Lit Log #2 - The city of confliction

This piece of art, titled The City of Confliction is my attempt at a visual representation of a section of the book The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. It features a tall cityscape from the perspective of somebody standing on the ground, looking up. There are red or blue details on the buildings depending on where you look, and in the background flames are rising tall above the buildings, contrasting against an oddly calm, blue sky. The scene from the book I chose to base my artwork off of was the Manhattan cleanup, a riot/protest of sorts, where pro-Gilead radicals took to Times Square, burning, destroying, and denouncing people and things they saw unfit for their ideal society. They burnt clothes and humiliated those responsible for their design and manufacture.

My scene of Times Square isn’t exactly as-seen in the book or TV series, as I chose to take liberties to include details and symbols that elevate this from simply a visual piece, to a proper representation with symbolic meanings all throughout. I stayed on-script with the major details. I kept the buildings that are actually in Times Square, using a reference picture to stay fairly realistic with those depictions. Beyond that, almost every choice has a meaning behind it.

The most obvious symbol included is the red and blue contrasting colours, seen all throughout the scene. The colours both represent one side of the story, red being Gilead and blue being the resistance. (whether Mayday, or just individual acts of resistance. All rebellion is included in it) The colours are mostly split down the middle, with the buildings on the left emitting a red light from their windows showing Gilead occupation, and the right being blue to show the rebels residence. This is also furthered by the signage on the buildings, with the tall pointy building on the right depicting the word “MAYDAY,” which is the name of the major rebel group in The Handmaid’s Tale, and the end of the word “Gilead” (seen as “-EAD”) can be seen on the shorter building on the far left. The tallest building is the one in the middle, which is split half and half between Gilead and the rebels. The billboards that line the building all show half red and half blue. This isn’t just to show their coexistence, but also their constant battle. Both parties are always fighting for control and/or freedom, and the mixed signals on the signage shows this conflict.

On the tallest Gilead occupied building, you can see that it is labeled with “Shein.” During the Manhattan cleanup, the primary item that got burned was clothing. To allude to this, I showed that Gilead occupied the former Shein building, and turned it into one of their own. This isn’t only a surface level reference, but also a way of showing how when Gilead wants something gone or changed, they will use force, violence, and manipulation to get it done. Some of the windows on the Shein building shine blue, despite it being supposed to be owned by Gilead. This is to once again show more rebellion, and to show how even when under Gilead control, rebellion and hope can still exist for all of those who want to break free.

In the background, the flames that burn high are a literal representation of the fires and arson that occurred during the Manhattan cleanup in the book and TV show, but also another representation of Gilead vs rebels. The flames burn high into the sky, taller than any real fire could reach, yet no visual destruction is apparent. No burnt buildings, no smoke. Even the sky is clear. This is indicative of Gilead occupation. They keep a good image, wearing nice clothes and residing in well-made buildings. They are concerned with their public image, keeping many secrets, like the full extent of what happens to handmaids. Yet despite this well kept look, they are a terrible force, causing pain and destruction both emotionally and physically everywhere they control.

The contrasting blue sky is the final important symbol, which holds similar meaning to the billboards earlier. Even in the flames of Gilead’s control, rebellion and resistance will still exist, shining bright above their struggles.

I know I spelled Shien wrong. Too late

Chapter 23 of The Handmaid’s Tale is an interesting scene, with lots of complicated dynamics and emotions at play. There are a lot of things that can be drawn or deduced from this chapter, which is why I chose it to write a reader response to. The first thing that grabbed my attention from this chapter was the complex power dynamic in this story. There are tons of examples of this throughout this book, but almost none are as clearly defined as when Offred herself gives a quote that says that the word of The Commander could be taken above the word of the law. Another thing that I noticed was that this chapter did good at highlighting the extreme manipulation that goes on during this chapter. This obviously was clear throughout the entire book, but there were a few quotes in this chapter that described it very well for analysis.

The complicated hierarchy of this story came into play a lot in this chapter, and that was the main thing that I would say made the events of this chapter especially conflicting for Offred. One example of this is the game of Scrabble that her and The Commander play together. There are multiple rules that would have technically forbade her from participating, like the fact that women are not supposed to read - and this was not only an issue that would have fallen on her, but also The Commander, as he invited and encouraged her to play with him. Offred knew these rules, and she noted when he invited her that she shouldn’t accept, but the reason she decided to anyways was because “to refuse to see him could be worse. There’s no doubt who holds the real power.” Even though there was legislation in place, The Commander’s word is scary enough to Offred to convince her to do as he said. For me, this raises some questions about corruption within this already corrupt system. The commanders, or people with more power than them, could potentially use this power to further their own personal interests, or to help the women in the system. Although I honestly don’t expect any of the commanders or other officials to turn against the government, it would be a very interesting plot twist and is something that this situation makes me think about.

The power dynamic in this book isn’t just complicated in its layers, but it’s also extremely manipulative. This is obvious at almost every point in the book from start to end, but it’s also made clear in this chapter, and there are a few quotes that are especially clear about it. “But if you happen to be a man, sometime in the future, and you’ve made it this far, please remember: you will never be subject to the temptation or feeling you must forgive, a man, as a woman. It’s difficult to resist, believe me. But remember that forgiveness too is a power. To beg for it is a power, and to withhold or bestow it is a power, perhaps the greatest control.” This quote from earlier in the same chapter is a great example of this intense emotional manipulation that the women in the Gilead society face. Offred is reflecting at the start of this chapter before the scene where The Commander asks her to kiss him. She talks about how sometimes, the women in this novel are tempted to feel bad for or forgive the men, as hard as she tries to resist. The use of the line “you will never be subject to the temptation or feeling you must forgive, a man, as a woman,” helps to further her point, making it clear that this is an issue that women specifically face, and one that a man couldn’t comprehend. This is a pressure that her and all of the other women who are forced to be handmaids, wives, or other subordinate roles tot he men feel, and in the end even though it is a trauma that they are going through, they are left feeling like they should feel guilty or regretful, as if they are at fault.