Declan’s Comments (group member since Nov 13, 2019)

Declan’s comments from the Spine Crackers group.

Sage wrote: "Kyla wrote: "Throughout the novel we are taken through Emoni's coming of age journey, portrayed through many themes such as perseverance, the strength and importance of family bonds and believing i..."
I agree with you Sage, the way Acevedo chose certain adjectives that describe food and relates it to the situation is astounding. For example on page 304 "He scoops my hand in his..." The "scoop" is usually used in describing the quantity of a measurement in a recipe.

Sage wrote: "Stephanie wrote: "Acevedo connects imagery to the theme of being faced with constant challenges. Having a child at a young age, and trying her best to keep up her grades, as well as pursuing her dr..."
I agree with the idea that the imagery immerses you into Emoni's mind. But I also think that the imagery becomes more detailed as the book progresses because Emoni is cooking, more and having new experiences as the story goes along. I've also noticed the imagery comes up more during important events such as "I begin scooping sweet-potato casserole onto ceramic serving spoons while Richard garnishes them with sugared walnuts and Spanish sausage"(220). I felt she went into a lot more detail than previously in the novel. What else do you guys think?

Abby wrote: "I believe that in Emonis recipes in the beginning of each part, at the top it says what the recipe serves, for example, on page three it states “ Serves: Your heart when you are missing someone you..."

I agree with you. The fact that each part starts with a recipe and the recipe serves a purpose as you said. On page 141 it says "Serves: Your ego when you're full of regret." This marks the start of Part 2 and in this part you begin to see relations worsen with Tyrone and his family and Pretty Leslie. The quote you chose from Part 3 could possibly have something to do with Emoni gaining experience and confidence and eventually her job with Chef Williams at her restaurant (385).

Throughout the whole book Acevedo has and develops the theme of perseverance. Emoni said "I've known since I was little that we had to learn to treat money like a rubber band and stretch that dawn until it almost snaps"(270). This shows the perseverance because Emoni just lost her part time job at the burger joint and now has to manage her money even more than she did before. Acevedo does a good job of doing this as shown in Emoni's progression of helping out before school making teacher lunches to raise money and heading the Winter Dinner (222).

Throughout the book, most notably at the start of each part, she starts it off with a recipe. More importantly what is Acevedo's recipe for her writing structure, and what are her ingredients to her "recipe"?

In Guess Who's Back Emoni walks into the cooking class and begins to cook. She was recently put into Amanda and Richards group because she would change the recipe and would lose points because of it. She said " I spend the majority of the time listening to Amanda and Richard as they ask me to dice, chop, and sauté root vegetables"(188). This part stuck out to me because its kind of taking this small little part of her day taking orders from her partners and relating it to the theme of multitasking. I think this because Emoni recently took on the job of leading the fundraising campaign which is now on top of her caring for Emma, school work, and balancing her job as well. She follows up with " I pay more attention to the little details than the overall dish. By the time everything is plated I'm surprised at what it actually is"(188). I feel that this relates as well to the theme of task completion because she will later on complete the fundraising campaign and will be on her way to Spain. What do you guys think?

From these following chapters: Guess who’s back?, Coven, Dreams, Winter Dinner , A Numbers Game, On Ice, Chivalry, Blood Boil, or other parts where you found rich writing; find the choices that Acevedo made to have the writing build a stronger connection between itself and the themes.

Eva wrote: "In "With the Fire on High", the author conveys the theme of Emoni's internal struggle with not having her parents and uses imagery to develop that theme throughout Part 1. Emoni expresses a deep lo..."

I also agree with the theme of the importance of parent figures. As you mentioned Emoni's father would drop in for a little bit then leave without saying goodbye, which had scarred Emoni's heart. This can also be shown when Tyrone picks up Emma for the first time "... Babygirl realizes what's happening. She's leaving"(48). This quote shows how much Emma needs her mother and how important she is to her. The jealousy also begins to play a factor in this when Tyrone finds out about Malachi going over to help with the anniversary dinner "I miss one weekend with her and you bringing other guys around my daughter?"(170) This shows his insecurity of being absent from his daughters life since he only gets to have her every other weekend.

Stephanie wrote: "Declan wrote: "The first part that comes to mind for me is when Tyrone comes to pick up Babygirl. Emoni describes it as "She blinks up at her father like he's a burst of sunshine sliding through wi..."

Yes I agree as well with worrying becoming a theme in the book. The theme of worry can also be seen when Emoni gets her phone taken from her at school. This is when Emma is sick at school but Emoni can't respond since she had gotten her phone taken. Emoni says "Is Emma okay? Where is she? My phone... is still at school. Do you have her?"(253). Then Mrs.Palmer worries Emoni more by threatening to take have Tyrone take custody of Emma and this destroys Emoni because she has mentioned her life revolves around Babygirl.

The first part that comes to mind for me is when Tyrone comes to pick up Babygirl. Emoni describes it as "She blinks up at her father like he's a burst of sunshine sliding through window. I'm not jealous of that look, not at all"(46). This begins to show the emerging theme of Emoni's jealousy. I know its a bit of stretch but I believe this because Emoni is definitely not the jealous type except when it comes to Babygirl. I think this because she does all the work for her in between Tyrone coming to get her every two weeks and she barely gets the same reaction from her. That's until Babygirl realizes that she is leaving with Tyrone and won't see Emoni for a few days. What do you think of my imagery to theme connection?

The first part of the book contains plenty of imagery. How does Acevedo connect this imagery to the emerging themes in this part?

Zach wrote: "Margaret Atwood uses imagery extensively in the beginning of the novel. She uses imagery to describe Offred's surroundings almost at all times. For example, "Sunlight comes through the window too, ..."

Zach, I like what you said about the imagery that Margaret Atwood uses through her writing. What really stuck out to me was the "shatterproof window" (12) part you used. This stuck out to me because I feel Atwood uses her imagery to emphasize the idea that they are basically imprisoned. She also notions to the idea of being classy. She does when Offred "...open[s] the white picket fence..."(17). This shows that at one point the fence showed status but now it all means nothing but repetition of doing the same thing over and over again.

Kyla I found what you said to be extremely true. The fact that the Republic took something everyone knew and found comfort in and made it something fearful is definitely something to note. The caduceus as you said represented healing and was carried by the god Hermes in greek mythology and Mercury in roman mythology. The healing that you mentioned is symbolized by the caduceus however as you said the eye that they placed above could represent corruption or as you said again the idea of their every move being watched and judged by. This symbol and connections you made i personally found very interesting.

Stephanie I 100% agree with you. These pre established laws and documents such as the constitution protect the rights of the citizen to prevent such things from happening. The united states is based off of a government by the people and the people have a really strong influence over the government.

Jonathan wrote: "I do not believe that the events that took place in "The Handmaid's Tale" could happen in the future of the United States. In the novel, some people are not even "allowed out, except for...walks, t..."

You said that the dystopian society couldn't happen in the United States because of the very fair trial system, equal voice, freedom of the press, etc. But then you ended by saying it could possibly be in the future of the nation. Can you tell how you think that could happen even though it is extremely strenuous to invoke big change? Like I said before I don't believe this can happen in the US but it could happen in a Third World country. But still even if the desperate times called for desperate measures I think the UN or power house nations would step in before it could happen. Now that I am thinking of it, it could possibly happen in North Korea due to Kim Jong Un holding all the power in the nation and they also practice isolationism which could also play a factor in the process of becoming like the Republic of Gliead.

Eva wrote: "Abby wrote: "Eva wrote: "Margaret Atwood uses symbolism in the novel to emphasize a point she is trying to make about the society represented in the book. A society that bases a woman's value on he..."

I agree with you Eva. Offred is a hand maid and her job is to be fertile to supply the republic of Gilead with children. Then there are Marthas like you said were basically servants and then there are the wives who are the highest ranking women in the society. The wives also have hold some power as shown when " ...there's still a black market... a women who might bend the rules"(14). But in my opinion the lowest ranking class was the econowives. Offred describes them as "...red and blue and green and cheap and skimpy, that mark the women of the poorer men...They have to do everything; if they can"(24).

I strongly doubt that this could happen in the future to the United States. I strongly doubt this because people are too involved in politics for big changes to be made quickly. Another reason why it can’t happen in the US is because it is very strenuous to pass any legislation that has no opposition and it would still be an extremely long process to pass laws that would make a dystopian society. However this might happen in third world countries and countries that are desperate for change. But I still strongly believe that this can’t happen because United Nations would step in or the nation would receive global backlash.

Jonathan wrote: "Declan wrote: "I feel that the purpose of the epigraphs is to show possible thoughts of the and actions that are going to be taken by Offred. The third epigraph which could possibly be about desper..." Thank you for the insight Jonathan and your questions. I think that these actions won't only be taken by Offred because other handmaids and people have been held accountable for their actions as shown by The Wall (11), this shows that Offred wouldn't be the first nor the last. Right now in the novel no one else is really standing out as a clear candidate for acting with impulse. The only one I think that could possibly act on desperation is Serena Joy because Offred could hear her listening to her old music on a really low volume so she wouldn't get caught (55). Thank you for your input on the possible meanings of these epigraphs.

Atwood definitely has a strong presence of imagery in the novel. As Offred and Ofglen are walking back from the market they begin to look up into the sky and Offred describes it like “…in the sky there are white fluffy clouds, the kind that look like headless sheep”(30). This imagery show that though the clouds look nice, light and somewhat cheerful they have a defining trait to them. Just before Offred said that she was questioned by an interpreter if she was happy and she responded with yes because she knew it was the only right answer and could possibly end up “headless” if she answered otherwise.

I feel that the purpose of the epigraphs is to show possible thoughts and actions that are going to be taken by Offred. The third epigraph which could possibly be about desperation as Abby said can be found on page 18 when Offred says how “[she] Really wanted was the cigarette”(18). This shows that she was desperate for a cigarette but soon came to the realization of what her possible consequences could be and what Nicks consequences could be. Another example of the desperation epigraph being used is in chapter one about how they “…thought, some deal made, some trade off, we still had our bodies. That was our fantasies”(4). This also shows the desperation in wanting life normal and how they realized there still is an outside world as evidenced by the possibility of a black market.