The first song on my Handmaid’s Tale playlist is the song Grieving by Leith Ross. Grieving is, unsurprisingly, a song about grief. More specifically about Ross grieving her past and her female ancestors, seen by the lyrics, “I never will stop grieving, Who we are when we are young, For my grandmother, her children, And who I never will become”. These lyrics really strike me, as they encapsulate everything I see in Offred’s emotions and grief. Similar to Ross, Offred misses her mother and often reflects on the life she could’ve lived but now seemingly may never get the chance to. All of this and more, make Grieving by Leith Ross the headlining song on my Handmaid’s Tale playlist.

The second song on my Handmaid’s Tale playlist is the song More by Halsey. This is a song about longing for a kid, and more specifically about the yearning and feelings of loss after having a miscarriage. This song encapsulates for me some of the ways that Offred is feeling throughout the book, as she has gone through a similar experience, with her child being taken away from her rather than having a misscarriage. We see this in moments like when Offred is at the doctor, reminiscing on her past with her daughter, when she thinks to herself, “She fades, I can’t keep her here with me, she’s gone now. Maybe I do think of her as a ghost, the ghost of a dead girl, a little girl who died when she was five”.

The third song on my Handmaid’s Tale playlist is the song Witches by Alice Phoebe Lou. This song being about her pushes and pulls of dependence and independence throughout different parts of different relationships, reminds me of Offred and her Commander’s current relationship and power dynamics. Additionally, Lou’s symbolic use of witches in the song as representations of female empowerment and how men/societies often fear that kind of self respect and power in women is very powerful and makes me think of how Offred’s mom and her group of feminists was said to have acted by Offred when she said, “They must have poured gasoline, because the flames shot high, and then they began dumping the magazines, from boxes, not too many at a time. Some of them were chanting; onlookers gathered. Their faces were happy, ecstatic almost.” This act of burning derogatory feminine portrayals is reminiscent of witches being burned at the stake.

The fourth song on my Handmaid’s Tale playlist is the song Pretty Girl by Clairo. Pretty girl is about the singer, Clairo feeling like she’s changing herself too much for a relationship and trying too hard to please her partner, seen in the lyrics, “And I could be a pretty girl, I’ll lose myself in you”. Eventually, this relationship ends and she feels like she is better off. I get similar feelings to these when reading Offred and the Handmaid’s forced efforts to please the commander to stay in their position, because, while bad, it’s better off than they could be as unwomen. I imagine if the Handmaids are ever free, or the system ever changes they will feel similarly to how Clairo felt after the end of the aforementioned relationship.

The fifth and final song on my Handmaid’s Tale playlist is the song Money In The Grave by Drake and Rick Ross. This song is a 180 from the other songs on this playlist, and that’s for a reason. It’s so different because this song connects to how the commander is feeling and acting throughout the first couple dozen chapters of The Handmaid’s Tale. Lyrics like, “I got hoes that I’m keepin’ in the dark, I got my niggas ‘cross the street livin’ large”, make me think of how the commander is hiding a relationship with Offred and how he and the other men are the only people in the world who are, “livin’ large” and have power/wealth. Offred stating that, “The Commander is the head of the household. The house is what he holds. To have and to hold, till death do us part”, has a similar feeling to Drake saying, “I don’t wanna change ‘cause I’m good where I’m at”. They are both saying that the position of the man in power, The Commander/Drake, isn’t changing anytime soon. Overall, my playlist encapsulates the feeling and actions of a variety of characters in The Handmaid’s Tale, from the obvious, Offred, to the more obscure characters like The Commander and Offred’s mother.

Throughout history, the lack of autonomy women have over their own bodies has always been blamed on the lack of modesty in their lifestyles. Instead of placing blame onto the predator who assaults women, there is typically a response as to what the women could have done for the assault to have been avoided. Without accountability for the abuse women go through, women may start to believe the hateful rhetoric being forced upon them and start turning against one another. This idea is perpetuated in The Handmaid’s Tale by the women’s opposition to one another during “Testifying.” During this time, the Handmaids are expected to share past personal experiences with the rest of the group. When it was Janine’s turn to share, she told the story about how she was “…gang-raped at fourteen and had an abortion” (71). Instead of providing Janine with comfort and support as would be expected, the Handmaids instead told her it was “Her fault, her fault, her fault…” (72). This is representative of how society pits women against each other by showing how propaganda can persuade people to believe something that does not align with their ideals. The Handmaids’ chanting that Janine’s assault was her own fault was not a conclusion they came to on their own. Instead, they were being instructed to say this by the Aunts in Gilead until they started to believe what they were saying. In our society, this is seen in the rhetoric that women have to act a certain way for men not to prey upon them. If dressed in a way that is seen as “provocative,” a woman may be met with the question, “Well, what were you wearing?” This question has become normalized in conversations surrounding the sexual abuse of women and is used to deflect the blame of the abuser onto the innocent woman. This allows the idea that women need to dress modestly if they do not want their boundaries to be crossed to be sustained. This philosophy controls the way the Handmaids are allowed to dress. Each Handmaid has the same uniform: an outfit that is “…ankle-length, full, gathered to a flat yoke that extends over the breasts, the sleeves are full. The white wings too are a prescribed issue; they are to keep us from seeing, but also being seen” (8). Since Handmaids are not allowed to have sex, or even be in the same room with a man unsupervised, this implies that one of the main reasons that the Handmaids should not be seen by society is that it may be too tempting for others to want sexual relations with the Handmaids. The lack of control of the men in Gilead dictates what the Handmaids are allowed to wear, and teaches them that their bodies should be something that they are ashamed of; merely an object for others’ pleasure that needs to be hidden away. The notion that a woman’s body is shameful causes both the women of Gilead and our society to feel like their bodies are a taboo subject that should not be discussed. This hateful speech leads them to the conclusion that they deserve the violations inflicted on them. After being ridiculed the week before, Janine tells the group that “It was (her) own fault. (She) led them on. (She) deserved the pain” (72). Being jeered at in the weeks before converted Janine’s mindset from being a victim in a disgusting situation to believing she was the one responsible for her own suffering. This shows how systematic oppression against women not only silences them, but also convinces them they need to carry their trauma alone. In our society, this results in women not speaking out against their abusers due to the fear that their situation will not be believed. In a society where women and their experiences are easily disregarded to preserve the lives of abusers, women lose their voices. In The Handmaid’s Tale, this holds a literal meaning– the Handmaids are forbidden from communicating with one another. In our society, this means that a woman’s voice feels powerless. Women will be forced to suffer and endure the abuses at the hands of men until society makes an effort to change its patriarchal ways. Even though they are set in different realities, the oppression and degradation of women are evident in both The Handmaid’s Tale and our own society. While The Handmaid’s Tale may be an exaggeration of the abuse women go through in our world, the themes of abuse and patriarchy are too common and too normalized in both societies. The Handmaid’s Tale should serve as a warning for what our society may become if the silencing and shaming of women continues without repercussions.

The artwork depicts when offered and her partner were walking and were stopped by an interpreter from Japan. However, the Interpreter was not the only one there; he also brought a group of Travelers who asked whether they were happy in Gilead. Offred was left unsure of how to respond, but continued to say they were happy in Gilead. To start off, I designed my piece of artwork in this way to clearly represent how I imagined it to be in my head. I made the buildings in the back darker colors because of the Helpless/chilling vibe that Gilead gives off. The reason why I found this moment in the book to be interesting is because it shows how, when something is not really your problem, you have great ignorance towards it. Not feeling the full effect of someone else’s pain somehow makes people curious and have lack of empathy for those going through traumatic experiences. I feel like it’s some type of chemical imbalance in our brains not to have empathy for others in pain. This Moment In the book also makes me think of how the Dynamics in Gilead would play out in another country and what other rules would they have towards tourism. Would they let people ask questions, or would they keep people clueless about what is happening within their country. I do think that the person who controls the gilead wants people in other countries to perceive handmaids as some type of a live-action artifact that they can be curious with. in my mind this scene feels like a social experiment to see what the handmaids would do if they had people asking them questions about the gilead and whether they would stay loyal and not say anything like they were taught. Generally, they think tourists are just eyes that come to ask some questions so they can see how they respond, which I believe could be true, given how strict everything is around them, and they already don’t want people from that country to be involved in anything. I also wonder If The Interpreter was Japanese or American, because if he were to be American, how did he escape the rules bound to him from living in the States. Did he create some type of pathway of living in another country, which led to him being safe from all rules. This moment also makes me think of what roles can be bent to be beneficial for some people and also cause chaos for others.

Link to Document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M9YrAvCFkdQoNaka1rB52Ge0cac401AV-CrRNiV7MI8/edit?usp=sharing

For my artwork, I chose to visually represent one of the haunting moments from The Handmaid’s Tale so far, the first introduction of the Wall in Chapter 6 (pages 30-36). In my piece, the Wall is depicted as a looming, oppressive structure of red brick, lined with bodies hanging, set against a bleak and gloomy background. I designed the scene to feel gritty and unsettling, showing off the harsh atmosphere of Gilead. This imagery captures both the literal and symbolic power of the Wall within the book, functioning as a constant reminder of authority, fear, and control. One of the key inspirations for my artwork comes from offred’s description. It states, “Now we turn our backs on the church and here is the thing we’re in truth come to see: the Wall.” (pg. 31). This line conveys how the Wall has replaced the traditional symbols of morality with something darker and more oppressive. The shift from the church to the wall demonstrates Gilead’s manipulation of religion to control its citizens. By visually highlighting the Wall, I wanted to capture this unsettling transition from faith to fear, where death and punishment become the true foundation of authority. In my drawing, I emphasized the architectural details Offred notices: “Like the sidewalks, it’s red brick, and must one have been plain and handsome.” (pg. 31). This description inspired me to use the red tones of the brick not only as a realistic element but also a symbolic choice. Red recurs throughout the book, especially in connection with the Handmaids, but here it is tied to violence and death. The “plain but handsome” past of the building shows how something once ordinary and even beautiful has been transformed into a device of terror. My choice to make the bricks appear more weathered and blood-stained reflects this shift in meaning, reinforcing how Gilead corrupts the ordinary into many tools of oppression. The Wall is not just a structure, but it maintains a sight of control. The description, “Gates have sentries and there are ugly new floodlights mounted on metal posts above it, and barbed wire.” (pg. 31), influenced my decision to add a floodlight casting a cold and harsh beam across the scene. These lights illuminate the bodies, forcing passersby to see them. The barbed wire at the top adds to the sense of entrapment and security, making it clear the Wall is designed to be seen, feared, and remembered. Most haunting of all are the bodies themselves: “Sometimes they’ll be there for days until there’s a new batch, so as many as possible will have the chance to see them.” (pg. 32). By including hanged figures in my artwork, I wanted to confront the view with the brutality of this society. The facelessness of the bodies with bagged heads and dangling limbs, emphasizes their reduction to examples rather than just the individuals. The book states, “They have committed atrocities and must be made into examples, for the rest” (pg. 33) underscores how Gildead justified these public executions and showing. In my art, the hanged bodies act as warnings forcing those who look upon them into obedience and control. The gloominess of my scene comes from Offred’s own reflection: “I didn’t hear the bells. Perhaps I’ve become used to them.” (pg. 32). This detail highlights the normalization of the horror within Gilead. Over time, even the most gruesome sights and sounds lose their shock. In designing my artwork, I included gray skies and a dim atmosphere to represent the numbness Offred is feeling. The setting feels both ordinary and horrific at the same time, reflecting the danger of becoming desensitized to cruelty. Lastly, my visual representation of the Wall is significant because it captures the essence of Gilead’s power structure. The Wall is not just about punishing criminals, but it is about constant psychological control. It instills fear, enforces conformity, and eliminates individuality. For Offred and the Handmaids, it is a permanent reminder that resistance is deadly and survival requires submission. By portraying the Wall in a gritty, oppressive style, I hope to reflect both the immediate horror and its wider range of symbolism as a dystopian tool of dominance. In creating this piece of work, I wanted the viewers to feel the same unease that Offred feels and converts when she first describes the Wall. The Wall’s power lies in its visibility where everyone must look at it and think about it, remembering its meaning. My artwork aims to make that same impact, making the viewer experience the fear and the darkness of Gilead showing off the symbols that are for control.

I drew a clock with the first part of the day, the afternoon hours, having no specific label, and an arrow going around the clocks towards nine o’clock. The later evening hours have labels to them, and there is also an eye in the clock, representing the constant watch that Offred is under. One of the major themes in the Handmaid’s tale is time. Offred’s imagination and her mind is the only thing that is truly hers; she doesn’t own a single tangible thing, not even really her body. A lot of the story revolves around Offred’s reflection during the long periods of time she’s alone, with nothing more to do but reflect on her past life when she was free. She’s a prisoner to a society that uses her for her body, but at least she has her mind and her own thoughts; this, she uses to think about those she misses: Luke, her mother, and her daughter. Offred often mentions how much time she has as a Handmaid. This is what the unlabeled hours on the clock represent and the arrow speeding through that section of the clock. She says “There’s time to spare. This is one of the things I wasn’t prepared for—the amount of unfulfilled time, the long parentheses of nothing.” (p.69) Offred had to adjust to this lifestyle; she used to be free, but now her only use is to get impregnated and birth a healthy child. Her “unfulfilled time” is replaced with flashbacks of the past, echoes from her loved ones that she can’t quite grasp onto. There’s not much for her to physically do; she’s trapped. She tries to fulfill her time doing tangible things to keep herself occupied, like searching her room thoroughly, but all she’s truly left with is her thoughts and her mind takes over. A large chunk of the time she has occurs during the night time, which is why the night hours are labeled. Offred says, “The night is mine, my own time to do with as I will, as long as I am quiet.” Night is often when Offred reflects the most on her past. She views it as her time, which is something that no one can take away from her, just like the memories she still has of Luke, her mother, and her child. That’s something that she will have forever. She owns nothing tangible; her only form of freedom is her ability to form her own thoughts. Yet even with this free time, she still can only do so much; she’s stuck with herself and the thoughts that haunt her. Lastly, Offred has her time at night to herself but she still feels like time is slipping away from her. That is why on the clock there are multiple arrows in the later hours. It shows how her perception of time is being warped and she feels as though she is losing time. “I lie, then, inside the room, under the plaster eye in the ceiling, behind the white curtains, between the sheets, neatly as they, and step sideways out of my own time. Out of time. Though this is time, nor am I out of it.” Offred feels trapped in time; she’s constantly being watched by “the plaster eye in the ceiling,” always being controlled by the higherups. That is what the eye in the clock represents. She has so much spare time that forces her to explore the depths of her mind, yet it still feels like time isn’t moving. “Out of my own time,” implies that she’s out of time to live her life. She has no more freedom, her loved ones have been taken from her and everything else she had stripped. Offred has nothing left to do but use her time to hope that things will get better, that maybe she won’t be a prisoner forever. With my artwork I wanted to highlight the theme of time which was represented through multiple scenes in the story. It has been the only thing keeping Offred going, through her flashbacks and happy memories, and it has allowed her to explore the depths of her mind that she hadn’t before. Time has been a gift and a curse to Offred, but her relationship with it helps add to the plot of the story and offers the reader a better understanding of her past.

PLAYLIST: Inside Of Offred’s Mind

1) Eyes Without A Face - Billy Idol

    On the surface, this 1980s pop song may seem unrelated to the grim novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” but I noticed some thematic parallels that connect the two. Similarities revolve around the concepts of control, identity, and the objectification of women. 
    “Eyes without a face, got no human grace…” This part of the song suggests someone who appears to be human but lacks the emotional depth or identity like the handmaids in the story. 
    Handmaids are stripped of their identities and named after their commanders. Real names are forbidden and individuality is erased. They are reduced to their reproduction function and given no liberty for absolutely anything. This doesn’t only apply to their bodies, but also any form of expression – emotionally and physically. Their clothing consists of long red conservative dresses, their hair is hidden by a white bonnet that also has, “wings,” to restrict their vision and forbid them from seeing others. Chapter 2, page 8, their clothing is described as, “The white wings too are prescribed issue; they are to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen. I never looked good in red, it’s not my color.” No woman is able to express themselves in any way, making them bodies without identities, just like the song, “Eyes without a face.”

2) Every Breath You Take - The Police

     The song Every Breath You Take by The police fosters a connection with the story of The Handmaid’s Tale by depicting the themes of surveillance, control, and loss of freedom. The song’s central hook of, “I’ll be watching you,” directly relates to the obsessive and inescapable surveillance of Gilead. A specific example of this would be the eyes that serve as spies for The Handmaids. “Every step you take, every move you make, I’ll be watching you,” can refer to the secret police that are constantly watching for disobedience and they are everywhere. The Handmaids are often on high alert, conscious of every move they make in fear that they will be accused of not following the rules. On page 18, Moira is afraid of doing something as simple as making eye contact with another man because she’s distressed that he may be an eye, “Perhaps it was a test, to see what I would do. Perhaps he is an Eye.” Handmaids like Offred are constantly being monitored by the government, and even by other women. Someone is always watching Gilead.
     Another repeated phrase in this song is:
     “You belong to me.”
    Handmaids and women in the setting of the Handmaid’s Tale are seen as property, and under the authority of their commander. They quite literally belong to their commander and their existence is seen as possession, not a life. 

3) Pretty Hurts - Beyonce

     This song relates to the story of the Handmaid’s Tale by speaking up about female oppression, and the pressure to conform to societal expectations, and the pain of being reduced to appearance, or in this case, reproductive function. 
    “Perfection is a disease of a nation.”
    This song criticizes how society pressures women into acting and looking a certain way to appear as acceptable to the “standard,” eye. This pressure often causes physical or emotional pain as many women feel forced to abide by these standards, on page 63, Moira expresses the disdain she feels about her own body, “My nakedness is strange to me already… I don’t want to look at something that determines me so quickly.” The corrupt system of Gilead puts their own bodies into a determining factor of their worth, putting their own identity against them which deteriorates their dignity. 
    In The Handmaid's Tale, women are often forced into rigid roles, The Handmaids, Wives, Marthas, Unwomen, based on various uncontrollable factors such as fertility, age, or how they act. All these things determine their "usefulness.” The Handmaids in particular are valued only for their ability to bear children for commanders. They are not valued or seen for who they are as people.  

4) Dollhouse - The Weeknd, Lily - Rose

    The song Dollhouse frames a relationship in which one party is trapped, (The Handmaids, or women in general) manipulated, and made to look perfect externally, however they suffer from rotting and are stuck in misery internally. This mirrors how Gilead forces women into roles and appearances that erase their autonomy and mask their pain.  
    For example, there is one scene in the story that displays how The Handmaids were out on a walk, and were stopped by foreign tourists. They attempted to ask The Handmaids questions about their exotic and conservative looking appearance. The Handmaids, afraid of consequence for interacting with others or being seen, hid behind the wings of their bonnets and refused to initiate or further any conversation. One of the tourists asked, “Are you happy?” However, The Handmaids averted their questions, replying with only, “‘Yes, we are very happy,’ I murmur. I have to say something. What else can I say?” (29) knowing they truly aren’t.
    The tension between the desire to be “seen” and the pressure to conform to Gilead’s inflexible and harsh laws relates directly to this song. The narrator longs for a life without invisible chains, 

“Somewhere In some other lifetime I roam free Strutting down my own lane, my way, no kings, no slaves But right now You got me in a chokehold, headlock, blindfold…” There is a common yearning for liberty and individuality.

5) David - Lorde

    This song reflects on a relationship in which the speaker feels used and dominated. 
    “I made you God 'cause it was all
    That I knew how to do
    But I don't belong to anyone.”
    In both the song and the story, women are often used and have no other choice but to see men as “Gods,” because truthfully they possess all the power. However, Handmaid Offred has a quiet mindset that goes against those values, and protests in her own small ways, trying to keep her sanity while also trying to adapt to the environment of Gilead. 
    Lorde insists, “I don’t belong to anyone,” and Offred is usually in her head swimming in her own thoughts reminiscing on how her life was before she was captured into this society. She often thinks about times when she  “didn’t belong to anyone,” as a form of escape.

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