Topic B
When the society began, Offred's child and husband are taken away from her and she must become a handmaid of the Commander. Once a month she must have sex with him in hopes of getting pregnant and having a child that will be given to his wife. She is only valued for her ovaries, and if she is found to be sterile she is declared "unwoman" and sent away for hard labor. She is required to wear concealing dresses and hat that cover her face. She has basically no freedom, and there are spies constantly watching for those that are not true believers in the new society. The Wife of the Commander hates Offred and takes away some basic needs such as hand lotion. Again, she is only valued for her possible ability to bear children so the outside of her is not cared for. The suicide rate of handmaids is so high she cannot have a razor to shave or anything in her room (like a chandelier) that she could hang herself from. She is not allowed to read or write.
She can only rebel in small ways, or risk death. To take care of her skin she rubs small amounts of butter onto her hands and face. The Commander also invites her to play scrabble with him, which she cannot deny. Not only is playing this word game punishable by death, so is being alone with the commander. He also secretly loans her books and magazines to read. So she can rebel in small ways, but nothing society changing (yet). I'm 2/3 of the way through the book and I have yet to see any larger rebellions or any results from the smaller rebellions.
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