For my senior capstone project, I painted a mural on the SLA rooftop terrace. I collaborated with various members of the community including students, teachers, Braskem, and Mural Arts. Over this year, I have worked to make something that I would be proud to be a part of, an aspect of that was going on a personal journey. Creating this art was an experience with the community as well as an experience with myself and my artistic talent. I started by creating various sketches of the mural, by hand and also digitally. In my art design, I chose to feature many endangered marine animals, such as the blue whale, green sea turtle, hammerhead shark, and coral. I did not only want to make art that was inspirational, but also important. Once I had my plan for my art, I started to research materials. I collaborated with various artists who advised me on my art and helped me find supplies. I did extensive research on the proper materials for the wall. Once I got my materials, I got my design approved and started painting. As I painted, students were encouraged to help paint. Since the art was for the community, it made sense for the community to be able to come out and work on it. My biggest challenge throughout this process was creating the artwork itself, but I am proud of the work I have done.

Link to Annotated Bibliography

For the art piece of this Lit Log we wanted our drawing to capture the true immaturity of the man. Throughout The Road, the man constantly acts as if he knows everything, as if he is more mature than the boy. However, at multiple points throughout the novel, the man reveals how he is less mature than he makes it out to be for his son. The quotes we chose to add to this art piece are the ones that stuck out the most for this argument. For example: “Then he picked up the phone and dialed the number of his father’s house in that long ago”(17), showing how the man is still dealing with his own adjustment to the apocalypse. Where he pretends he doesn’t let his emotions get to him, in this scene he gives away how hung up on the old world he is. Another quote that aligned with this motif was “[they] looked for the town but they couldn’t find it… They were some fifty miles west of where he’d thought.”(181-182) This is another moment where the man lets his all-knowing behavior slip and he shows the errors he starts to make as he gets sicker, and as their time on the road progresses. In as many instances where the man makes errors, there are many moments where the boy shows maturity and knowledge. For this reason, we made the artistic decision to draw the boy larger than the man, to show how he overcame his father. Towards the end of The Road, the boy develops into a grown character with many ideas and contributions to their journey, which is expressed through this artwork.

Throughout The Handmaid’s Tale, many details of the society of Gilead are revealed slowly throughout the book. Chapter 37 reveals important details about the Commanders and their ‘club’.

As Offred first arrives at the hotel, it looks familiar to her. She thinks to herself “I know where I am. I’ve been here before: with Luke, in the afternoons, a long time ago. (234)” When looking back to page 172, where Offred discusses the nature of her relationship with Luke, she mentions: “So the hotels, with Luke, didn’t mean only love or even sex to me.” This is relevant because it shows how this was the same hotel where she had her affair with Luke, and is now where the Commanders have their affairs. The hotel is a symbol for these relationships, as it has continuously been a place for them.

As I continued my close reading, I noticed the way the colors of clothing in the club were slightly different from the way they are portrayed in the society. Offred observes, “There are men with them, a lot of men, but in their dark uniforms or suits, so similar to one another, they form only a kind of background. The women on the other hand are tropical… (234-235)” Throughout Gilead, the women are assigned many different colors, while the men stick to black and dark green. While this wasn’t as clear to me before, this quote made me realize how colorful they made the women. The women stick out the most, while the men get to hide in their muted colors. In Gilead, women stick out to keep them in line, but in the club they stick out like shiny objects.

Another theme that was constantly brought up throughout this chapter was the mention of shoes. Shoes are a symbol for character, societal place, power or servitude. When the Commander brings Offred to sit down he says “I thought your feet might be getting tired, in those shoes. (236)” Reading this quote reminded me of how, in the previous chapter, when Offred had to lie by the Commander’s feet, she noticed his shoes. “My forehead is against his shoes. I have never been this close to his shoes before. They feel hard, unwinking, like the shells of beetles: black, polished, inscrutable. They seem to have nothing to do with feet. (233)” The Commander’s shoes are a symbol of his character: refined, unreadable. His shoes are an image of himself and his role of power. Offred’s shoes reflect similarly. When she gets her shoes from the Commander, she describes: “There are shoes too, mauve ones with absurdly high heels. Nothing quite fits; the shoes are a little too big… (231)” Offred’s shoes represent how she doesn’t exactly fit her role in society and how out of place she feels.

One of the lines that stuck with me most was during Offred’s conversation with the Commander about the club. When Offred asks why it wasn’t forbidden, he says “Well, officially… But everyone’s human, after all. (237)” This line, as well as the whole chapter, reveal how performative the acts of Gilead truly are. While the women have an abundance of rules, the men get to do whatever they want. The Commander says ‘everyone’s human’ but he is only talking about the men and their needs.

This idea is further developed throughout the chapter under the idea of ‘Nature’, which the Commander has brought up multiple times. The first mention is during a conversation with Offred: “This way they’re [women] protected, they can fulfill their biological destinies in peace… Those years were just an anomaly, historically speaking, the Commander said. Just a fluke. All we’ve done is return things to Nature’s form. (220)” The Commander uses Nature to justify women’s role for childbirth and men’s needs for sex. At the club, in another conversation with Offred, he brings up the idea again, “‘It means you can’t cheat Nature,’ he says. ‘Nature demands variety, for men. It stands to reason, it’s part of the procreational strategy. It’s Nature’s plan.’… ‘Women know that instinctively. Why did they buy so many different clothes, in the old days? To trick men into thinking they were several different women. A new one each day.’ (237)” The Commander acknowledges that men are the problem, but blames women and nature for it. He uses this idea to justify the needs of men and the reasoning for the societal rules for women.

A playlist for The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood would convey the main themes of womanhood, sadness and hope, similar to the themes in the novel. For this playlist, I selected five songs:

Cloudbusting by Kate Bush, Bigger Than the Whole Sky by Taylor Swift, Back to the Old House by The Smiths, The Man by Taylor Swift, and What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish

Cloudbusting is not a song I would connect to The Handmaid’s Tale for its lyrics, but more so the feeling of the song. Bush says “​​But every time it rains / You’re here in my head / Like the sun coming out”. This song demonstrates the idea of hope. Throughout chapter 18, Offred describes the different ways she imagines what could have happened to Luke. After she plays out these imaginations, she imagines the message Luke would send to her: “I must have patience: sooner or later he will get me out, we will find her, wherever they’ve put her. She’ll remember us and we will be all three of us together. (106)” Offred tells herself these stories to give herself hope and to keep her going. Cloudbusting demonstrates this beautifully, which is why it would be a powerful addition to the playlist.

Bigger Than the Whole Sky is well fitting for Offred and her daughter. As Offred continues to tell her story of life in the ‘before times’, she briefly mentions the daughter she once had, who was taken from her when she got placed into the current system. Bigger Than the Whole Sky is about losing someone who meant more than the whole world. The chorus reads “You were more than just a short time / And I’ve got a lot to pine about / I’ve got a lot to live without” This is Offred’s general feeling about her daughter: she has lots of spare time, lots to spend wondering about what she has lost. “Did some force take you because I didn’t pray?… / So I’ll say words I don’t believe” is one lyric that is directly linked to Offred, as well as the society she is living in. Gilead is centered around religion. If Offred had been more involved in religion, maybe she would still be with her daughter. The second part of the lyric describes Offred’s imagination: “The things I believe can’t all be true, though one of them must be… This contradictory way of believing seems to me, right now, the only way I can believe anything. (106)” She reassures that Luke and her daughter are safe and okay.

Back to the Old House is a song that I would imagine Offred playing in her head while she lays in her bedroom. Back to the Old House is a song about missing what you once had and not appreciating it as it was. I relate this to Offred and the way she reflects on her previous time with Luke and their family. One lyric from the song is: “Are you still there or have you moved away? / I would love to go / Back to the old house” The artist is wondering where their lover is, and hoping to go back, similar to Offred. This song encapsulates Offred lying in bed looking up at the wreath or looking out her window. “I fold back the sheet, get carefully up, on silent bare feet, in my nightgown, go to the window, like a child, I want to see. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow.(97)” This song plays in the back of my mind during this scene, or even an instrumental version of it, either well fitting the tone of the scene.

The Man connects to the culture of Gilead. The Man is about how much more Taylor Swift could achieve if she had been a man. Men are indifferent to the women in Gilead. When Offred tells the Commander that she doesn’t want him to make anything obvious to Serena, he doesn’t even realize he had. “Did I?” he says. He is paying very little attention to his actions and he doesn’t realize how much is at risk for Offred; if they were caught he would get no blame and she would be an Unwomen. After the conversation with the Commander, Offred thinks “You can see from the way I was speaking to him we were already on different terms. (162)” The Man perfectly portrays how Offred felt in this moment, knowing that they are in two different situations and the Commander has less, if not nothing, to lose.

What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish outlines the feelings of many of the women in Gilead. What Was I Made For? is about identity and place in the world. In the household each woman has their own role and limits. The system for women causes unhappiness for all of them. Serena envies Offred for her fertility, her reminder of what she can’t provide for her family. Offred envies Serena for her freedom, on page 69 she writes “If only I could embroider. Weave, knit, something to do with my hands.” Offred gets the honor of giving birth to a child, but the Marthas get the joy of raising it, even though it is Serena’s kid. The song perfectly connects to the emotion and longing of the many women throughout the novel.

Link to YouTube Song: [https://youtu.be/WataeV4WsI4?si=SI4gY2vvNcgwtei]

https://www.wevideo.com/view/2604940802

Mi familia tener cinco personas. Yo tengo una hermana, Matilda. Además, yo tengo una tía pero muchas parientes lejanos. En mi casa viven mi hermana, mamá, papá, y perro.

Mi hermana se llama Matilda. Tiene el pelo ondulado y oscuro. Tiene el pelo corto. Ella tiene ojos marrones. Ella es baja. Ella es desordenada y vaga. Ella no es ni estudiosa ni trabajadora.

Mi mamá se llama Sunanda. Tiene el pelo largo y oscuro. Tiene el pelo liso. Ella tiene ojos marrones. Ella es baja. Ella es trabajadora y sincera. Ella no es ni desordenada ni vaga.

Mi nombre es Anouk. Yo tengo el pelo ondulado y oscuro. Tengo el pelo medio. Yo tengo los ojos marrones. Yo soy baja y guapa. Yo soy responsable y simpática. Yo no soy ni antipática ni timida.

Mi hermana y yo somos ambas sinceras. Y las dos no somos mentirosas. Mi hermana no es estudiosa pero yo soy estudiosa. Yo soy responsable. Matilda es desordenada.