The Handmaid’s Tale Envelope Topics
Directions: Congratulations! You are in charge of tracking the following topic throughout The
Handmaid’s Tale. As we continue to read, copy down significant quotes that relate to your topic on a
piece of paper, index card, sticky note, whatever. Include the page number and the speaker. Please write
legibly on the cards, as some days the envelopes will be swapped and your classmates might write an
analysis of the excerpts in your envelope. Place your quotes inside this folder (you may staple the folder
into an envelope if you wish!). These quotes will then be used to help you develop topics for analytical
essays, class discussions, etc. You should be able to find several quotes related to this topic; adding one
quote per night is the bare minimum!
1) The sections alternate between Offred being out among other people, and Offred being alone in her
room (“Night” sections). What does Offred do when she is alone? How does she mentally cope with
existence in the Gilead society?
2) Gilead is very concerned with “re-naming” things, or giving particular names to newly created classes,
social events, etc. Look for these names, then consider why they were chosen. Are the names meant to
evoke a specific response in the citizens of Gilead? What response, and why?
3) Gilead is very concerned with appearances. Consider objects (clothing, placards or signs, etc.) that
have been designed with a specific appearance. What is significant about the appearance of these objects?
Are these objects meant to symbolize or suggest something else?
4) Offred lived in a society very like our own before she lived in Gilead. Does she openly accept her past
society at all times? When does she yearn for it, and when does she question it?
5) Gilead is a religious fundamentalist society.
statements? What do they despise? Why?
What do they value, based on their actions and
6) Though Gilead is a tightly controlled society, Offred acts against it in subtle (or perhaps not so subtle)
ways. What does she do to disrupt the accepted order? When does she choose to go along with societal
constraints? Why?
7) What happens to members of different races and religions in Gilead? What does this indicate about
their society?
8) In Gilead, there are varying levels of power. Which characters have a lot of power in the society?
Which characters have little? For those characters who have only some or a little power, how do they act
to express their power?
9) Throughout the text, women are divided into different groups, by profession. How do women of each
group feel about women in the other groups? Why don’t the women work together to change or
overthrow their society? What about groups of women from ‘before’ Gilead?