View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the purpose of Offred's walk in Chapter 2?

2. Who is pregnant in Chapter 2?

3. Where does the narrator go in Chapter 3?

4. What does the Commander play with Offred in Chapter 8?

5. In Chapter 7, what did the gravestone have engraved on it?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Why is the narrator in the setting at the opening of the novel?

4. What tone do the women take with Janine?

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

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

7. What is wrong with how Offred kisses the Commander, in his view?

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

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

10. How is Offred’s role different from that of the Commander’s Wife?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Gilead might seem to be a cold and terrifying society at first glance. Explore the basis of this society. What came before, and what were the factors that caused Gilead to arise? How has it organized itself, and for what reasons?

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

Though a young society, Gilead already has a number of its own rituals. Pick one ritual or ceremony and describe any links to real-world events that you can find. What roots did Gilead draw upon in inventing this ceremony? What is its social function and significance?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 525 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample