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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 different about the Wives’ birthmobile?

2. Why is everyone jealous of Janine in Chapter 2?

3. What does the narrator compare her story to?

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

5. What do the Aunts have in their belts in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. What fate has Janine avoided by having the baby?

2. What tone do the women take with Janine?

3. In what context does Offred see an Econowife?

4. In Chapter 4, What does the message in Offred’s room say?

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

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

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

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

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

10. Why does Offred have to be especially careful on this assignment, according to Chapter 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Each role in the novel has a particular color associated with it – red for Handmaids, blue for Wives, and so on. Why are these colors important? Examine the importance and symbolism of various colors throughout the book, tying them to characterizations.

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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