Handmaid's Tale -- the last one!
The second ending was oddly satisfying. I’m glad her story was told, even if she wasn’t the one to directly tell it. We talked about this a little in class but I also thought it was interesting that one of the professors was talking about her story in class, and he asked us to not judge Gilead too harshly. It made me stop for a second-- I most definitely got a little bit heated for a second. Because for the entire book, we’ve sympathized with Offred in her prison of a society, where her whole life was taken away and replaced with a grim life of just reproduction. It took me back when he starts talking about what might have initiated a society like Gilead, something so austere. And that moment reminded me of my history classes. I wonder if history can be distorted so easily just by teaching kids to be the “devil’s advocate.” It was definitely what I remember most about the ending.
I thought this book overall was a really interesting read-- I’ve never read a utopia book that tackled gender inequality so directly. Ever since the TV show came out, I’ve always wanted to read the book before I watched it so I’m glad we got to read it in class!
That's a great take on the second ending. The funny thing, too, is that the first ending would work by itself, and since a lot of readers miss the second ending (thinking it's just end notes), people are fine with the ambiguous (but implicitly positive) first ending. Oddly, the second ending doesn't actually clear up whether Offred survives -- it seems more likely she did since we have the record, but the professor says they don't actually know. But it's like you say: oddly satisfying. Her record remains, her voice has been heard, and she's part of an important and traceable pattern. Good stuff, Atwood.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed the book -- my time with this class greatly increased my own enjoyment of it!