novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale”because of its symbolism. The different colors each character wears, represents something different about who they are in the Gilead society. For example, the handmaid’s all wear red clothes, which symbolizes their fertility and their ability to create a child. However, it can also represent death and prohibition. Offred realizes that she is surrounded by “red; the color of blood, which defines us.” The wives in the Gilead society wear blue, similar to Serena, who is pretty superior during that period. It contrasts from Offred’s red clothes, which suggests tension between her, as well as
the Commander. Black is another symbolic color because it represents wealth and authority. The Commander would often wear a black suit when going out. For example, the night when he surprised Offred with an invitation to a place where handmaids were not to be seen, he drove her in a black limousine to show her off. Beside color, the Eyes are the secret police. They watch over the totalitarian state from dawn to dusk and serve as another pair of eyes for God because they are just. At the end of the novel, it was the Eyes who successfully helped Offred escape from Gilead.

The Handmaid’s Tale
Chapter 14 (“Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too”) of How to Read Literature Like a Professor relates to the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale in that she is “self-sacrificing.” Offred has sacrificed her life by allowing the Commander to use her body so that it can reproduce and make a child.
She is also sacrificing her rights and privileges because women in the Gilead society are not allowed to work, pick who they want to marry, or speak up for themselves. Offred has also been suffering in which she is constantly thinking about her lost daughter, not knowing if she is alive or not. To worsen her suffering, Serena decides to give her hope by showing a picture of her daughter to her knowing that she will not be able to find her or do anything about it. Another reason why Offred is suffering is because of the deaths of the other handmaids. She has had to witness a handmaid being hung for being a “slut” and also her friend, Ofglen, who hung herself because she knew she was not going to escape from the bad people coming after her. In Chapter 14, under the list of what makes Christ himself, is that he was “thirty-three years of age when last seen.” In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred described herself as “thirty-three years old ...[with] brown hair.” Atwood suggests that Offred has trouble remembering how she used to look like and seldom gets the chance to look at herself. The way that Offred is describing herself reveals that she will not stay 33 years old and will not always have a head full
of brown hair. The quote demonstrates that her time to be able to reproduce is running out,

Things Fall Apart
Chapter 11 (“...More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence.) of How to Read Literature Like a Professor relates to the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe in that people display violence to show and “emphasize their masculine tendencies.” In the novel, the main character, Okonkwo dislikes his father because he saw him as a feminine person, rather than masculine.
Therefore, he wanted to rise above him and began acting more manly by “(dazed with fear) [drawing] his machete and [cutting] him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.” Although Okonkwo did not feel comfortable by his actions, he felt that he had to prove something to himself and show that he will not end up like his
father.