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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is strange about the blankets at the center in Chapter 1?

2. What was off-putting about the last man Offred worked for?

3. What was the center called?

4. What does the narrator think about first in Chapter 3?

5. Who does the narrator go shopping with in Chapter 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 7, where does Offred think that Luke really is?

2. Why does Offred go back to the sitting room later that evening in Chapter 6?

3. How does the Commander act before and during the ceremony in Chapter 6?

4. If Luke is free in Chapter 7, what happened to him?

5. If Luke is dead in Chapter 7, what happened to him?

6. What is the role of the Marthas?

7. If Luke is in jail in Chapter 7, what happened to him?

8. What is the purpose of the exercises that Offred does?

9. In what context does Offred see an Econowife?

10. Why does the narrator start thinking about Moira at night in Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Offred finds comfort, and eventually salvation, through her relationship with Nick. How is Nick characterized? Why is he important? Compare/contrast him with the character of Luke.

Essay Topic 2

Offred leaves the novel on a deliberately ambiguous note. If the novel were to continue, what would her next chapter look like? Use the ‘professor’s’ speech from the end notes as the basis for your fictionalized version.

Essay Topic 3

Offred writes about having taken certain things for granted in her earlier life. Write an essay in which you discuss which things in particular she took for granted, and why. What are some things which she always valued, by contrast?

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