Lit Log #2

The novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” shuffles a lot with the idea of religion and what that looks like for the main character. In close reading #4, it was brought to my attention that Offred deeply struggles with her religious identity. On page 195, chapter 30, Offred states, “I feel as if I’m talking to a wall. I wish you’d answer. I feel so alone”. To the readers, this reveals that, on the one hand, Offred does acknowledge that she is talking to God. Still, then, on the other hand, Offred is struggling with having faith in the fact that God is listening to her, but because she’s not getting answers to her prayers, her faith is fading. Furthermore, Even though Offred struggles with how strong her faith is, she doesn’t deny that God is a creator because, On page 195, chapter 30, Offred states, “You might even provide a heaven for them. We need you for that. Hell we can make for ourselves.” to the readers this shows that Offred is saying that Heaven is the peace that God created. Hell is what people create hence Gilead and its creation. In her eyes, Gilead is almost the representation of “hell.” The society is very dystopian, and the individual’s freedom and rights have been stripped away from them, which causes them to experience a lot of brainwashing and manipulation. This further proves that Gilead is similar to hell metaphorically, and this pushes characters such as Offred to focus on religion to cope with the loss of identity.

This piece of artwork that I created represents the moment when Offred was praying/talking to God in her room, sitting at the window. This moment is significant because I felt that the author intended to show not only Offred’s struggle but also how people in the real world may battle with having faith. The struggle of talking to God through prayer, asking him questions for guidance and clarity, and being unable to get a direct answer. I choose to create this sense in this way because not only do I believe that this is a vulnerable moment for Offred, but I also believe that this is a vulnerable moment for all people struggling with faith. This scene, among many others, indicates that religion is a significant symbol throughout the novel, and the characters experience it in many ways. The artwork represents her journey and struggles to live in this new society, and she views religion as a safety net to fall back on when there are tough times. Before this scene, the readers didn’t consider Offred a religious believer. This signifies character development and explicitly represents Gilead and how it changes people. What is being portrayed in my scene is God up in the clouds looking down at Offred while she’s praying. We don’t see God’s appearance, so he is just the clouds. Offred is sitting in her room, sitting on the window, getting a full view of her room in a gaze, asking god why she can’t see him or at least get a direct answer from her prayers.