Flickering lanterns at the side of the path cast just enough light to see by. The light was too dim to see anyone who might be hiding. The smell of cooking food and incense wafted through the air. It was quiet and peaceful. Emi was near the path where she had seen the two maikos walking and knew what was coming.
Emi’s heart was racing even though this couldn’t be real. She reached out with her fingers and touched a leaf on the bush in front of her feeling the veins and the texture. Tracing the smooth edge of it, and putting it up to her nose and smelling it; Emi knew this was real. She’d traveled back in time to the moments right before the women were attacked.
Knowing what was coming didn’t help Emi know how to stop it. The location of the
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Kumi had scrambled into the trees toward her friend. The demon was now within arm’s reach. Emi allowed her thoughts and feelings to fall away and let her Tai No Henko training take over. He swung a heavy arm toward her. She stepped to the side to avoid it while grabbing his wrist. Emi used his own momentum to twist his wrist and throw him to the ground. Roaring, he stood, and Emi positioned herself accordingly. She had to be conscious of where the trees were. She moved to make sure she had enough room to maneuver.
He came at her again. She turned her body once more, rolling her back along his arm throwing him off balance. Emi planned to run as soon as she was clear of his weight, but his hand struck out and grabbed her ponytail. Pulling her off her feet, he took her down with him. His hand released her when they hit the ground. Emi rolled away into a tree and used it to scramble to her feet.
She thought of running, but the man the demon occupied was fit and taller than her, he would catch her with the length of his stride. He stood again and came at her. Emi used her smaller stature and faster reflexes to avoid and deflect his blows over and over. Sweat dripped into her eyes, and her muscles were aching from the strain. He grabbed her arm and flung her against a tree knocking the breath from her, leaving her dazed. She dropped to the dirt gasping for breath. On her hands and knees, she reached for the base of the tree to help her
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Emi was suspended, dangling from his side while he carried her easily. Her head hurt, and she was only partially aware of what was happening. She started to thrash in his grip, and he hit her with his other hand leaving her senses reeling. The only thought in her mind was that she was being dragged away by the demon who had murdered Mitsuko.
Her vision blurred and she dared not struggle again. He would hit her harder the next time, and she might pass out. To survive, she believed she had to stay conscious. He was moving swiftly now, taking her further away from the only part of Japan she was familiar with. Panic started in the pit of her stomach, and the jostling way he carried her was making her nauseous. They were still in the trees, but the forest was thinning out as the tree trunks were spaced wider apart. She could see light coming from somewhere ahead of them.
An idea surfaced in her addled mind, but she wasn’t sure it would work. She only had one chance, but she had to try something, or she would die. Emi let her weight go slack. He was now carrying her as if she was dead weight. He shook her trying to wake her, and she continued to let herself be as heavy as
started to recognize it, she was trying to beat it back with sheer will power.
Atwood makes it evident that Offred isn’t supposed to be the most aware character, in fact, her narration displays both ambiguity and hazy recollection throughout the novel. Her intention is for Offred to be interpreted as a complicated character though, so, she offers an ending that is just as ambiguous as Offred is, as a means to further the ongoing idea that she is three-dimensional. However, this could be an explanation as to why Atwood creates such an ambiguous ending: to further characterize Offred. The references to light and dark, however, foreshadow the fate of Offred as it constructs its own ambiguous interpretation, in which the way that light and dark contrast with each other creates a more vague ending; this can symbolize the fact
her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and
Offred is a handmaid, in the novel The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood, who no longer desired to rebel against the government of Gilead after they separated her from her family. When Offred was taken away from her family the Government of Gilead placed her in an institution known as the Red Center where they trained her along with other women unwillingly to be handmaids. The handmaid’s task was to repopulate the society because of the dramatic decrease in population form lack of childbirth. Handmaids are women who are put into the homes of the commanders who were unable to have kids with their own wives. The Handmaids had very little freedom and were not allowed to do simple tasks by themselves or without supervision like taking baths or going to the store. There was an uprising against the government of Gilead and many people who lived in this society including some handmaids looked for a way to escape to get their freedom back which was taken away from them and to reunited with their families which they lost contact with. Offred was one of the handmaids who was against the government of Gilead before she was put in the Red Center, but she joined the uprising after she became a
The story The Handmaid’s Tale reveals the presence of manipulation of power the reason being is because the caste system holds a lot of power to control other minorities. The other thing is the story has a lot feminism. Mainly, the women were mistreated and put into different categories of the caste system. Women would teach each other what they had to do and be together through everything. For instance, Moria is the narrator in which she decides to run away with Luke. Luke which is Moria’s husband decided to take their daughter somewhere else to change her lifestyle. Overall trying to escape went horrible in which they were separated them from each other. In which sadly Moria was made into a handmaid who had to be emotionalist and have
The oxford dictionary refers to the word “utopia” as being a place of “paradise, heaven on earth” as well as perfection. It can be labeled as a place that is the most desirable in any nation on earth and can sum up what we as humans search for. “A Handmaid’s Tale” depicts a twisted, yet not to far off, version of our country not to long ago when we lived in the opposite of this so-called paradise. No word can describe this story better than the opposite of utopia, a “dystopian” society. The entire U.S. government fell into a dystopian-type ruling when the very laws created by the government served to treat women as no more than maids and harlots. In this chaotic story, Margaret Atwood depicts a society where men and women fall into the rules of the old testament based on older beliefs describing women as lesser individuals compared to men. Atwood shows the similarities between the Republic of Gilead and the way we used to see the roles of women as well as some aspects of society today. Her overall reason for creating this story is to show her readers around the world the scary truth and effects of the belittlement of women and disregarding them as more than just wives and housemaids.
We were now at the bus stop. The sun had replenished and the sky full of glee. There was trail next to the bus stop, she started walking through it. The trees intertwined like arches and the shadows created an ominous feeling. As she walked through the forest, her whole body had a calm aura.
Anderson: Well as you can see outside, people are already starting to go crazy from the shutdown of technology, lights, and electricity. For some reason you have all come together, whether it is to caution us about what is to come in the near future as our society progresses or to make suggestions to improve the community to save us from the dystopian lifestyle in your books. Whatever the reason, Janine it’s great to see you. I found your character in A Handmaid’s Tale very interesting. What do you have to say about being here?
She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over...
In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, social turmoil after a staged terrorist attack has led to a totalitarian Christian regime. In this dystopian future, the roles of men and women are much different than in today’s society. In The Handmaid’s Tale, women are unequal because they have no choice about their bodies, their dress, or their relationships.
able to call for help. She then walks back outside controlled by a strange force and going with
In present time, the modern world we live is constantly fighting for improvement throughout each nation, some large political and sociocultural issues includes the rights for women, LGBTQ persons, people of colour, Aboriginals, etc. These subjects include an endless list of issues within that need solving and for social justice to be restored. Margaret Atwood uses the Handmaid’s Tale as a source for what could happen in a religious-driven totalitarian society were to take over a democratic civilization. There is a warning of our rights being stripped of us for the ‘good of our future children’. The commander in the Handmaid’s tale discusses when an extreme change occurs, or a revolution in this case, not all involved are going to reap the benefits of this change, someone is going to have to deal with the consequences.
The sweat began to pour from my body, while my heart raced to pump blood at an accelerated rate. The chase was on. Pedaling my bike, I swerved left and right, dodging all sorts of trash that littered the desolate ground beneath my feet. The car was gaining ground fast, its ebony silhouette glaring at me like some hell-spawned demon. A cold, clammy hand seemed to envelope my body.
As she is walking by she hears a loud shout, “Hey, princess, you look like you could handle all of this!” The woman looks back in fear. She picks up her pace. She is afraid she might be followed. She sees the man walking towards her at a brisk pace, keeping her in his sight the whole way.
I looked up at the black sky. I hadn't intended to be out this late. The sun had set, and the empty road ahead had no streetlights. I knew I was in for a dark journey home. I had decided that by traveling through the forest would be the quickest way home. Minutes passed, yet it seemed like hours and days. The farther I traveled into the forest, the darker it seemed to get. I was very had to even take a breath due to the stifling air. The only sound familiar to me was the quickening beat of my own heart, which felt as though it was about to come through my chest. I began to whistled to take my mind off the eerie noises I was hearing. In this kind of darkness I was in, it was hard for me to believe that I could be seeing these long finger shaped shadows that stretched out to me. I had this gut feeling as though something was following me, but I assured myself that I was the only one in the forest. At least I had hoped that I was.