The Handmaid’s Tale uses amazing crafting of symbols to cleverly convey Atwood’s idea

The compelling novel The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood is classified under the broad genre of future dystopian novels. The reader may not pick up on the symbolic significance that certain themes have throughout the book, but when you look more in-depth into individual reoccurring themes, Atwood has cleverly created effective strategies to convey her ideas. Flowers are evident throughout the novel, symbolizing beauty and fertility within the character Offred and the other handmaids. Another important symbol that highlights the theme is the recurring colour of red. Red is worn by the handmaids, it signifies fertility, love, and the feeling of anger that the handmaids withhold within themselves. The last symbol that I have chosen as evidence to support my statement is the symbol of the eye. The eye is shown in many unique abstract ways throughout the story of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Throughout the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, one of the symbols that the reader will have noticed throughout the book is the apparent colour red. Red has an extreme impact on the novel due to the metaphoric meaning behind it. Red symbolizes love, anger, frustration and fertility. Examples of the colour red within the novel are shown with the garments that the handmaids wear every day, this is a metaphor for walking wombs “We are two-legged wombs, that’s all: sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices.”. This is a brilliant strategy that Atwood uses to cleverly convey her idea. The women of Gilead are only seen as “two-legged wombs”, they are just empty vessels waiting to be fertilized like farm animals. Atwoods purpose behind this quote is to compare the woman of Gilead to the woman of today and educate the reader that there is more similarity between the two than predicted. “Red means love,” she said. “When we get passionate, we get hot, so we think of red.” And when you wear red, the colour can affect the way people perceive you. If you want to be perceived as sexy, red is “the colour to wear,”. The symbol of red is clearly shown within this quote. By the handmaids wearing the colour red it communicates the blood of childbirth and the blood of the menstrual cycle that the handmaids go through. This is Atwood expressing her beliefs within the society that we live in. Another reason Atwood has used the colour red in this way is because, for men, the colour red is the most attractive out of them all “associated with sexy red lips”. Red communicates anger and frustration within the handmaids, the society of Gilead tries to control the handmaid’s thoughts, minds, and beliefs through the pressure of the theocratic regime that the characters are constantly surrounded by. The anger and frustration that the colour red signifies is a metaphor for how the handmaids feel. They are coated with a beautiful bright red disguise, but underneath that red is a whole lot of hidden frustration and anger. The handmaids aren’t allowed to show any signs of this though or else they will be punished.

Flowers are symbols of fertility and beauty. In the novel, flowers are used on many different occasions throughout the novel to express Offred’s thoughts and opinions. Atwood uses flowers in a very powerful way to symbolize different characters and rankings in the handmaid’s tale. For example, red flowers are a metaphor for the handmaids due to the red gowns that they wear. “The tulips are red, a darker crimson towards the stem as if they have been cut and are beginning to heal.”. What this quote encompasses is that the members of Gilead have “cut” the handmaids in a way of which they will have to “heal” by giving into God and obeying the commander’s orders. This is an excellent example of Atwood cleverly conveying her idea because it shows the reader that by using the symbol of flowers and comparing them to the handmaids it expresses what the handmaids have had to go through. They have been “cut”, and once a flower has been cut there is always new growth waiting to happen within the plant. This is a clever way of Atwood using effective strategies to get her ideas across to the reader. “Here and there are worms, evidence of the fertility of the soil, caught by the sun, half dead; flexible and pink, like lips.” The first use of flowers to support the theme is shown when the quote states “Here and there are worms, evidence of the fertility of the soil”. The “Worms” are a metaphor for the handmaid’s themselves, and the “Soil” is referring to the society of Gilead. When handmaid’s fall pregnant and end up giving birth it is “evidence of the fertility” in Gilead. This is a smart method that Atwood has chosen to use. By there being fertile soil in the earth it enables flowers to grow. Flowers symbolising “handmaids” and “grow” referring to growth of population within the society of Gilead. “Caught by the sun, half dead;” this section of the quote is referring to the handmaids. After going through the process of pregnancy the handmaid’s of Gilead will feel “half dead” and dried out by the “sun” after being farmed for their children.  

The symbol of “The Eye” highlights the theme used in different examples and scenarios throughout the novel. Gilead’s secret police “The Eye” are made up of male officers who detect suspicious behavior and traitors that are within the Republic of Gilead. The symbol of the eye cleverly conveys Atwood’s idea because it enables her to compare this future dystopian novel to our present time. By Atwood using the symbol of an eye, she is able to convey her idea of the male-dominated society that we live in today. This is a feminist point of view that men look at woman in the form of wanting to be able to control them, and this is exactly what has happened in the Republic of Gilead. “I cannot avoid seeing, now, the small tattoo on my ankle.” When the character Offred states this quote she is referring to the eye tattoo on her ankle. She is laying in the bath when she notices her tattoo and how she is not able to “avoid seeing” it. Atwood is using the symbol of the eye to reveal her idea. By Offred having an eye permanently tattooed on her body she will never be able to escape it. No matter how far she runs or how well she hides she will never be able to escape “The Eye” of Gilead. Atwood is indicating her idea to the reader through this quote by using the eye tattoo on Offred’s ankle as  a symbolic message to remind her that she is a part of a male dominated society and that she will always be looked down upon in the world that she is a part of. Atwood is using this as a contrasting element to show her idea to the reader that Gilead and the world that we know it today still has many similarities that we need to overcome. “I lie on my single bed, flat, like a piece of toast. I can’t sleep. In the semi dark I stare up at the blind plaster eye in the middle of the ceiling, which stares back down at me,”. This quotation proves my statement that The Handmaid’s Tale uses crafting of symbols to cleverly convey Atwood’s idea. This is a similar idea to the quote “I cannot avoid seeing, now, the small tattoo on my ankle.” They both hold the symbol of the eye. “The blind plaster eye in the middle of the ceiling, which stares back down at me,”. The eye is once again watching Offred in a time where she is vulnerable, both being in a bath and sleeping. These are two times that are meant to be personal and this is Atwoods way of showing the reader that being a handmaid you are not able to ever be alone, there is always someone or something watching. 

The novel the Handmaid’s Tale Written by Margaret Atwood is a story that is set within a future dystopian setting. Atwoods intentions behind using this broad genre theme is to be able to show the similarities between life as we know it and the unimaginable outcome of Gilead. Atwood was able to craft her ideas through specific symbols that supported the themes throughout the text. The three main symbols that support the theme are flowers throughout the novel, the symbol of “The Eye” and the recurring colour of red. These examples are all cases of Atwood cleverly conveying her idea, that if we keep going down the path of accepting and ignoring the way in which our society is going we might end up surrendering to our higher powers of government and falling into the toxic masculinity of the Gilead regime.