The Handmaid's Tale Hope

"Writing is an act of faith; I believe it's also an act of hope, the hope that things can be better than they are”. Intelligently said by Margaret Atwood, the author of the novel The Handmaid’s Tale. In her novel, she used narrative forms and conventions to communicate the universal truth of hope. Atwood chose to write the story narrated from the first-person point of view to deliver hope to the readers that she has some sort of control. Furthermore, the novel’s plot curtails on a cliffhanger to leave a small hope through the possibility of her survival and her story ending merrily. As a matter of fact, the novel includes going back and forth between the past and present frequently, which boosts up Offred through the hope and light of those

She has control over the ending. Believing this is a story makes her believe in an end. There will be an end to her story of struggle with Gilead and new different life will come after it. Eventually, the reader believes it too. It promises the reader that every story has an ending. But as she is the one narrating her own story, Offred has control over the ending. She is still alive, surviving, narrating and could always decide how she wants to end the tale. She can always decide what stories to tell and from where she will pick up a story. Even if this control is over an inner act of storytelling to an unknown listener, it still gives her some power. Gilead’s wishes to devastate handmaids and overlook their existence. She is retaining some of her individuality and builds a person with a story to deliver. She now has a task; to finish telling the tale; and she will live for it, the listener or the end. This power and longing become excerpts of hope for Offred and her readers. Moreover, “you” listening to her story imparts hope, as well. She wills to go on with her story for “you” to hear it. “You” could be a person she meets when she escapes, in the future, in Heaven or some better place. Having someone with

The novel does not end at Offred’s story, it goes on with the Historical Notes. To start with, Offred’s story stops when Nick and the Eyes, the secret police, come to take her. Nick tells her to trust him. She decides to go with them as she has no other choice. She does not know what is waiting for her next. It might be the life she dreams of with Nick and their baby or in the Colonies if they were real Eyes. Even worse, she could get hanged on the Wall. “Whether it is the end or a new beginning I have no way of knowing: I have given myself over into the hands of strangers, because it can’t be helped. And so I step up, into the darkness within; or else the light.” (Atwood, 368) Atwood leaves Offred’s final fate unclear. She decided that the most satisfying way to end Offred’s tale is by leaving some questions unanswered and to relay that the adventure continues. It leaves the reader to decide what they think is fair and anticipating. That leaves every reader convinced by whatever they wanted to happen to give hope that their story will, as well, end merrily with hope. The definition of a hopeful ending depends on each reader’s values. Lacking a sad end leaves the chance of a cheerful end taking place. Whatever the happy end is is left for the reader to believe in. This communicates hope to the reader according to them. Aside from Offred’s