Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale Essay examples -- Margaret Atwoo
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale Chapter nine opening section two of the novel is mainly recalling the last chapters and about the narrator rediscovering herself, surfacing the truth. In section one we see the narrator talking in the present tense in a very descriptive form, outlining the novel. However in section two we see her talking in the past tense demonstrating the stories she is telling. The separation between the human and the natural world and the narratorââ¬â¢s struggle with language most directly portrays the novel's dualities. In chapter nine there are many areasââ¬â¢s in which specific linguistics are used to tell the story. This is evident in the very opening paragraph of chapter nine, when the narrator says ââ¬Å"The trouble is all in the knob at the top of our bodiesâ⬠. The noun euphemism ââ¬Ëknobââ¬â¢ for the head has connotations of a mechanical device which links in to the ââ¬Å"illusion that they are separateâ⬠. This creates a binary opposition between emotion versus reason (heart versus brain), creating the idea that the narrator is dislocated form herself. The narrator is sceptical about language as she blames words and makes it the culprit just like when the ââ¬Ëhusbandââ¬â¢ kept saying he loved her on page 28. Another area where we see the narratorââ¬â¢s distrust in words is when she clearly states ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢ll never trust these words againâ⬠. The use of this future tense declarative reveals the narratorââ¬â¢s fear and suspicion of words (especially about the word love). The narrator seems to think the entire body should be called the same as she says ââ¬Å"the language is wrong, it shouldnââ¬â¢t have different words for themâ⬠. Later we see Atwood displaying the narratorââ¬â¢s pessimistic language when she uses the declarative ââ¬Å"Bu... ...rââ¬â¢s memories more. This is evident in chapter ten whist the narrator is view the scrapbooks, she says ââ¬Å"I couldnââ¬â¢t remember ever having drawn these picturesâ⬠and ââ¬Å"I was disappointed in myself, I must of been a hedonistic childâ⬠. The verbs clustered together suggest the narrator really struggles to recall her memories. Another key suggestion to the narratorââ¬â¢s fault memory is the way she intertwines the past and present, making the reader at times unaware of which is which, also the way in which the narrator continually contradicts herself. This is evident on page twenty when she is placed in a paradoxical position when she thinks ââ¬Å"if you live in a place you should speak the language. But this isnââ¬â¢t where I livedâ⬠. We see the clear contradiction as earlier she stated ââ¬Å"I canââ¬â¢t believe Iââ¬â¢m on this road againâ⬠notifying the reader that she does belong there.
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