Intertextuality in Atwood



Intertextuality in Atwood Name _________________________The Handmaid’s Tale AP Lit & Comp Non-fiction may teach fact; literature teaches Truth.Atwood’s novel is thick with allusions—references to everything from religious texts (the Bible) to cultural icons (Lauren Bacall) to historical events (the Holocaust). By including so many allusions in her text, Atwood builds her case that what she is creating—while a fictional construct—nevertheless has real-world implications.Divvy up the allusions amongst yourself. There are 15 students in period 4, so each student should research and explain at least 4 allusions (some people will need to do a 5th). Create a class Google Doc and post your allusion on its own sheet within the doc. Make sure to include your name on your post to receive credit for your work. In your post, include the following information:Allusion (just the phrase/words)Context in the novel (include passage and page #)Explanation of the original source: You must document your sources by including links to the information you found and used. Because this portion of the assignment is purely for factual purposes, you may cite Wikipedia. Application: Put B and C together and explain how the allusion applies to the novel. Answer: what additional insight can we gain from understanding how the allusion works in the context of the novel? What is Atwood trying to emphasize or call our attention to?IMPORTANT: Atwood’s use of allusions is integral to the novel and this assignment can lend itself to many insightful IOP topics: make sure you are engaging with the work authentically and keeping up with your reading. A sample from Wide Sargasso Sea is below.AllusionCock crowingContextThe sounds of cocks crowing appear at least twice in the novel. The first time is early in Part 2, when Rochester is narrating the details of their arrival to Massacre. On the night before they reach their honeymoon house, Rochester had lain awake “listening to cocks crowing all night” (39). Later, in Part 2, Antoinette takes over the narration, and this time, it is she who notices the sound of a cock crowing. As she leaves Christophine’s house, she observes that “[n]earby a cock crowed” and Antoinette thinks, “That is for betrayal, but who is the traitor?” (74).ExplanationIn the New Testament of the Bible, on the night of the Last Supper, Jesus shares his last meal with his disciples. Jesus tells his disciples that he knows that one of them will betray him. When Peter, one of his most loyal disciples, tells Jesus that he would never betray him, Jesus responds by telling him that Peter, in fact, will deny him three times. According to the Gospel of Matthew:Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "This very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you."?Later that evening, Peter is confronted on three separate occasions by strangers accusing him of being one of Jesus’ disciples. Just as Jesus predicts, Peter denies knowing Jesus each time. After the third denial, a cock crows to highlight this betrayal.ApplicationIn its Biblical context, the sound of the cock crowing indicates betrayal. Likewise, in Wide Sargasso Sea, the sound of cocks crowing also highlights betrayal—the dual betrayals that Rochester and Antoinette commit against each other. The first time the cock crows in WSS, the couple has just arrived on their honeymoon island. Rochester has difficulty sleeping, anxious and uncomfortable in the unfamiliar Caribbean heat and kept awake by the sounds of the cocks crowing all night. In this context, the sound of the cocks crowing foreshadows the ways in which Rochester will betray Antoinette while on their honeymoon. He first betrays her after he receives Daniel Cosway’s letter and immediately jumps to the conclusion that Cosway is telling the truth. He admits, “I felt no surprise. It was as if I’d expected it, been waiting for it”(60). Already uneasy of his marriage to Antoinette, Cosway’s letter only confirms and justifies Rochester’s suspicions. Later, after meeting with Cosway—another betrayal—he returns home to confront Antoinette and refuses to believe his wife’s side of the story. Yet Rochester is not the only one who can be seen as committing an act of betrayal. Antoinette, too, betrays Rochester when she goes behind his back and enlists Christophine to manipulate Rochester’s feelings. She begs Christophine to use her knowledge of obeah to create something that will make Rochester love her. She pleads, “I know you can. That is what I wish and that is why I came here. You can make people love or hate”(70). She later puts the substance in Rochester’s drink. When he awakens, he believes he has been poisoned, which only makes him even more suspicious of his wife. The cycle of betrayal is then furthered when Rochester then not only sleeps with Amelie, but cruelly does so within earshot of his wife.Allusions in The Handmaid’s TaleGilead, a land mentioned in the BibleGenesis 30:1-3?(Epigraph)Whirlwind, Chariot, Behemoth (4.3)Mark 4:1-9?(4.13)Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn (5.12)Stores names' that reference the Old Testament: Lilies of the Field, Milk and Honey, All Flesh (5)Isaiah 40:6?(8.21)Luke 23:34?(8.217)Deuteronomy 17: 6?(11.24)Matthew 5.5?(12.12)The Bible (15.4)Genesis 8:17,?30:1-8,?30:18?(15.20, 39)The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-13) (15.21)2 Chronicles 16.9?(15.54)1 Corinthians 13: 13?(19.5-6)Jezebel?(19.27)Genesis 3:16?(19.38)St. Paul,?Acts?(20.5)Jesus (21.25) (25.86)Book of Job?(28.16)The Lord's Prayer?(referenced throughout XI.30)1 Timothy 2:12?(34.18-24)The Whore of Babylon (38.13)The Crucifixion (45.2)The Old Testament (Historical Notes.28)Jonathan Swift,?A Modest Proposal?(Epigraph)Sufi proverb (Epigraph)Little Red Riding Hood?(2.11)The Shape of Things to Come?(8.25)"?The Night Before Christmas?" (17.7)Les Sylphides?(ballet music) (13.6)Tennyson?(25.29)Raymond Chandler (29.9)Charles Dickens,?Hard Times?(29.9)Krishna and Kali ("Historical Notes" 6)Geoffrey Chaucer?("Historical Notes" 12)William Wordsworth, "Preface" to the?Lyrical Ballads?(Historical Notes.20)The Sabine Women?(painting) (29.38)Beethoven?(8.6)Saints of the Darker Ages (24.10)Queen Victoria?(16.8)Nazis (24.18)The?Renaissance?(25.54)Edwardian period (25.55)Venus de Milo (29.37)Colosseum?(29.37)The Warsaw Tactic (Historical Notes.6)Humphrey Bogart?(5.13)Lauren Bacall?(5.13)Katharine Hepburn?(5.13)Tarzan?(7.20)Time?(8.21)Newsweek?(8.21)"Amazing Grace" (10.2)"Heartbreak Hotel" (10.4)Weight Watchers?(13.17)Oklahoma!?(14.47)Agent Orange?(19.40)Scrabble?(23.43-46 and frequently throughout remainder of book)Vogue?(25.51)"In god we trust" (28.17)Mademoiselle?(29.9)Esquire?(29.9)Ms.?(29.9)Reader's Digest?(29.9)There is a Balm in Gilead?(34.4)Elvis Presley's Golden Years?(Historical Notes.17)Folk Songs of Lithuania?(Historical Notes.17)Boy George Takes It Off?(Historical Notes.17)Mantovani's Mellow Strings?(Historical Notes.17)Twisted Sister at Carnegie Hall?(Historical Notes.17) ................
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