Said v Says ""

Out of all the techniques Margaret Atwood used in The Handmaid’s Tale, the one that stuck out the most to me was how and when she uses quotation marks. Before reading it is necessary to understand that some parts are told from the main character’s , Offred, memory which she also established she could be making the stories up as she tells them. Other parts are told from Offred’s live point of view.. A technique that Atwoord used to distinguish when the story was being told in present or past tense was through quotation marks. Chapter 7 starts off with, “The night is mine, my own time, to do with as I will, as long as I am quiet. As long as I don’t move. As long as I lie still… But the night is my time out. Where should I go? Somewhere good.” (pg. 37) Then Offred starts telling a memory of her and Moira during a time they went to the same school. “You’re getting ashes in my bed, I said. If you’d make it you wouldn’t have this problem, said Moira.” (pg. 37) This memory is told in past tense however it was noted that even when characters said something there were no quotation marks around what they said. This is significant because scenes like this Atwood wants the reader to create an image in their heads contrary to the significance of scenes told in present tense. On page 137 it says, “The Commander is standing in front of the fireless fireplace, back to it, one elbow on the carved wooden overmantel, other hand in pocket.” Offred is telling this story in present tense. When Offred tells a story in present tense she will go into explicit detail about it. The quote from page 137 she makes note of the “fireless fireplace” and how the Commander was standing. The purpose of this is to get the reader engaged, create an image, and also feel what Offred may be feeling in that exact moment. This technique allows the reader to better understand Offred. In the artwork I created I tried to showcase the two different parts. On the top half is Offred going to bed however before she actually goes to sleep she basically scrolls through her memories. I drew her laying in bed with clouds above her head to represent her telling her memories. I chose to add the quote, “Where should I go?” because it is significant to understanding that the next events Offred tells are her memories. She will start telling a good memory she had and then switch to another and another one. The bottom half of the artwork is when Offred was called by the Commander to his office. I specifically chose to not include Offred in this part because when this event occurred Offred told it in present tense from her perspective. I tried to draw this scene as if we were Offred, standing in the room, and seeing it through her eyes.