Quotes From The Handmaids Tale

Quotes From The Handmaids Tale The Handmaids Tale is a best-selling novel by Margaret Atwood set in a feminist dystopian future in which war and pollution have made pregnancy and childbirth increasingly difficult and women are enslaved as prostitutes  or virginal concubines - handmaiden - in an effort to repopulate and control the population. Atwoods beautiful, haunting prose in The Handmaids Tale is told from the first person perspective of a woman called Offred (or Of Fred, her master). The story follows Offred through her third service as a handmaiden and also offers flashbacks to her life before the Revolution that led to this new American society founded on religious fanaticism. Blessed be the fruit, Atwood writes in Chapter Four, an indoctrination for the handmaidens who have to go through intense training for their servitude before being assigned to a master whose child she will bear. Read on to discover more quotes from this famous novel and learn more about the not-too-distant-or-improbable future of Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale, which is also an acclaimed television series. Quotes About Hope In Dystopia The character of Offred carries with her a certain quiet optimism that her daughter, who was taken from her when she tried to flee to Canada with her husband at the start of the revolution, is still alive, though this hope is diminished by the harsh conditions she lives under as a handmaiden, as described in Chapter 5: There is more than one kind of freedom ... Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Dont underrate it. Of her daughter, Offred says, also in Chapter 5, She is a flag on a hilltop, showing what can still be done: we too can be saved. Here, the character reveals her hope hinges upon the fact that her daughter has still not turned up on the wall where the ruling class hangs sinners near where Offred is held. Still, this optimism and hope is nothing in the face of the reality Offred finds herself in, and she admits in Chapter 7 that shes pretending the reader can hear her, But its no good because I know you cant. The Other Handmaidens Offred seems to have contempt for her fellow handmaidens, perhaps for their complacency or their simplistic view of the world: They are very interested in how other households are run; such bits of petty gossip give them an opportunity for pride or discontent. Still, Offred shared similarities with all other handmaidens in that they were the people who were not in the papers, the ones who lived in the blank white spaces at the edge of print, which Offred said gave them more freedom. All of them also undergo an indoctrination, a brainwashing ritual at the Academy where they train to be handmaidens. In Chapter 13, Offred describes a scene where the handmaidens are all seated in a circle around a woman confessing to being raped - Her fault, her fault, her fault, we chant in unison, Atwood writes. The woman training them, Aunt Lydia, also encourages all the handmaidens that though the new concepts introduced in their schooling may seem strange at first, they will eventually become mundane, but if not, the handmaidens would be punished for stepping out of line like one woman Offred describes in Chapter 8: She doesnt make speeches anymore. She has become speechless. She stays in her home, but it doesnt seem to agree with her. How furious she must be now that she has been taken at her word.   Offred feels a pressure to fulfill these new standards despite herself, and in Chapter 13 says of her shortcomings, I have failed once again to fulfill the expectations of others, which have become my own. In Chapter 30 Offred says of her oppressors, That was one of the things they do. They force you to kill, within yourself, and ultimately in Chapter 32, she realizes an important lesson when her master Fred tells her,  Better never means better for everyone... It always means worse for some.   Various Other Quotes I dont want to look at something that determines me so completely. (Chapter 12)Give me children, or else I die. Am I in Gods stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? Behold my maid Bilhah. She shall bear fruit upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.(Chapter 15)Moira had power now, shed been set loose, shed set herself loose. She was now a loose woman. (Chapter 22)Maybe none of this is about control. Maybe it isnt really about who can own whom, who can do what to whom and get away with it, even as far as death. Maybe it isnt about who can sit and who has to kneel or stand or lie down, legs spread open. Maybe its about who can do what to whom and be forgiven for it. Never tell me it amounts to the same thing. (Chapter 23)There is something subversive about this garden of Serenas, a sense of buried things bursting upwards, wordlessly, into the light, as if to say: Whatever is silenced will clamor to be heard, though silently. (Chapter 25)Agreed to it right away, really she didnt care, anything with two legs and a good you-know-what was fine with her. They arent squeamish, they dont have the same feelings we do. (Chapter 33) And Adam was not deceived, but the women being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved by childbearing. (Chapter 34)There is something reassuring about the toilets. Bodily functions at least remain democratic. Everybody shits, as Moira would say. (Chapter 39)The trouble is I cant be, with him, any different than I usually am with him. Usually, I am inert. Surely there must be something for us, other than this futility and bathos. (Chapter 39)It makes me feel more in control as if there is a choice, a decision that could be made one way or the other. (Chapter 41)The crimes of others are a secret language among us. Through them, we show ourselves what we might be capable of, after all. This is not a popular announcement. (Chapter 42)Dear God, I think, I will do anything you like. Now that youve let me off, Ill obliterate myself, if that is what you really want; Ill empty myself, truly, become a chalice. Ill give up Nick, Ill forget about the others, Ill st op complaining. Ill accept my lot. Ill sacrifice. Ill repent. Ill abdicate. Ill renounce. (Chapter 45) Dont let the bastards grind you down. I repeat this to myself but it conveys nothing. You might as well say, Dont let there be air; or Dont be. I suppose you could say that. (Chapter 46)

Gwen Harwood- Father and Child Essay Example

Gwen Harwood Gwen Harwood- Father and Child Essay Gwen Harwood- Father and Child Essay Gwen Harwood- Father and Child The ability of a text to be universally accepted in a range of contexts ultimately determines its textual integrity and appreciation. Gwen Harwood’s work draws from the inspiration of her context, her lifelong influences, primarily music, her childhood and religious beliefs. This can be identified through study of Gwen Harwoods poem, Father and Child that is able to be appreciated in a multitude of different contexts due to its universality and textual integrity. Gwen Harwood’s coherent use of form and language to produce an integrated whole in terms of meaning and value affirm the textual integrity of her work â€Å"Father and Child†. The poem delicately integrates a host of re-iterated universal motifs to produce the poem as a collective whole and confirms Gwen Harwood’s ability to transcend time in her poetry so that it can be accepted in a great deal of contexts. Perhaps the pivotal idea presented in the poem is time. Harwood has clearly articulated the concern for time passing by, and the loss of innocence that comes as a child gains experience, also reflecting the trademark interwoven Romantic style of her poetry. The structure of the poem further delves into this idea of the concern for time. The two symmetrical linked poems place emphasis on how time has moved on and separate childhood from adulthood. The constant use of enjambments reflect the passing of time and the ambiguity of where time disappears to in our vast existence. : Harwood’s use of structure and language affirm her ability to transcend time throughout her work, further enhancing its capability to be accepted in different contexts and upholding its textual integrity. A prominent aspect of the poem is the amalgamation of religions and biblical allusions ranging through multiple belief systems. Harwood’s integrated insinuations â€Å"horny fiend†, â€Å"times long promised land† that relate both to the Christian and Jewish religions, present all responders the opportunity to find their own personal interpretation and acceptance in her work. It is through her constant allowance of subjective understanding such as the religious undertones that the capacity of Gwen Harwood’s work continues to be appreciated in different contexts. This notion is additionally developed through the profundity of the inter-textual relationship of Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’. There is a lateral connection between Harwoods Father and Child, and William Shakespeares King Lear that can be appreciated through the inclusion of direct quotes such as â€Å"be your tears wet†. The ambiguity of the gender of the child is another important aspect of Harwood’s work that is linked to King Lear. It is through the extended allusions that the responder can fully understand the connection of the poem to the play and the link between the father/daughter relationship in both compositions. Through this integration it is evident that Harwood’s work can be appreciated in a multitude of contexts through its unified whole that maintains its textual integrity. Harwood develops a distinct motif of eyes and blindness echoed repeatedly through the story told in the poem. The repetition of the imagery of eyes is used to emphasise the importance of sight that becomes significant as the owl is unable to see in the day time. â€Å"Those eyes that did not see mirror my cruelty†. This powerful imagery used by Harwood exemplify how the child can see herself reflected in the dying eyes of the owl and expresses how the poem reveals the magic and consequences of childish acts and how experiences and discoveries during childhood delicately reshape the mind and character of a person, which can be noted through the change in Nightfall. The reflection she is mirrored by articulates her loss of innocence occasioned through this experience. The universal notion in the poem and a trait of Harwood’s work is the inclusion of music and musical allusions. Through music Harwood finds herself able to express what she cannot through plain words. The reference to a violin in the poem â€Å"you speak as if air touched a string near breaking point† is important in creating the idea of a dichotomous relationship between individuals, specifically herself and music. Harwood once again has successfully unified a universal motif to make her work able to be accepted in different contexts with different responders. As the character comes to accept the passing of time and how it in inevitable despite the authors ability to transcend it, the responder comes to understand the true delicacy of the story, how Harwood comes to terms with not only the passing of time but of her father and how he cannot make things right for her as he use to when she was a child. It is through this realisation that we can truly understand the essence of Harwood’s work and become aware how the textual integrity of her poetry remains definitive through time. The universal motifs mentioned above create a sense of ubiquity that provides the responder the opportunity to find an acceptable interpretation of her work

The Accounting Function in Bank Audi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Accounting Function in Bank Audi - Essay Example This helps them to communicate effectively and it makes the employees feel they are on the page. This approach generated loyalty and challenged the employees to make the business a success. Each employee should be offered stock options and given a portion of the profits as an incentive to keep working toward higher customer satisfaction. Motivation and communication are additional ways the CEO could create happy employees. Challenging employees allows him or her to be creative and generate new ideas or product lines that will increase sales and or customer satisfaction. Listening to employees opinions is vital to success. The people who work the frontline of any business will have ideas on how to better the processes. Some companies used an approach uncommon to most CEO's; walking around the store to meet and greet the associates and customers. This approach allowed the consumers the opportunity to tell him how well he or she liked the store and offer suggestions for change. The asso ciates liked this approach because it made him an approachable CEO who was willing to listen to employees and customers. In this report, it is apparent that the company should use strategic planning in order to deal with the issues since it determines the overall direction and goals of the organization. Consequently, strategic planning influences numerous aspects of the organization, including what, In strategic planning, a) Products and services will be provided by the business and how those products and services will be designed b) Organizational design and roles are needed by the organization. c) Performance goals are established for positions throughout the business. d) Board committees should be developed (in the case of corporations. e) Resources are needed to reach those goals, and consequently, how much money is needed to procure those resources -- ultimately, the goals determine the content of various budgets ("Develop strategic plan" 2007). Competition from similar products, changing technology and increasing costs all play their part in putting pressure on firms to keep rethinking and expan ding. Mergers are more and more frequent and many businesses have expanded to become global organizations. But if growth is sometimes the only option it is also very often a risky one. Expansion demands investment of time, money and people and has to be carefully managed to bring the desired returns. Though there is a way to increase the odds of success: simple and effective communication in all directions. Gap Inc. is a leading international specialty retailer offering clothing, accessories and personal care products for men, women, children and babies under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Piperlime brand names. Gap brand includes Gap, GapKids, babyGap and gapbody. The company also operates Gap Outlet and Banana Republic Factory Outlet stores. Our world headquarters offices are based in the San Francisco Bay Area and our product design offices are located primarily in New York City, San Francisco and London. We also have offices around the globe to support our store management, distribution and product manufacturing operations (Gap Inc) HistoryAt the heart of Gap's growth is the unique culture that has

Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Term Paper Example As such, women, people with disabilities, people of color as well as people who are older face a many impediments to their full and active participation in the labor force of this country (see Heilman et al, 2002). The following research paper aims to explore discrimination with an eye to how this form of discrimination affects certain types of people, both within the wider society as well as within the labor market. What influences discrimination in the twenty-first century? How has society attempted to protect people from discrimination? These questions and many more will be discussed with reference to discrimination today. This is a timely and topical issue which warrants more extensive scrutiny. We now begin with an overview of the key integral for this research paper, including discrimination, prejudice and social bias. The United States has undergone quite substantial changes within the past century the country is much more diverse than it ever was. Immigration and the growth of globalization have altered the social composition of the United States of America. Today, there is a much larger percentage of people of color and visible minorities within key social institutions including government office – President Barack Obama is perhaps the most obvious example today. There is also increased the representation of visible minorities across the country in all aspects of public life – including in the police services and the education sectors, just to name a few. Changing worldwide immigration patterns have led to an increased flow of people from around the world to the United States, facilitating intercultural communication. American society has quickly become far less homogenous and cultural institutions are beginning to reflect this. Unfortunately with the changing social landscape of the United States and the changing nature of this country, the multicultural setting may lead to a rise

Developing Tyrrells Potato Chips Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Developing Tyrrells Potato Chips - Essay Example For this purpose it may resort to more advertising, other promotions, offering discounts and better customer service. It can also try to compete by making its operations more efficient and thus bring down its costs. Alternatively, it can try to increase its economies of scale by more investment. Sometimes existing market may become so saturated or uneconomical that companies may enter new markets with existing products. Such a strategy falls under the category of market development. The obvious example is the entry of multinational companies into new markets with existing products they were selling in the home country or other markets. This entry could help the company to transfer loyalties of customers to buy its own products. This is very effective if the product is a well-known brand in the world and is being made available for the first time or in large quantities. If a new product is manufactured by a company and it tries to sell it in the same market it operates, then it is classified under product development. The company is confident that its new product will be attractive in the existing market itself. Companies try to market the new product to existing customers or even get new customers to buy them. The product could be completely new or can be used as accessories or add-ons to its existing products. â€Å"Sell new products or services in current markets. These strategies often try to sell other products to (regular) clients. These can be accessories, add-ons, or completely new products. Cross Selling. Often, existing communication channels are used.† (Product/Market Grid (Ansoff) 2008). Product diversification is an instance where a company develops or acquires a new product and market in an entirely new place. There are four ways of diversification that can be used by a company.

Observation of a Toddler (Lifespan) Essay Example for Free

Observation of a Toddler (Lifespan) Essay Abstract I observed Harper, a 23 month old little girl that is full of energy. Also participating in the interaction with Harper was her mother and five year old sister, Mya. Harper is very friendly and outgoing. She is very interested â€Å"reading books† and loves to be read to. She enjoys helping her mother clean and do simple tasks. She seems to be very confident with and without her mother in her sight. Harper’s father is not actively involved in her life because he lives in another state. Observation of a Toddler 1. Harper is a 23 month old little girl. She is 34 inches tall and weighs approximately 27 pounds. She has blonde hair and blue eyes and a very pretty smile. 2. Harper’s gross motor skills are normative. She is able to walk, squat and run with ease. She can go up and down stairs one at a time all by herself and according to her mother she is â€Å"reasonably bowel trained† although she has nighttime accidents. Harper’s fine motor skills are also normative. She can throw a ball overhand, handle a spoon well, turns pages in her book and washes her hands. The skills Harper has are normative because they are in sync with other toddlers her age. Our book states â€Å"By 18-24 months, toddlers can walk quickly or run stiffly for short distance, walk backward without losing their balance, stand and kick a ball without falling, stand and throw a ball and jump in place†(Santrock, 2011, p. 129). a. Harper ZPD was in the upper limit. She had to be told to pull down her pants when she went to potty; but didn’t need to be told to wipe and pull her pants up. Her mother scaffolded by telling her what to do initially and letting her figure the rest out for herself. 3. Harper has mastered five substages. She is currently in Piaget’s sixth substage of sensorimotor development, Internalization of schemes. She loves to play with her kitchen and pretends to do dishes. She has learned this from watching her mother. She also engages in imaginative play with her sister. 4. Harper is very vocal and expresses herself very well. She has trouble with the L phenome and pronounces the letter L as a W. Example: She says wap instead of lap. She likes to listen to stories and responds with â€Å"what’s that?† and â€Å"Why†. She uses syntax. She understands the meaning of most words. Example: Her mother said â€Å"do you love mommy† and Haper replied â€Å"yes† the mother asked â€Å"how much† and Harper replied â€Å"sixty dollars†. 5. Harper had an easy temperament. She was very happy and easy to please. She was also easily redirected when her sister took her toy. 6. Harper was gender type was supported because she loves to wear dresses, play with dolls, loves the color pink, and loves princesses. While Harper is quite the girly girl she also likes to get dirty and kick the ball with her neighbor. 7. I would describe Harper as a securely attached child. When her mother left to run to the store to give me some alone time with her she seemed a little scared and wanted to go with her mother. Her mother was gone for approximately 15 minutes and Harper was fine after her mother was out of sight and didn’t seem to notice much when her mother returned. She continued to play with her toys and barely looked up. 8. When Harper hit her sister Harper’s mother used negative punishment to discipline her. She made her sit in a time out for two minutes and she was unable to play with her sister or her toys. She was also told if she hit her sister again she would have to go to bed immediately and would not be able to play with her sister for the rest of the night. Harper’s mother also used positive punishment by telling Harper that only mean girls hit and that she was being bad. At first, Harper responded by crying. However, she displayed compliance by sitting her in time out chair by herself and staying there until her mother told her that is was okay for her to get up. This combination of negative and positive punishment seemed to work as there no more episodes of bad behavior during my observation. 9. Harper is currently in the stage of Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. In this stage â€Å"The child is developing physically and becoming more mobile. Between the ages of one and three, children begin to assert their independence, by walking away from their mother, picking which toy to play with, and making choices about what they like to wear, to eat, etc†(McLeod, 2008, para. 4). Harper likes to pick out her own clothes and expresses that she likes dolls and the color pink and that she does not like to eat beans. She is on her way to achieving the virtue of will by expressing her likes and dislikes. Harper has mastered the previous stage of Trust vs. Mistrust and has achieved the virtue of hope. She is very comfortable with her surroundings and a very easy child. She does not appear to have a heightened anxiety or agitation even when her mother in out of her sight. She easily warms up to others and has a very sunny disposition. References McLeod, S. A. (2008). Psychosocial stages. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html Santrock, J. W. (2011). Life-Span development (13th ed.). Ny, Ny: McGraw-Hill.

Why Must We Dream in Metaphors? :: Poetry Poem Poet Metaphor Papers

Why Must We Dream in Metaphors? The poet Willis Barnstone begins a poem with this line: "Why must I always see the death in things?" My poem would begin, "Why must I always see the metaphor in things?" If I have any intellectual strength it is in seeing connections between unlikely ideas, theories, and concepts. I sit in classes, in front of the television, in front of books and my brain constantly tries to see how what I donà ­t understand relates to, is like, compares to things I already know about. Part of the poetic process is to be on the lookout constantly for these metaphors, these comparisons between unlike things constantly, as (in a metaphorical sense) a mechanic might hear a car coming down the street and from the noise of the engine discern a kind of secret knowledge, an awareness, that is lost on other hearers. The strong arm of metaphor has led to statements like, "Thatà ­s why schema theory is a kind of Swiss army knife" or "using consultation is like deciding whether to fix your own transmission". Also: good teaching is very often about finding metaphors that give students another way of relating new material to what they have already more or less experienced. The other day I was trying to explain how I expected a paper to be structured, and I found myself saying, "Remember when you came home late from a date and you built an argument to show your parents that coming home late was a perfectly reasonable, even inevitable occurrence given the circumstances?" Even telling stories about my teaching is a kind of metaphor: that is, Ià ­m saying that my experience as a white male teaching in a small high school will be like the experience of my students. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) spend much of their book talking about where metaphors come from, how they function in conversation, what their tie to underlying social structures might be. However, I read the book hungrily looking for some information about why metaphors serve a purpose that nothing else seems to for me. Finally, near the end I found this statement: The reason we have focused so much on metaphor is that it unites reason and imagination. Reason, at the very least, involves categorization, entailment, and inference. Imagination, in one of its many aspects, involves seeing one kind of thing in terms of another kind of thing ­Ã‚ ­what we have called metaphorical thought. Why Must We Dream in Metaphors? :: Poetry Poem Poet Metaphor Papers Why Must We Dream in Metaphors? The poet Willis Barnstone begins a poem with this line: "Why must I always see the death in things?" My poem would begin, "Why must I always see the metaphor in things?" If I have any intellectual strength it is in seeing connections between unlikely ideas, theories, and concepts. I sit in classes, in front of the television, in front of books and my brain constantly tries to see how what I donà ­t understand relates to, is like, compares to things I already know about. Part of the poetic process is to be on the lookout constantly for these metaphors, these comparisons between unlike things constantly, as (in a metaphorical sense) a mechanic might hear a car coming down the street and from the noise of the engine discern a kind of secret knowledge, an awareness, that is lost on other hearers. The strong arm of metaphor has led to statements like, "Thatà ­s why schema theory is a kind of Swiss army knife" or "using consultation is like deciding whether to fix your own transmission". Also: good teaching is very often about finding metaphors that give students another way of relating new material to what they have already more or less experienced. The other day I was trying to explain how I expected a paper to be structured, and I found myself saying, "Remember when you came home late from a date and you built an argument to show your parents that coming home late was a perfectly reasonable, even inevitable occurrence given the circumstances?" Even telling stories about my teaching is a kind of metaphor: that is, Ià ­m saying that my experience as a white male teaching in a small high school will be like the experience of my students. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) spend much of their book talking about where metaphors come from, how they function in conversation, what their tie to underlying social structures might be. However, I read the book hungrily looking for some information about why metaphors serve a purpose that nothing else seems to for me. Finally, near the end I found this statement: The reason we have focused so much on metaphor is that it unites reason and imagination. Reason, at the very least, involves categorization, entailment, and inference. Imagination, in one of its many aspects, involves seeing one kind of thing in terms of another kind of thing ­Ã‚ ­what we have called metaphorical thought.