1. Chapters 40-46 + “Historical Notes”
Explain Nick and Offred’s sexual encounter. How does Atwood tell the story? What does Offred think about?
How is Nick characterized?
What about his backstory in the Hulu episode?
{pop quiz} Comment on one of the following quotes:
“Now it means: no heroics. It means don’t risk yourself for me, if it should come to that.” (262).
“There wasn’t any thunder though, I added that in. To cover up the sounds, which I am ashamed of making.” (263).
“Thinking: cheap. They’ll spread their legs for anyone. All you need to do is give them a cigarette.” (262).

2. Chapters 40-46 + “Historical Notes”
{pop quiz} Comment on one of the following quotes:
“Now it means: no heroics. It means don’t risk yourself for me, if it should come to that.” (262).
“There wasn’t any thunder though, I added that in. To cover up the sounds, which I am ashamed of making.” (263).
“Thinking: cheap. They’ll spread their legs for anyone. All you need to do is give them a cigarette.” (262).

3. Chapters 40-46 + “Historical Notes”
Compare and Contrast the 6 primary sexual encounters Offred has:
First Ceremony [chapter 16, p.93]
Second Ceremony [chapter 26, p.160]
Hotel tryst with Luke [chapter 9, p.51 & __]
Hotel tryst with the Commander [chapter 39, p. 251]
The meeting with Nick, Serena Joy arranged [chapter 40, p. 259, 261]
The further sexual interactions with Nick [chapter 41, p ]
Why is there so much sex in a sexually repressed world? What is Atwood’s effect and purpose? To what extent is Atwood’s use of sex similar to Orwell’s?

6. Chapter 44
“I am Ofglen,” the woman says. Word perfect. And of course she is, the new one, and Ofglen, wherever she is, is no longer Ofglen. I never knew her real name. That is how you can get lost, in a sea of names. It wouldn’t be easy to find her now. (Atwood 283).
Who was the missing Ofglen to Offred? What role did she play in The Handmaid’s Tale?
How do the names of the Handmaids play a role in the ultimate destruction of literacy and language in the novel?
What are the possible things that have happened to Ofglen? What actually happened to her? What is “May Day”?
Is the new Ofglen like the old one?

7. Chapter 45
Why does Serena Joy tell Offred “You could have left me something”? (Atwood 287).
Do we feel sorry for Serena Joy? How does Atwood make her a complicated character?
What does ‘something’ mean?
What dos Atwood do to make us hate and empathize with Serena Joy? Which feeling wins out in the end?
Why does Atwood do this?

8. Chapter 46
“Trust me,” he says; which in itself has never been a talisman, carries no guarantee.
But I snatch at it, this offer. It’s all I’m left with. (Atwood 294)
How does the novel end? What do you think happened? Do you trust Nick? Does Offred?
Is The Handmaid’s Tale a good book? Is it an important book?
What does Serena Joy mean “after all he did for you”?

9. Commander Waterford
Ultimately, how does the Commander’s characterization, and Offred’s evaluation of him, change from beginning to end of the narrative?
How does the “Historical Notes” develop his characterization even more?

11. “Historical Notes” p. 299
Examine Atwood’s reasons for including the “Historical Notes.” To what extent are the “Historical Notes” necessary to the narrative?
Identify and analyze 3 specific times in the “Historical Notes” section that show how much times have changed between Gilead’s era and the academic conference?
How is Atwood’s tone different in this appendix-style addendum to the novel? Analyze at least two quotes that show a significantly different tone than the first part of the book. Why has Atwood constructed the “Historical Notes” this way?
What “pressures” or “factors” are the academics in the epilogue free from that plague Gildeadean society?
Do you agree with the statement that “no new system can impose its self upon a previous one without the incorporation of many elements found in the latter?” What elements of older systems remain in American culture today? Where has our culture moved forward?
Offred seems to have a superficial understanding of politics. She seems to be a character that is more concerned with her life and the life of her family rather than larger political structures. How does this free her and similarly condemn her?
What are the main methods of control in the Gileadean regime and how are these portrayed?
To what extent has this novel made you think differently about the position of women in our society and in the world?