Memories & Power

Survivor - 2WEI

Throughout the novel we see that Offred is a survivor, enduring the worst of situations and yet she never gives up. In the song “Survivor,” by 2WEI, they sing, “I’m a survivor. I’m not gon’ give up. I’m not gon’ stop. I’m gon’ work harder.” Similarly, in the book, we constantly see Offred continue to persevere through the world of Giliad no matter how bad the situation gets. Earlier on in the book, Offred is moved from the red center to the commander’s house. She is immediately met with Serena Joy who takes a quick dislike to her and wastes no time in showing Offred that she has power over her. The commander’s wife is not the only challenge that Offred now faces but she is also forced to be a handmaid. Whether she wants to or not, Offred is forced to have sex with the commander and ultimately bear his child, yet she perseveres. Later on in the book, the commander takes Offred to the club and at the end of the night expects her to have sex with him. When faced with this situation she thinks to herself, “let’s get this over with or you’ll be here all night. Bestir yourself. Move your flesh around., breathe audibly.” (255) It is evident from her thoughts that Offred has to talk herself into having sex with the commander because she clearly doesn’t want to. Offred has thought many times about giving up, killing herself, and never having to deal with this world again, but it is hope that motivates her to persevere. “Hope is rising in me, like sap in a tree. Blood in a wound. We have made an opening. I want to ask her if she’s seen Moira, if anyone can find out what’s happened to Luke, to my child, my mother even.” (169) Hope that she will one day be reunited with her family, that is what keeps her going. That is what makes her a survivor. One that will never give up.

Never Forget You - Zara Larsson

In the chorus of the song “Never Forget You,” by Zara Larsson, she sings, “I will never forget you. You will always be by my side. Since the day that I met you, I knew that I would love you ‘til the day I die.” This set of lyrics is portrayed perfectly by the way that Offred always remembers her family. Whether it is in her dreams, in a picture, or simply in her own thoughts she is constantly reminding herself of the ones she loves. The reader can see clear evidence of this after Moira escapes from the gymnasium. Not knowing whether Moira was alive or not or if she would ever see Moira again, Offred constantly thought about how Moira would react or respond to certain situations she found herself in. “Don’t think that way, Moira would say.” (85) “Moira was always more logical than I am.” (171) “Chickenshit, Moira would say.” (232) No matter what the circumstance was, if Offred was unsure or worried, she would almost always think about what Moira would encourage her to do. This demonstrates Offred’s true love for Moira and how Moira will always be by Offred’s side, even if she’s not physically there.

Dancing With Your Ghost - Sasha Alex Sloan

The song, “Dancing With Your Ghost,” describes the way Sloan dreams of being with someone she lost, singing, “every night I’m dancing with your ghost. I stay up all night tell myself I’m all right.” Similarly, in the book, Offred spends every night dreaming of being back with Luke or her daughter. In chapter 18, labeled ‘Night,’ Offred dreams of being with Luke saying, “Laying in bed, with Luke, his hand on my rounded belly.” (103) In the following chapter, Offred describes another dream saying, “I pick her up and feel arms and legs go around me and I begin to cry, because I know I am not awake.” (109) In each of these separate instances, Offred dreams of being with the family she has lost. While Sloan sings about dancing with the ghost of her lost loved one, Offred dreams of doing the most simple things like laying in bed with her husband and giving her daughter a hug. She has been denied physical touch for so long that these interactions are all she wishes to get from the family she’s lost.

In the song, Sloan goes on to sing, “I gotta move on but it hurts to try,” corresponding perfectly to Offred holding on to the past. She misses the life she had in the time before and wants more than anything to return to the life she had. However, as time goes on she is slowly starting to forget the memories she has from back then, “it’s my fault. I am forgetting too much,” (193) symbolizing that she is getting accustomed to her new life and unintentionally moving on. This brings her a great deal of pain as she values the memories of her family above all else, connecting back to the idea in the lyric that it hurts to move on.

Silence - Marshmello

The song “Silence,” by Maarshmello connects directly to Offred’s relationship with the commander. In the song, Marshmello sings, “I found peace in your violence. Can’t tell me there’s no point in trying.” This is perfectly demonstrated in the book as Offred has found slivers of peace in the commander that in her eyes, make him human. In the book, Offred recalls a documentary about World War 2 and the wife of a Nazi prison guard. She recalls the wife saying, “She did not believe he was a monster, he was not a monster to her. Probably he had some endearing trait.” (145) Offred goes on to say, “How easy it is to invent a humanity, for anyone at all. What an available temptation,” (146) acknowledging her own desire to find humanity in the commander despite his similarities with the nazi guard. While the guard enforced rules that punished and killed Jewish people, the commander enforces rules that punish and even led to the death of women, making them both monsters. Yet Offred at times, has been able to focus on the endearing trait of the commander, Scrabble, and thus sees him as human. Amongst all the agony and suffering he has caused for people in Giliad, Offred has found peace in his love for Scrabble, just like the lyric in the song.

Power - Kanye West

The song “Power,” by Kanye West contains lines that represent both sides of the social hierarchy in Giliad, perfectly displaying the polar opposite perspectives. Specifically towards the end of the song West says, “where you hiding? I got the power to make your life so exciting,” which is perfectly displayed in chapters 35-39 when the commander takes Offred to the club. Acting as though it is a treat for her and she should be grateful. We see evidence of this when the commander asks Offred, “enjoying yourself?” to which Offred says, “he wants me to. This is a treat after all.” (240) This demonstrates the commander’s self centered perspective as he believes that he is doing Offred a favor by sneaking her into the club when in reality, the only reason he brought her there is to use her for sex without Serena Joy having to be present. Moreover, this isn’t the first time the commander has ‘given’ Offred something only to expect something in return. Earlier in the book, the commander gives Offred hand lotion for her skin which he presents as a gift but in reality, the only reason he gave her the lotion is because he wants her to play Scrabble with him late at night. The commander sees himself as Offred’s savior, helping her by giving her a purpose and luxuries like the club and lotion when in reality, everything he does is only for himself.

Quickly after that initial line, West sings, “now this would be a beautiful death. I’m jumping out the window. I’m letting everything go.” This relates perfectly to the way the women see their lives in the new society. When we are first introduced to the red center, Offred describes all the changes made to the gymnasium, noting the removal of chandeliers and mirrors. She explains the removal of those items when she says, “It isn’t running away they’re afraid of. We wouldn’t get far. It’s those other escapes, the ones you can open in yourself given a cutting edge.” (8) This theme of suicide is brought up again when Moira is captured and was is being returned to the city. Moira said, “I did consider offing myself, and maybe I would have if there’d been anyway.” (248) This actively demonstrates that most of the women see death as a way out, an escape from the prison their lives have become the same way Kanye West said, “now this would be a beautiful death,” in the song. However, these quotes also show the lengths that the people in charge have gone to to ensure that these women don’t get the opportunity to escape. While men think of it as an exciting reward, women find it so horrible that they would almost prefer death.