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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 has Janine now avoided in Chapter 8?

2. If he is alive, what will Luke send to Offred?

3. Who is Offred looking for in Chapter 8?

4. What did the Commander’s wife used to be?

5. What language does ‘Mayday’ come from?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Offred’s mother say about her father?

2. In Chapter 6, how does the Commander pray?

3. Why did Offred and the other women take naps at the center?

4. Who from the first chapter appears again later in the novel?

5. How does the narrator feel about the Commander’s House in Chapter 2? Describe her surroundings as well as her reactions to them.

6. Why is the doctor’s offer to Offred in Chapter 4 tempting?

7. What happened to Serena Joy that was traumatic in her earlier life?

8. What does Offred do after exercising in Chapter 5?

9. Why do the women steal something for Moira at the center?

10. What is the narrator’s attitude towards her audience, at the end of Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Women and their roles play an overwhelming part in “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Is this a feminist work? In what ways might it be considered feminist? Are there indications that it may not be, as well?

Essay Topic 3

Though the novel focuses on Handmaids, other characters, in other roles, also permeate the book. Describe one role in-depth. What are some of the advantages of this role? Disadvantages?

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