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https://docs.google.com/document/d/13hiy-VlgHfjQeOv4rrs7omdihd_sCficmtTmhNiW9_Y/edit?usp=sharing

On her way to Offwarren’s birth, Offred is speculating about the conversations that happen between the commander’s wives when the handmaids leave the room. She imagines how they praise and patronize Offwarren when she’s present, feeding her treats and complimenting her physique, but as soon as she is dismissed, their demeanor switches. They call all handmaids whores, and complain about how dirty and disobedient they are. “You take what they hand out, right girls?,” Offred imagines her commander’s wife saying. She imagines Offwarren as well, up in her room; “what does she do? Sits with the taste of sugar still in her mouth, licking her lips. Stares out the window. […] Thinks of nothing.” Offred can play out this whole series of events in great detail, even noting who says what, but this conversation would happen at Offwarren’s house, when no handmaids are present, so how would she have actual proof that a conversation like this would happen? I think this is an example of Offred being a narrator that we should question, and I think this was the author’s intention when Offwarren reassured the reader that she “knows the sort of thing that goes on,” with no further explanation of how she knows.

As she said on page 47, “In this house, we all envy each other.” It seems to me that these personalities and conversations that she makes up for the Commander’s Wives and for Offwarren are a manifestation of her own jealousy. The Commander’s Wives have the freedom to do something she is deprived of; gossip. Perhaps imagining the Commander’s Wives as two faced makes her feel better or righteous about her own isolation. And to imagine Offwarren as absent-minded and complacent, like she’s just a vessel (the “perfect” handmaiden) yet still seen as “less-than” by the Commander’s Wives makes Offred feel less bothered by Serena Joy’s dislike of her.

This scene resonates with me because it highlights how people often fill gaps in knowledge with their own fears and desires. Offred’s narrative is not just a recounting of events, but a window into her mental landscape. Just as Offred imagines the wives’ duplicity and Offwarren’s emptiness, I have found myself imagining the motivations and feelings of others in moments of uncertainty, sometimes projecting my own emotions onto them to make sense of my experience. In this way, Offred’s narration reminds us that stories are not always objective truths, but are often influenced by the narrator’s perspective and emotions.

The word consent has two different types of meaning in my opinion. The first one being willing consent, this consent is more about “yes I want to do this” opposed to pressured consent where you said yes but you really don’t want to.

Offred feels the pressure to complete “her duty” even if it’s something she doesn’t want to do. Very clearly she doesn’t want to do this intimidate act with the commander but she agrees because she feels she has to. In modern times I see pressured consent around parties/rivs, drinking and smoking, we know this as peer pressure. 

“This was supposed to signify that we are one in flesh, one being. What it really means is that she is in control, of the process and thus the product.” (94)

[ This was supposed to signify that I was cool, an outgoing person. What it really means is that I need to been seen as cool, not only to myself, but also my peers.]

Offred’s hope for this to mean something different than it is, shows loss of control and meaning in what she’s pressured to do. I feel this when I go to the riv. I want to feel as cool as the people around me, it supposed to be a turning point in my character where I could be seen as enthusiastic and confident, but in reality I felt out of place and left behind. I see this a lot in kids I talk to about these parties, they say it’s not really fun but there go because all the “cool” people go and have fun, so why shouldn’t they?

”Maybe I’m crazy and this is some new kind of therapy. I wish it were true; then I could get better and this would go away.” (94) [ Maybe I’m boring and this is some new way to unlock something in me. I wish it was true; then I could actually have fun and enjoy my time.]

Offred’s coping mechanism is normalizing what’s happening to her even though it’s not normal nor morally right. My sophomore year I was asked every time if I was going to the riv and I had to say no, every single time. I had a really bad case of fomo (Fear of Missing Out). So come my junior when my parents let me go, I was ecstatic, imagining all the people I would talk to and all the features I would get on people’s story. When I got there I found myself standing in a corner to myself overwhelmed with the situation. I wasn’t feeling ecstatic liked I hoped, people weren’t taking pictures with me liked I hoped. So I convinced myself that this was an normal experience and that I would warm up to this feeling and I’m just acting crazy. I kept going to rivs praying with each one it would change so that I could actually enjoy my time.

”Kissing is forbidden between us. This makes it bearable.” (95) [ Atleast not everyone is crazy drunk or high. This make it bearable.]

Offred very clear is not enjoying this experience so she notes things to herself to make it seem like it could be worse than it actually is, in order to make herself more comfortable. I walked around these rivs looking for someone who wasn’t black out drunk to hangout with and I found maybe two people max, but even them couldn’t stick around, they had something else to accomplish. But atleast 15 minutes of this night was comfortable. I realized that the point of rivs wasn’t for talking and hangout with some alcohol, it was about getting drunk as fast as possible and finding a person to flirt with.

”There is a loathing in her voice, as if the touch of my flesh sickens and contaminates her.” (95) [ There is an inarticulate tone in her voice, as if the feeling of alcohol consumes and overpowers her.]

Offred feels a sense of disgust from the commander’s wife but it stems from her own insecurity of the intimate act she just did. My friend came up to me, she was slurring her speech and speaking in a really high pitched voice, laughing at everything a boy said. This is a side I never saw of her, it wasn’t who she was. She was independent and a man hater but something about this party culture and alcohol switch something off in her. I thought, how embarrassing and pathetic it seemed. As the night moved on I found myself doing that exact same thing and suddenly here I was feeling embarrassed and pathetic.

Through examining Offred’s experience in The Handmaid’s Tale alongside the pressures of modern party culture, it becomes clear that consent exists on a spectrum far more complex than a simple yes or no. Both Offred and countless young people today find themselves saying “yes” to situations they fundamentally don’t want to participate in, driven by social expectations, fear of exclusion, or the desperate hope that compliance will eventually lead to genuine enjoyment or acceptance. The parallel between Offred’s rationalization of her traumatic experiences and the way I convince myself that uncomfortable party situations are “normal” reveals how pressured consent operates across different contexts and time periods. The underlying dynamic remains the same: when choice is constrained by social pressure, fear, or the desire for belonging, true consent becomes impossible. Understanding this distinction between willing and pressured consent is crucial for recognizing these patterns in our own lives and creating spaces where genuine choice can exist.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x37jcfJV0lQGBQnWsIk0gTIUZB2d2CpQy1xohPSnVYk/edit?usp=sharing

While reading “The Handmaid’s Tale” By Margaret Atwood I was able to pinpoint my own emotions that aligned with the protagonist Offred throughout the pages 50, 51, and 52. This small section includes Offred’s space and the thoughts that live there alongside her. She speaks about taking the time and appreciating her room. She is left with a lot of responsibility but even more time. So when she can finally call her room, hers she takes the chance to analyze each corner, and crack in the wall. “There has to be some space, finally, that I claim as mine, even in this time” (50). Offred has finally accepted her room as hers, not just a room. I feel myself through this moment as I am very particular about my space. My room represents me in every which way, and I wouldn’t be able to call in mine unless I truly felt I belonged. I moved from my childhood room to my older brother’s when he went to college. I had a new space and wasn’t sure how to fill it in a way that would make it feel like mine. Over the years I have hung new items from the walls, ceilings, bookshelves, etc. I live under a canopy of pictures, paintings, postcards, and polaroid pictures. All of which make my space, mine. Offred speaks about hotel rooms, the freedom and experience that comes with them and how she regrets not being able to appreciate those moments now. “How I wasted them, those rooms, that freedom from being seen.” (50). There are many moments in my life I look back on and know I will never get to experience again. Like the freedom of being a child, only worrying about my next playdate and what my dad packed in my lunch. I crave the lack of responsibility I had and there are times I wish I could go back to experience that freedom all over again with more appreciation. This feeling is frustrating and when it comes along there isn’t much to do. Offred’s life was taken from her so suddenly, all of her norms disappeared and the freedom she had was ripped from her. Looking back on all she had, she wishes she could go back just to experience it again, with much more gratitude. It’s hard to really acknowledge that the moments we live through are crucial until we eventually know we will never be able to live those memories again. Nostalgia is a very powerful feeling, it’s connected to what we once knew and comes suddenly creating an overwhelming sense of happiness, sadness, grief, and appreciation. It’s something you can find while sitting on the train not giving your mind any boundaries to reminisce, or through smelling the perfume of your preschool teacher on a stranger, or through finding a song you played on repeat during a rough time in your life while your playlist is on shuffle. Offred is left with heaps of time with only memories to keep her entertained, she describes the feeling of nostalgia when thinking about her husband Luke. “I have them, these attacks of the past, like faintness, a wave sweeping over my head” (52). This is what nostalgia feels like to me. Missing something I once had, reminiscing, remembering. The physical emotion makes you want to put a hand over your chest and rest your eyes, feel the moment all over again. While exploring the closet in her small room, Offred finds a message engraved into the hardwood floor. It reads in a language she doesn’t understand, but the pure fact it was there in the first place sent hope coursing through her. “It was intended for whoever came next” (52). Offred believes that this very note was a sign, had a purpose, and was meant to be seen by someone like her. This little bit of hope helps her stay positive. Similarly, I look for things that are small specs of hope in my life. Little signs from the universe. Most likely they are coincidences, chance, or won’t affect me at all. But locking eyes with my lucky number gives me a small pang of comfort. Sometimes it’s nice to take things as a sign, see a message and make it for you. Apply it to your life and give yourself an inside joke.
` There are many ways I could connect to this book, but through this section, going through her thought process I could see myself in the pages. I think in a very similar way and I feel even in this small section where the reader walks through not only Offred’s space but also her mind makes it easy to connect with this part of the character.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SpnItcEEcYvHjFx9XhOjTe9AL4AW-ZO3eWJpO30nvXI/edit?tab=t.0

            Consent in a world of control and power:

College English

Ms. Pahomov

Rayhane Boukhalfa

September 29th 2025

One of the most striking aspects of The Handmaid’s Tale is Offred’s longing for affection in a world that denies her even the smallest forms of intimacy. What resonated with me deeply is that her desire for affection and touch isn’t necessarily related to romance and passion, but about human connection. As she reflects, “I hunger to touch something, other than cloth or wood. I hunger to commit the act of touch,” p(11). Living under Gilead’s society, she is reduced to her role, which strips away her individuality, her freedom, and her need to be loved, touched, or seen as a person.

This longing that she tried to hold under control started before she even realised it, then she found herself wanting it from whoever could give it to her, and it is clear in her relationship with the commander. When he invites her into his study, it feels like a break from the strict roles they are forced to perform. Offred convices herself that “I’ve crossed no boundaries, I’ve given no trust, taken no risk, all is safe.” p(61), as if she is protecting herself from the reality of what is happening. And maybe that relaxed atmosphere was what led him to ask for a kiss and what led her to say yes, or was it fear for her, fear of something bad happening to her, and what she accomplished, or what could be accomplished in a system as wrecked as this one for women. But this kiss is as complicated as it can be; she yearns for the kind of intimacy, affection, and tenderness that a kiss could represent. The kiss is framed as a request as a choice, but in reality, the commander’s power makes it impossible for her to say no, makes it impossible to see his motives. As Offred says: “I could get the sharp lever out and hide it in my sleeve, and smuggle it into the commander’s study, the next time, because after a request like that there’s always a next time whether you say yes or no.” p(139). Even moments of supposed choice are undercut by the certainty that refusal is never truly an option.

This scene shows how Scrabble, a memory of the past, made things go differently, made the commander want things he didn’t want before, or didn’t show his desire for. This scrabble scene and the scene from the ceremony show two sides of the same relationship, two sides of the same feelings and thoughts. It shows how both scenes have an allusion of consent in different levels, in the ceremony she had no choice but was given one, in the office she was given a request but didn’t have a choice, but the difference was also in her wanting the attention and touch from someone anybody, and it may just have been convenient for her in the threshold of that office, when in some way she wasn’t forced, and that made her feel like she’s making her own decissions, and she’s in control in some way. During the ceremony, Offred tells herself, “Nothing is going on here that I haven’t signed up for. There wasn’t a lot of choice but there was some, and this is what I chose.” p(94). She tries to see her compliance as a choice, but in truth, she had no real freedom, but an illusion of it. She also tries to remind herself, “This is serious business. The commander, too is doing his duty.” p(95).

This shows more and more how complex consent can be; it’s a reminder of real life, when you go along with something because it seems easier than saying no, even if you have to make it an obligation, even if it affects you. Offred’s experience magnifies that feeling by showing what it looks like in a worst society, a society where women’s autonomy has been completely erased. As Aunt Lydia preached, “There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.” p(24). This so-called “freedom from” is really just a mask for control, one that erases women’s ability to protect themselves, their bodies, and their minds,

Her yearning for love and affection, and the past, show how her mental health was affected and shaped. On one hand, she feels drawn to the commander or the idea of what he could give her that she yearns for; on the other hand, she doesn’t want him, but wants someone else.. In the end, I see that consent can shape who you are and how you feel, it can shape your mental health, and it can reflect on how fragile it can be when power imbalances are present, so that you can’t even protect yourself and your mental state by setting boundaries for what you can handle and what you can’t.

Nell Hornsby
Ms. Pahomov
College English
September 26, 2025

In my artwork, I portray the tourism scene from Chapter 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale. I chose this scene from the book because it stuck out to me as one really formative moment in the reader’s understanding of the story. This scene is one of the few times we see people within Gilead interacting with people outside, and it gives us more context on this society and its relation to our world. It’s also a self-reflective moment for Offred as she realizes how much she’s changed while being here. I remember feeling engaged in the class discussion and excited to dig deeper into my interpretation of this moment, which is why I chose it for my first Lit Log.

One of the first elements I knew I wanted to include in my artwork was the portrayal of the Handmaids as animals in a cage. During our discussion on chapters 5-7, it was mentioned that there was “a curiosity, like a zoo” between the narrator and the tourists. I really clung to this idea as I was drafting out this project because I thought there were some really interesting elements to it. First, I think the society of Gilead makes it easy to compare the Handmaids to animals in a zoo. They have little to no choice, but are fed and exercised, and, in this scene, are on display for the tourists, similar to zoo animals. Second, there is a really big theme around the “protection” of the Handmaid’s body. The Aunts tell the Handmaids early on that, “What you must be, girls, is impenetrable.” (28). They wear large cloaks and wings covering their faces to restrict the contact they can have with other people. The idea of the Handmaids being caged in these ways can deepen the simile of zoo-like curiosity in this scene.

There was a lot of thought that went into choosing which animal I wanted the Handmaids to be in my drawing. In the end, I chose to portray them as parrots because while parrots have the ability to talk, they can only repeat things that they hear. This was inspired by the end of Chapter 5, when the tourists ask Offred and her walking partner if they are happy. Offred knows she has to respond because saying nothing is dangerous, but there seems to be only a few acceptable things that she can say. She is equally as scared to say the wrong thing as she is to say nothing at all. Her response is “Yes, we are very happy,” and the chapter ends with the line, “I have to say something. What else can I say?” (29). Both Offred and the parrots have a limited vocabulary that is influenced by what their higher-ups tell them.

There are some other smaller elements to my artwork, like the “revealing” clothing the tourists wear, the shiny hair that the narrator describes, the camera, and–even though it’s not directly in this scene–I added a Martha cleaning the Handmaid’s cage to represent their dynamic throughout the book. The final thing I wanted to emphasize in my reflection, though, was the eye. The idea of the Eye comes up many times throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, but it has an important role in the tourism scene when Offred thinks, “I know better than to look the interpreter in the face. Most of the interpreters are Eyes, or so it’s said.” (28). This serves as a reminder to both the narrator and the reader that in Gilead, they are always being watched. Every word has to be calculated, and a wrong move can be dangerous. By putting a big focus on the eye, I want to remind the viewer of the pressure of this situation.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fmJXuu8rD6Dqs-dnxEx934uersouhuUE6MhYTKTKRD8/edit?usp=sharing

Lit Log #1 - Close Reading - Confiscated Identity

I.

In chapter 6, on page 32 of The Handmaid’s Tale, the narrator, Offred, describes a scene where there are six corpses being displayed on “the Wall”. It’s quite unsettling how casually she speaks of their deaths and the way in which she describes the corpses, especially their heads. Offred could even be considered unfazed by a sight which would leave the average person fearful, shocked, and appalled. Her thoughts immediately travel beyond the expected fearfulness to analyze the purpose of these corpses and their presentations.

“Though if you look and look, as we are doing, you can see the outlines of the features under the white cloth, like gray shadows” (32).

Her lack of reaction makes the scene more scary than if she had screamed and ran because it shows the reader that this is a normal occurrence in Gilead.

II.

Not only are Offred’s feelings toward the scene strange, but her descriptions of it even more so. It was interesting that she describes the obfuscation of the corpses’ faces in multiple different ways, as if to place emphasis on their anonymity.

She describes them as “dolls on which the faces have not yet been painted”, “as if their heads are sacks, stuffed with some undifferentiated material, like flour or dough”, “the heads are zeros”, “are the heads of snowmen…The heads are melting” (32).

Through these descriptors, Offred repeatedly highlights the unimportance of these heads and the people they belong to. Dolls, which are left to the control of others; flour and dough, powdery and easily spilled; zeros, nothingness and lack of value; and snowmen, temporary.

III.

A similar scene is presented at the start of chapter 8, on page 43: “There are three new bodies on the Wall. One is a priest, still wearing the black cassock…The two others have purple placards hung around their necks: Gender Treachery. Their bodies still wear the Guardian uniforms” (43).

Through these two scenes, it’s clear that the government uses this wall as a way to set an example for anyone who may harbor any ideas that don’t go along with Gilead’s expectations. Offred herself admits that “they [the bodies] are meant to scare” (32). It’s important that Offred also notes the outfits worn by each of the corpses. The six corpses on page 32 wear white coats, each with “a placard hung around his neck to show why he has been executed: a drawing of a human fetus” (32). The three mentioned on page 43 wear a black cassock and Guardian uniforms. This shows that the bodies are stripped of their identities and reduced only to their societal role. It shows that Gilead as a whole does not value anyone, even those that might have been considered on their own side. The doctors, because they had performed abortions in the past and therefore did not fit the ideals of the regime. The priests, who, though are Christian, still are not spared. The Guardians, an important role in the enforcement of Gilead’s policies, executed for being gay.

These two scenes together symbolise the fear that everyone in Gilead lives under, whether that be Handmaids, Guardians, or even Commanders. It’s an attempt to make everyone afraid because anyone, regardless of position, can and will be subjected to the ire of the government.

“They have committed atrocities and must be made into examples, for the rest” (33).

IV.

The entirety of The Handmaid’s Tale is from the first-person perspective of Offred, and her nonchalance in this scene on page 32 shows just how quickly someone’s thinking can be altered. It’s clear throughout the story that Gilead is a fairly new government. Offred remembers various scenes from both her childhood and adulthood that occurred before the establishment of Gilead. That means comparatively, Gilead is only a small fraction of the life she has led thus far. Yet the perspective of the story allows us to see that even though Offred tries to keep her mind separate from her physical situation, Gilead’s ideology has managed to seep into her thoughts. She’s been robbed of the way she thinks.

When she suspects the Handmaid alongside her in this scene to be crying at the sight of the six corpses, she thinks, “In what way could it make her look good? I can’t afford to know” (33). Whereas we might find it normal or even expected that someone would cry or otherwise show distress at such a public display of violence, Offred’s first thought is that the other Handmaid’s tears are an act. To her, there’s no way that the other Handmaid could just genuinely feel sad over these deaths; she must have an ulterior motive. This is a result of Gilead influencing her thoughts. Even though Gilead has not existed for long, it has already drastically altered her way of life and penetrated the privacy of her own mind, which is perhaps more frightening than the actual policies they put in place because you might not even realize when you become one of them.

“This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary” (33).

V.

Throughout the text, there is a theme of the loss of identity. Identity is obviously an integral part of the human experience, and Offred is consistently denied an identity. All the Handmaids are. They are not allowed to keep the names that make them unique, but are instead subject to Gilead’s naming conventions. This motif is also present in the aforementioned scenes. All the corpses on the walls have obscured faces and therefore are deprived of their identities. This move is probably so that passerby can be sufficiently cowed by the scene while feeling minimal pity or attachment to the corpses that could lead to resentment of the government.

It’s much harder to establish a resistance if no one knows who anyone is.

The Envious Market: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vgz4i1LCgOEOcWLxGvYz3revpn2dUVCdCqhvcvRHNQU/edit?tab=t.0

This is a sample Lit Log post!

This is a sample post for your Handmaid’s Tale Lit Log. Copy and paste the text into the editor to share your work!

Welcome Back to School!

To kick off the 2025-2026 school year, we’re beginning with modified schedule days on Monday and Tuesday. We will start following our usual schedule on Wednesday, but with an additional Advisory session after classes.

MONDAY, 8/25 – Have a wonderful first day!

08:15-10:20 Advisory

10:25-11:15 A1 Band

11:20-12:10 X1 Band (first lunch)

12:10-01:00 Y1 Band (second lunch)

01:05-01:55 B1 Band

02:00-02:50 C1 Band

02:55-03:45 D1 Band

TUESDAY, 8/26

08:15-08:45 Advisory

08:50-09:40 E1 Band

09:45-10:45 A2 Band

10:50-11:50 Y2 Band

11:55-12:55 X2 Band

01:00-02:00 B2 Band

02:05-03:05 C2 Band

WEDNESDAY, 8/27

08:15-09:20 D2 Band

09:25-10:30 E2 Band

10:35-11:40 A1 Band

11:45-12:50 B1 Band

12:50-01:25 Lunch

01:30-03:00 Advisory (12th in auditorium)

The traditional SLA schedule (linked below) resumes on Thursday, 8/28.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MRks1HBB2_-X9QcBWCQreroVYcnXShal/view?usp=sharing

Hey guys!!!!! Ready to get artistic!!!! Like and reply if you’re excited for advanced art with my homies!!!!!

Hey guys!!! So excited to have algebra with my algebros!!!!!! Reply if this made you cry, it made me!!!

Agreeing with joseph here!! see you all there on the 25th!!! 😉

Hey guys!!!!! So exited for our first day of school!!!!!!

POV: me and ale after seeing our super duper cool class!!!

Watch the Class of 2025 Graduation, June 12th, 2025 at 5:00 pm! Enjoy the stream run by the SLA Digital Video Program! Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/1eMMlYLCKIA

For my Capstone Project, I designed a 6 week mini course focused on outdoor education. The goal was to help students at SLA Center City gain better access to green spaces in Philadelphia and provide them with tools and resources to explore the natural environment surrounding them more often. I wanted to give SLA students better opportunities to learn more about the environment around them and understand the benefits of spending time outdoors — especially for their mental and physical health. I learned so much from doing this project, it not only inspired me to become more active in getting city kids access to the outdoors, it sparked my interest in a potential career in teaching. I hope this Mini Course can continue on in future years of SLA because getting these students outside of the classroom is so beneficial.

I chose this project because I’ve always been passionate about outdoor education. For two years, I interned with the outdoor education program at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, which deepened my commitment to helping young people connect with nature. Going to school in the middle of Philadelphia, I’ve seen how difficult it can be for students to access green spaces, yet spending time in nature has clear benefits for both mental and physical health. With this project, I wanted to give SLA students the opportunity to explore and learn more about the natural environment around them—no matter where they live in the city.

At first, the idea of planning multiple two-hour lessons for a class of freshmen felt overwhelming, but the experience went by much faster than I expected. A key part of the process was implementing the lesson plans I created each week. I prepared weekly slideshows that outlined the topic, provided a clear structure for the session, and included lots of activities to keep students engaged.