The Importance Of Colors In Gilead

One of the many prevailing themes in literature is that power is gained and can be manipulated when restraints are placed on natural desires of the individual. This passage is significant because it is an example of this theme, for it shows how power and manipulation have completely changed and restricted the people, especially women, of Gilead. Due to this, the passage reveals the shared anger that the Handmaids possess, and the cruelty that has been brought upon the society. The use of similes, diction, syntax, and illustrate the impact that this event had on Offred, for she feels such anger towards the unknown man and the crime he has supposedly committed. These literary and rhetorical devices additionally serve to make this event seem as

In The Handmaid’s Tale, each individual wears a certain colored garb that is symbolic of their role in society. The wives of the Commanders wear blue, which is a royal color, symbolizing the high status of the wives. Blue is also seen as a cold color, which represents the attitudes of the Wives towards the Handmaids. The color blue is often associated with the Virgin Mary, symbolizing the Wives ultimate role as mothers – but ones who have not conceived themselves but rear the children anyway. The Handmaids’ red dresses are long, draping, and covering every inch of their bodies.

Gileadean women are divided into seven classes based on hierarchy and identified by the color of their clothing. However, “They are not divided into functions. They have to do everything; if they can” (Atwood 24). The commanders’ wives wear blue. Their responsibilities are to bear children, and if they are not able to reproduce, they are to take on a handmaid and stay loyal to their husband. Aunts wear brown clothing, they work for Gilead, enforcing, teaching, and supervising the handmaids; urging them to accept their new way of life. The Marthas clothe themselves in green dresses and aprons. They are the household servants, in charge of the cooking and cleaning. Handmaids wear red, symbolizing their fertility. Their sole responsibility is to bear the Commanders’

This is exemplified when Offred hears Aunt Lydia say, “Ordinary is what you are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary” (Atwood 33). The repetition of ordinary is used to reinforce how harsh realities (e.g. public execution) are perceived and justified as normal by the citizens of Gilead; however, in Offred’s previous life, she would have been repulsed to see a public hanging of an innocent person. With Aunt Lydia’s presence and words casting a shadow in Offred’s mind, she begins to have a sense of normalcy about life in Gilead. The Aunt Lydia’s words are so powerful and influential that Offred begins to transform her way of thinking, which mirrors the lack of individuality that she displays. Not only can Offred not think for herself, but her vision is also controlled by Gilead. For instance, Offred and other handmaids must wear white wings, which are a headdress to restrict their vision. This is shown when Atwood writes, “There remains a mirror, on the hall wall. If I turn my head so that the white wings framing my face direct my vision towards it…[I see] myself in it like a distorted shadow” (9). The white wings are symbolic of her not being able to see reality and only what Gilead wants her to see; therefore, her vision is restricted and so are her thoughts. Furthermore, her vision is not

The women who have become sterile are fit into other classes within Gilead’s society and are differentiated by the color of their dress.. The women who are high on the class list are the wives (Blue Dress) who are married to the commanders. In this case the wife of the commander is Serena Joy, who is unable to bear any children. She was able to escape the oppressive chains of the Republic due to her devotion to serving God and spreading the word of God prior to the collapse of the U.S. However, her life is no more joyous than that of a Martha or a Handmaid as she must watch the handmaid's enter her home to attempt to bare her husband's children. The next on the list are the Aunts, they are staff members who blend the prim role of academy schoolmarms with the sadism of prison matrons. These women ‘teach’ the Handmaid’s about the role they have had the privilege of their positions within the new Republic of Gilead. The Martha's (Green Dress) women who are older or sterile and have the task of being the commander’s housekeepers. The Econowives (Striped Dress)who are working-class women who lack maid service and thus must "do everything." The Unwomen (Dress color never specified) are females that were remanded to the Colonies to serve in clean-up crews removing toxic wastes. Both the class and dress code of the women symbolizes that they are no longer individuals; they

To begin, the Republic of Gilead outfits women based on their function to strip them of their individuality. The process starts by colour coding women into easily identifiable class groups. This is seen when Offred makes her way to town, narrating the scene and drawing attention to the other women by saying, “There are other women with baskets, some in red, some in the dull green of the Marthas” (Atwood 27). Women in Gilead have been colour coded to be easily identifiable and known under their respective colours, completely erasing their identities. Furthermore, the colours they wear identify their sole purposes to society. When Offred first introduces Econowives she notes that “...the striped dresses, red and blue and green… Econowives, they're called. These women are not divided into functions. They have to do everything…” (Atwood 27). The Econowives are the wives or the poorer men, wearing the medley of all three colours to

In other terms; flashbacks are used to contrast the Gilead society and society in the United States. ‘That was freedom. Westernized they use to call it,’ is a quote which symbolizes there is now a difference between the two worlds and how activities used to be completed and how activities are completed nowadays. Another quotation which follows freedom in the US society and isolation of this in the Gilead society is ‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen skirts that short on women… they seem undress.’ This shows not only how woman are told how to be dressed and hide their flesh but also that they don’t have the freedom to express their beliefs through the way they dress. Lastly, a quote that was used earlier which is relevant to how the difference between the two society’s show restraint and loss of mortality is ‘I think about her drowning and this thought slows me down,’ when she speaks of her daughter who is in her now distant

Control dominates all aspects of Gileadian society, from minor, seemingly petty normalities such as the clothes allowed, all the way up to how and who to have sexual relations with. Unimaginable in this day, Atwood represents modern society gone sour, something which is chillingly

In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Offred recounts the story of her life and that of others in Gilead, but she does not do so alone. The symbolic meanings found in the dress code of the women, the names/titles of characters, the absence of the mirror, and the smell and hunger imagery aid her in telling of the repugnant conditions in the Republic of Gilead. The symbols speak with a voice of their own and in decibels louder than Offred can ever dare to use. They convey the social structure of Gileadean society and carry the theme of the individual's loss of identity.

During the 1920’s, many people would disguise themselves through the identities of someone else. In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main characters can be seen “hiding” behind the symbolism of different colors. Color affects the mood, emphasizes the importance of events in a novel, and can also interact with the personalities of the characters. The concept of color symbolism is prominent in the novel. White, yellow, blue, green, and even the color black affect the atmosphere of scenes through association with a specific mood, and also through the actions of the characters.

Imagine if you can, living in a world that tells you what you are to wear, where to live, as well as your position and value to society. In Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale, she shows us the Republic of Gilead does just that. Offred, the main character, is a Handmaid, whose usefulness is her ovaries. Handmaids are ordered to live in a house with a Commander, his wife, and once a month attempt to become pregnant by the Commander. Throughout Atwood's novel, you will notice she uses different colors for her characters clothing that correspond to their position and place in the Republic of Gilead. They become aware of people's statuses by the color of their

The future lays in past decisions, such as the decision to end segregation, the decision to organize population growth, or the decision to separate blood family. These choices have come from past generations’ failure and future generations’ desires. The Republic of Gilead in Atwood’s dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale must focus on the reproduction of offspring and nothing else. Men and women do not “make love” anymore. They only have sex for reproduction purposes. Every loved one is taken away from them—husbands, children, parents, etc. One right that can never be taken away from them is their opinions. Offred rebels against her government with the use of thought and alliance. She believes she will one day see her husband and daughter again, and while Offred dreams of her family, Aunt Lydia dreams of a world where everyone in the Republic of Gilead “will live in harmony together,” and once rebellion by the suppressed women is stopped and population levels are

The color red is used prevalently in Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale as a motif to emphasize the dystopia world. It also serves as a symbol to represent several meanings. Many connotations are associated with the color red. Red illustrates positive feelings from love and passion to negative feelings such as anger and hate. Not only that, as Moses (2007) describes, it is a color which represents blood and violence, creates emotional intensity, and to some extent also “evoke erotic feelings” (p.35). Overall it can be concluded that the color red is deeply related with humans and “epitomizes human vitality and most above all, power.” (Roland, 2013). The role of red successfully creates dystopia in The Handmaid’s Tale by incorporating several symbolic meaning including fertility and love—themes related to the core of the story.

Imagine a country where choice is not a choice.  One is labeled by their age and economical status.  The deep red cloaks, the blue embroidered dresses, and the pinstriped attire are all uniforms to define a person's standing in society.  To be judged, not by beauty or personality or talents, but by the ability to procreate instead. To not believe in the Puritan religion is certain death.  To read or write is to die.  This definition is found to be true in the book, The Handmaid's Tale (1986) by Margaret Atwood.  It is a heartbreaking story of one young woman and her transformation into the Gilead society, the society described above. In the book, we meet Offred, the narrator of the story.  This

Colour imagery supports the language choice for both subjectsfem and creates a symbolic difference between them. Rich uses the metaphor of, ‘Bright topaz denizens’ (l.2), denoting that they bejewel the panels they ‘prance’ (l.1) on, and create a clear contrast between their orange and black coats against the ‘world of green’ (l.2). Aunt Jennifer is associated with pale colours of white and grey, created by a basic lexical field, with ‘wool’ (l.5) and ‘ivory needle’ (1.6). The juxtaposition emphasises the difference between the plain, dependent and subservient outward