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Historical Notes on The Handmaid? s Tale? The Handmaid? s Tale by Margaret Atwood is an intriguing look into a darker one of infinite possibilities that our future as a country offers. The entire novel through the questions linger somewhere in the back of our minds, ?
When if Offred writing this? Is she writing it? ? The origin of the novel is a mystery until the epilogue is read, and then some answers are presented, of course, many more arise, thus making the final sentence in the book both comical and clever, as well as frustrating. Why end the novel with that epilogue?
Atwood takes a large step towards losing her audience? s favor with the epilogue, there were many members of our class alone that didn? t like the final ending, and I? m sure the class is a somewhat decent representation of the readers as whole. I personally enjoyed the novel itself, and looked at the Historical Notes in a different light, as if they weren?
t really part of the novel at all, and therefore I found them interesting, but less than imperative to enjoy the novel. So, Atwood is not looking for a pat on the back with the ending, I believe she means something else by it. The ending of the novel leaves a large question unanswered; what ever happened to Offred? Well, the epilogue allows the reader to guess here and there, but really answers the question no better than the novel on its own. We discover that she was able to make tapes of her thoughts at some point after her? escape, ?
but other than that, we learn nothing about her final outcome, and what is ironic is that the speaker at the Historical Convention seems just as confused as the reader might as to Offred? s resting place. Also, the reader remains in the dark as to who indeed did take her away? Was it really? Mayday, ? as Nick reports, or was that a whim, another trick by the Eyes to get her to come away with them.
We will never know, and I believe that by leaving these things out of the notes, rather than making them an explanation for the novel, accredits Atwood and makes her her own author, and shows that she writes novels how she feels they should be, and explains herself to no one.
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Research essay sample on Handmaid Tale Historical Notes