Lit log #2- Blossoming Rose

A thousand Years, Christina Perri -https://youtu.be/rtOvBOTyX00?si=cM8AaH-xLmfTAEsW

My playlist is about the main character’s development in The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred’s love life. Throughout the story, Offred talks about the man she mentions quite frequently from her past named Luke who is her last lover. Even while she is in a situation where she continues to think about him and their history together, this made me think of the song, the particular line that stood out to me was
“I have died every day waiting for you Darling, don’t be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years I’ll love you for a thousand more”
and the connection that I made with the book was in chapter 9 page 52, “I wanted to feel Luke lying beside me. I have them, these attacks of the past, like faintness, wave sweeping over my head.” How I made this connection is because she isn’t with him she misses him and in this particular moment she is cherishing the moment that she was spending with him when she was in the hotel room. So though that memory was old it was still emotions embedded within that which made me feel as though it connected to that particular song.

When We Were Young, Adele- https://youtu.be/Xpc8mAJ_2nM?si=1UCAmqgFKxpOqVP1

As the book continues offred starts to share her attention with other men like Nick, in which she tries to convince herself that that Luke would be okay with it if he were here. On page 99 in chapter 17 I noticed that in their interaction I noticed that she was trying to convince herself that it was okay for their relationship and gaslighted herself into thinking that he would approve, “Luke, you’d know, you’d understand. It’s you here, in another body.” I connected it to the song by Adele When We Were Young and she says one line states, “You still look like a movie You still sound like a song My God, this reminds me, of when we were young.” I chose this song for this scene because she is trying to imagine that her ex-lover is within another and that gives the reader the assumption that she is trying to fill that hole that she lost with Luke trying to reassure herself that she wasn’t cheating on her first love. The history that she has with him does not compare to whatever relationships that she has somewhat created with other people.

It’s a man world, James Brown- https://youtu.be/H77fRz1rybs?si=kSmsDPNtzeF2wPh1

People like the commander who is stuck in his old way of thinking believe that women’s only purpose is to serve men and have their children, but the reader sees this as cruel and unfair the commander doesn’t see anything wrong with this “ the problem was only with the women, he says. The main problem was with the men. There was nothing for them anymore.” This was page 210 and in this scene, Offred was starting to get comfortable with the commander and she wondered what were Gilead’s original intentions when they implemented this new rule. This reminded me of this particular song, “You see, man made the cars to take us over the road Man made the train to carry the heavy load Man-made electric light to take us out of the dark Man made the boat for the water like Noah made the ark

This is a man’s, man’s, man’s world But it wouldn’t be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl” How I connected it to the book is that Gilead wouldn’t be able to run or sustain itself and eventually die out if it weren’t for women. They need them to procreate and without them, every man would eventually die out. Proving the reader’s point that though the men are running their world they can’t survive without the assets of a depending on woman.

Titanium, David Guetta- https://youtu.be/JRfuAukYTKg?si=lUJtjZ20ICskd3p8

Because Offred has no other choice but to be a handmaid but her willingness to adapt and survive is what is making her pull through like the song, “I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose Fire away, fire away

You shoot me down, but I won’t fall I am titanium” I referred to this part of this song because in the book she continues to rise against the odds rather than doing as she is told. Rather than acting rebellious like the other character Moira, she showers her spirit in private.

Pink, Just Like Fire-https://youtu.be/5Nrv5teMc9Y?si=73F-TaZrKagcIcPV

Which brings me to my last song, “ Just like fire, burning up the way If I can light the world up for just one day” I like his song when referring to this particular part of the book when she constantly fakes how she feels towards the commander. All while Trying to move in closer and get to know the commander, she’s getting comfortable causing the reader to question if it’s just more than a friendship there or if is it potentially love blossoming that she is afraid to explore or admit.