The Allusions in the Handmaid S Tale

Chen Handmaid’s Tale ENG4U 25/07/2015 The Allusions in the Handmaid’s Tale

Many famous texts can connect to external works that have been published in recent time or in past time. They not only help to seek clarification, but it gives a novel more enthusiasm when reading. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, allusions can be made, as it connects to the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, a YouTube video called You are More by Michelle Phan, the novel Grey by EL James, Glamour magazine’s article about Micheala Deprince, and the Fukushima Japan Nuclear Disasters.

Never Let Me Go is a novel broken into three parts: childhood, adult, and donor, told by the protagonist Kathy. In the first act, clones are kept in an odd fictional boarding school called Hailsham in England, and Kathy expresses how this school is unlike any others. Particularly, the teachers are known as the guardians, the students are to be in extremely good health, and are to be encouraged to produce art work for what they believe goes into the gallery, but are not taught any life skills whatsoever. In this case, Kathy, Ruth and Tommy begin their friendship, but it’s not long till Kathy grows a fondness for Tommy, as she helps him with his torment in being bullied. Furthermore, in this act Miss. Lucy who is also one of the guardians, reveals the destiny of her students and all students who attend Hailsham, by telling them their lives are short and they will most likely complete (die) in their early adult hood. In the next act, Kathy and the two friends are moved to the cottages at the age of 16 where they begin to connect with the outside world. In this case, much is going on, Kathy becomes curious about her sexuality; Ruth begins to wonder who her possible may be or in other words who she may be a clone of as she and her friends follow a woman who works at a donation clinic. Yet Tommy is now the man in the middle as he is not only in love with Kathy, but he is stuck in a relationship with Ruth instead that has no way out. Thus with these conflicts tension starts to rise and Kathy decides that the best thing for her is to become a carer for patients. In the final act, the three friends are not only different, but their lives have changed. As 10 years passed, Ruth becomes frail as her first donation caused her health to deteriorate, thus Kathy becomes her carer. However, despite the problems, revelation is amongst the friends as Ruth not only pleas for forgiveness, but in her blessing she wants Kathy and Tommy to have the relationship they never got to have as teenagers and as they were growing up in Hailsham, by giving them madam’s address to see if they can receive a deferral on Tommy’s forth donation. Within a small amount of time, Ruth has her last donation at two donations and it seems that although amends were made, there was never such thing as a deferral and Kathy knows that her relationship with Tommy will never last. Conclusively, Kathy lives a longer life without Ruth and Tommy, but she will always cherish the memories made at Hailsham as she goes on.

Furthermore, Never Let Me Go is the equivalent to The Handmaid’s Tale in many different ways. Particularly the purpose of life between the clones and the handmaids, the continuous methods looked upon for escape and how Kathy and Offred have undetermined futures. Both Handmaid’s and the students of Hailsham have one purpose in the society they live in, while Handmaids are to bare children for the higher class unfortunates couples, the clones are organ donors for those in need of transplant. The whole purpose to their roles, are help to help people in society, but although they help it seems that within duration of time they do become useless. For instance if a handmaid fails to produce a child in three years, she will be shipped off to the colonies and will no longer be needed as a handmaid. However, depending on how many donations the clone has done, most of them will complete on the 2nd or the 3rd donation, as organ donates from the least harmful to the clone to the most harmful where the clone can no longer survive without the vital organs. Moreover, clones and handmaids are real people and have souls. Thus the methods of looking for deferrals or escape, are all done to not only look for a better life, but to live a longer life than in the society these people are put in. In Never Let Me Go, Kathy and Tommy so badly want a deferral so that they can live up to the potential while being in love. While Moira ran away in an Aunt’s clothes to start a life she boldly wanted. In this case, while they both did different things to see if there was any potential at all, it seems that the characters had no way out as Moira was captured and works as a stripper at a night club and Tommy went in for his last donation. Finally, Kathy and Offred both have undetermined futures, as Kathy not only doesn’t know where she will go while in Norfolk, but even Offred doesn’t know where the Eyes will take her in their black van. Both Kathy and Offred will forever have the ever lasting memories of the societies they live in, the relationships they’ve built and even the individual growth that they’ve showed throughout the novels. Although Kathy and Offred have different personalities and are contrasting characters, as one is more the peace maker and the other a past dweller, they have come a long way to accept what is going on around them and eventually continued to move forward into a future that is uncalled for. Additionally, Never Let Me Go has many other connections with The Handmaid’s Tale as both novels focus upon an imperfect, dystopian society. But although there are flaws, there is strength within the flaws.

In various situations Handmaids are always looked down upon. Particularly in chapter eight, when Offred and Ofglen put their hands on their hearts to symbolise sympathy to the Econowives, the Econowives are quick to react in a disrespectful way as “Beneath her veil the first one scowls at us. One of the others turns aside, spits on the sidewalk.” (Atwood 49) thus showing that they don’t need the handmaids sympathy, as they nothing but the bimbo breeders. Never mind in chapter 45, when Serena found out about Offred’s affair with the Commander, as there was lipstick smeared on her winter cloak, she practically calls Offred a dirty whore. “Just like the other one. A slut. You’ll end up the same.” (Atwood 332). In this case, Michelle Phan’s YouTube video You are More is the perfect connection to the Handmaids Tale, as it directly links to self-worth and how individually, individuals matter. Offred may be called all sorts of bad names that label her and leads to her disrespectful treatment. Though she does not let these labels define her, because not only is her role important to the high class families that cannot bear a child, but she is looked up upon as she is the hope for Cora and Rita. Thus because Offred decided to go against the grain and is rediscovering herself in who she truly is, it links back to Phan’s purpose in creating this video. Phan essentially stresses how labels can stick like a price tag and be used to define who we are. Phan wants to create change and show that words do matter and how the pressures in life can be immense by portraying real youth who have gone through similar situations as Offred. Though everyone has a choice, Offred could have cowardly said enough is enough by committing suicide, instead she was saved by the Eyes earning her potentially a better life. Yet, at the end we see that Phan has the youth tear up the price tags with labels symbolising that they can be free from this trap, a trap even Offred was able to escape from.

This next connection may be an odd pairing, as an erotica novel is being connected with a fiction novel. Essentually, Grey is a novel in Christian Grey’s perspective of the famous erotica novel Fifty Shades of Grey. In this novel, Christian is telling his story of how his life that was once precise and disciplined, yet utterly empty, changed when he met Anastasia Steele who happens to fall into his office for an interview. He tries to forget her, but something stirs his emotions and suddenly he’s overwhelmed with this emotion that he has never known, let alone comprehends. Moreover, with a wounded heart, Christian hopes that this new found relationship can help relieve the effects of his traumatic childhood. However, because of his dark sexual proclivities and self-loathing seem to drive Ana away. Ana is initially naive about Christian's sadism and the power dynamics of their relationship, though as the novel progresses she becomes more understanding of his behavior, which is cold and controlling.

In this care there are two ways in which Handmaid’s Tale connects with Grey, particularly, in power and in a particular scene that corresponds with the end of chapter 39 of the Handmaid’s Tale. In Grey, Christian does not only seek for power but he seeks to have complete control as he explains: ‘“Oh, I exercise control in all things, Miss Steele.”’ (Grey 9) thus it is not only sexual control he possesses, but it is in all things that he does such as: in his company and his personal life. Like the commander, he not only possesses power, but he has total control of what happens in the next. For instance in Chapter 15, when the commander comes into the room of Serena Joy’s property, all eyes are on him. Not only for the purpose that he may die or something may go wrong, but he is the commander and every woman who seems to be up to nothing is now in control of the Commander. “The Commander clears his throat. This is what he does to let us know that in his opinion it’s time we stopped.” (Atwood 105) therefore, as the two males have power in all things, it is their nature to control what is around them; whether it is business essentials, women, household, it is in all things.

Furthermore, in Grey’s journal entry dated Saturday May 21st, 2011 like Offred in chapter 39, Anastasia was at a local bar or as they would call is a night club. Though, Offred did not drink as drinking is prohibited, Anastasia did instead to celebrate her achievement in getting her university degree in English Literature. When it seemed nothing could go wrong, everything turned upside down and that Anastasia ended up in Christian’s hotel room and in his care. A little later, like Offred she was taken to a hotel room as well by the commander and was in his car. Anyhow, these two ladies had an interesting aftermath. Both ladies questioned differently in terms of one being why she was taken there and the other why the books were sent to her. In Handmaid’s Tale Offred questions: “Why did you bring me here” (Atwood 294) referring to why the commander decided to take her out instead of their usual nightly routine, while in Grey Anastasia questions: “Why did you send me the books, Christain?” (Grey 71) referring to the books Christian sent her for the purpose that he couldn’t stay away and had to see her. However, despite that these women are looking real answers to their questions, both men seems to dismiss what they intend to say and give the ladies a vague answer that in hopes satisfy them. Particularly the commander replies: “I thought you might enjoy it for a change […] I guess it was sort of experiment […] You said you wanted to know.” (Atwood 294) while Christian replies: “I felt I owed you an apology and a warning. Anastasia, I’m not a hearts-and-flowers kind of man. I don’t do romance. My tastes are very singular. You should steer clear of me. There’s something about you, though, and I’m finding it impossible to stay away. But I think you’ve figured that out already.” (Grey 71)

Therefore, although there are two very contrasting pieces of literature, both novels seem to have connected with each other in terms of the position that the men stood at, and the situations that the characters were going through.

Michaela Deprince is a world class ballerina in the USA, but how can Offred be possibly connected to this ballerina when they are so contrasting between one another? Interesting enough, before Deprince was ever given the opportunity to prove herself to become an elite ballerina, her life story and the things she did to get to her position, is in a sense similar to what Offred had to go through and what Offred needs to conquer in order for her to move forward. In this case, both Offred and Deprince sadly were separated from their families. Particularly at a very young age, Deprince had become an orphan as her mother died of fever and her father was murdered in Sierra Leone’s most brutal civil wars. When Gilead began to take over the United States of America, in Handmaid’s Tale, Offred was sadly stripped away from her daughter and husband who meant everything her. Though, both ladies had lost and were separated from their families, pursuing forward was all about conquering the new world that was introduced to them and letting go of the past. Deprince said: ‘“You don’t have to hold on to your past – if you can find a way to overcome the bad parts, great things can happen.”’ (Glamour 168) in reference that, even though her parents died and she became an orphan and had gone through major obstacles to become who and what she is, Deprince didn’t let the past bring her down in her dreams and her goals. In this case, throughout the story that Offred tells us about her life, she does a lot of flashing back and flashing forward to present. When Offred flashes back, she seems to dwell too much on the past, as she desperately wishes to go back into the past and change it, so that perhaps in this current state she wouldn’t need to be working as a handmaid and wouldn’t be mourning on her misery. Furthermore it takes a good chunk of time before Offred can fully accept the past, yet she is only able go forward, as Nick happens to be part of the Eyes and had come to her rescue. “I have given myself over into the hands of strangers, because it can’t be helped.” (Atwood 339) whether or not Offred got the dream she wanted, it will always be left inferred. In this case, like Deprince it did take time to overcome the hardship of the past had brought her, though through her adoptive parents, Deprince was able to achieve and receive a future she has always dreamed about. That’s what made Deprince an elite ballerina and this is how Offred became free.

Nuclear plant disasters have a huge impact in society, whether that is in the Pre- Gilead society in Handmaid’s Tale, or the newer millennial society that is currently present in the year 2015. In the historical notes where Professor Pieixoto is giving his lecture about the Pre-Gilead society, he emphasizes on the effects of Pre-Gilead had from the nuclear disasters and how it impacted the people, and the over society.

“Stillbirths, miscarriages, and genetic deformities were widespread and on an increase, and this trend has been linked to the various nuclear-plant accidents, shutdowns, and incidents of sabotage that characterized the period, as well as to leakages from chemical and biological- warfare stockpiles and toxic-waste disposal sites.” (Atwood 350)

In this case, the nuclear disasters that Pre-Gilead society faced negative impact on both the women and men, as a lot of the births became abnormal and the environment was wasted due to the pollution and the toxicity of all the chemical reactions. Like Fukushima in Japan, which holds the largest nuclear disasters, are in a similar situation as Pre-Gilead faced such as: environmental damage, health of population and even economies and many more. Nonetheless Nuclear reactors are fundamentally dangerous, but it seems that the Japanese government is pushing to restart the reactors against the will of its people, as they are not properly examining the consequences from Fukushima. Robert Knoth and Anonette De Jong said: ‘“Walking through those villages, there is this tremendous sense of loss. The loss of culture and tradition, the loss of community, and the way of life and the loss of health and even life itself.”’ Thus if the government decided to restart the reactors, the villages that were once full of life, will continue to be unliveable, as the radiation can cause dramatic health problems for kids, adults and seniors. However, despite Gilead was able to over the challenges that Pre-Gilead was facing with nuclear disasters; it is now up to the government of Japan to do the right thing in order to keep their citizens within the country, yet help raise them in a society where safety doesn’t need to be tested.

Many other outside sources can effortlessly be connected to The Handmaid’s Tale as there are endless possibilities that can be compared and remind readers what certain scenes and events have looked like in other contemporary media. Yet, alliances doesn’t need to be limited, because many sources have a purpose to readers and listeners, while it can be old or new, Handmaid’s Tale can always connect to other media people feel is suitable.