The Handmaid's Tale

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/the-handmaid-s-tale

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who wrote The Handmaid's Tale?Canadian
2. What is the literary genre?Dystopian speculative fiction
3. What is the year of first publication?1985
4. What is "The Handmaid's Tale" about?It is a story set in a future country called Gilead where women called Handmaids are forced to have babies for the leaders. The book shows how this hurts people and how they try to stay brave.
5. Who is Offred?Offred is the main character who tells the story. She is a Handmaid who remembers her past and thinks about freedom.

Dystopian Literature: A genre of fiction that presents an imagined society characterized by oppression and control.
Patriarchal Society: A social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and control of property.
Theonomic Government: A form of government in which religious law is the basis for civil law.
Female Agency: The capacity of women to act independently and make their own free choices in society.