Dystopian Group: Quotes that Support our Thesis Statement

Thesis Statement: Margaret Atwood's word choice throughout The Handmaid's Tale makes the reader feel uncomfortable and creates a distance from the story to reveal the truths in society that are not often discussed.

"I hope they get hard at the sight of us and have to rub themselves against the painted barriers, surreptitiously" (Atwood 22). (Surreptitiously means acting in a stealthy way.)

"Beside the main gateway there are sic more bodies hanging, by the necks, their hands tied in front of them, their heads in white bags tipped sideways onto their shoulders" (Atwood 32). (Atwood describes the bodies in detail, making the reader feel uncomfortable.)

"Her fault, her fault, her fault, we chant in unison" (Atwood 72). (The handmaids are in class. Janine is being blamed for being raped.)

"Why bash your head, said Aunt Lydia, against a wall?" (Atwood 64) (Aunt Lydia is talking about the handmaids wondering where their families are. Why make things worse? This is what she is saying.)

"Naughty puss" (Atwood 89). (Offred is bitter towards Aunt Lydia.)

"Below it the Commander is fucking" (Atwood 94). (During the Ceremony. She talks about her word choice and why she does not use "making love".)

"It's only women who can't, who remain stubbornly closed, damaged, defective" (Atwood 204). (Offred is talking about how only women are defective, and men never are. These are the ideas of this new society, and it's bound to make many readers feel uncomfortable.)

These are some of the quotes that I found that can support our thesis statement. We will probably need some more from the end of the book, but this will get us started.