Narrative Structure

What do you notice about the use of present and past tense? Of speech marks? Of capital letters?

Very little actually happens in Offred’s story. Why is this appropriate to the themes of the novel?

What is the strength of this type of narrative structure? Why is this appropriate and more effective than a straightforward narrative would be?

What is the point of view of this novel? What is the effect of this point of view on this story? How reliable is the narrator?  The novel is told in the point of view of the Offred, who is a handmaid. She is telling it from her perspective of what is taking place and how she is seeing the account of events. Although this may be reliable, she could have twisted the actual truth and told what she wanted to see and tell rather than the raw account of events that actually took place. It is told only through her eyes

How reliable is the narrator?

 

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