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Quiz about The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood Quiz

Margaret Atwood's classic dystopia is pretty much my favourite book, and I hope you will find out some new things about it if you take this quiz. Have fun!

A multiple-choice quiz by Frideswide. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
Frideswide

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
113,031

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
11 / 15

Plays
2346

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 172 (11/15), Guest 81 (13/15), Guest 172 (8/15).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. 'The Handmaid's Tale' was written in which year? Hint

1991

1985

1980

1975

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Question 2 of 15

2. The book's title format makes an implicit reference to which famous English author? Hint

Keats

Orwell

Shakespeare

Chaucer

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Question 3 of 15

3. The book has several epigraphs, one of which establishes the biblical precedent for Handmaids. Which book of the Bible does it come from? Hint

Leviticus

Corinthians

Genesis

Ruth

4. The Handmaids in the book all have patronymics, meaning that they take their names from the men to whom they are assigned. The chief character is called Offred; what is therefore the name of the Commander in whose household she lives?

Answer: (One word; 'of' whom?))

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Question 5 of 15

5. Each of the different types of women in Gilead have to wear clothes of a particular colour. Handmaids have to wear red, and the Wives have to wear blue. What is the name of the women who wear green? Hint

Marthas

Patricias

Marys

Helens

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Question 6 of 15

6. And the name for those assigned to poorer men who wear striped clothes of many colours? Hint

Cheapskates

Supersavers

Bargainbrides

Econowives

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Question 7 of 15

7. In a play on words typical of Offred, she turns a well-known saying on its head and asks 'I am not wasted, why do I ____?'

Answer: ('waste not...')

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Question 8 of 15

8. True or false: Offred had a husband and child in her pre-Gilead life.

True

False

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Question 9 of 15

9. 'Gender treachery', for which individuals can be put to death and hung on the Wall, is the Gilead name for which crime? Hint

Marriage

Incest

Homosexuality

Women becoming priests

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Question 10 of 15

10. Offred discovers a heroic message scratched into the wardrobe by her tragic predecessor at the Commander's house. It is written in Latin as 'nolite te bastardes carborundorum', but what is its translation? Hint

The heart is the bastion of the soul

Never give up in the face of oppression

Don't let the bastards grind you down

No-one ever died from boredom

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Question 11 of 15

11. One of several twisted quotations found in the book is that illustrating the injunction for Handmaids not to read and write - 'Pen Is Envy'. Of course, this has been adapted from the phrase 'penis envy' popularised by which philosopher? Hint

Wittgenstein

Jung

Freud

Schopenhauer

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Question 12 of 15

12. "There is more than one kind of freedom... Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don't underrate it." Which character tells the Handmaids this? Hint

Cora

Serena Joy

Aunt Lydia

The Commander

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Question 13 of 15

13. Offred's friend Moira was a rebel in the pre-Gilead days and also in the Red Centre where Handmaids were trained. What was the patronymic of another rebel Handmaid whom Offred meets whilst at the Commander's house?

Answer: ((from Glen's household))

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Question 14 of 15

14. By the end of Offred's story, has she succeeded in having the baby she so desperately needs to escape classification as an 'Unwoman' and banishment to the Colonies?

Yes

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Question 15 of 15

15. And finally, in the 'Historical Notes' we are told the symposium on Offred's diaries is being conducted in 'Denay, Nunavut'. This is usually interpreted as Atwood's pun on which four word phrase?

Answer: ((say the location out loud!))

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Most Recent Scores

Oct 06 2024 : Guest 172: 11/15
Oct 02 2024 : Guest 81: 13/15
Sep 22 2024 : Guest 172: 8/15

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. 'The Handmaid's Tale' was written in which year?

Answer: 1985

When writing the book, Margaret Atwood was inspired not only by the sexist reproduction policies of the Nazis and the ethics of America's Bible Belt, but also the shocking tactics used in Ceaucescu's Romania to increase the birth rate. She kept a folder of news clippings throughout the early 1980s in order to give her book a genuine grounding in real-life issues.

2. The book's title format makes an implicit reference to which famous English author?

Answer: Chaucer

Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' include such sub-sections as 'The Wife of Bath's Tale' and 'The Knight's Tale'.

3. The book has several epigraphs, one of which establishes the biblical precedent for Handmaids. Which book of the Bible does it come from?

Answer: Genesis

The passage is Genesis 30 chapters 1 to 3. This section tells of how Rachel's maid Bilhah was used as a concubine by Jacob, and Gilead uses this idea as the basis of its allocation of fertile young women to important families where the wives are childless.

Answer: Fred

The book's epilogue debates the identity of the Commander, but none of the historians can decide exactly who he is from the sketchy historical documents. All we know for sure is that his name was Fred!

Answer: Marthas

Cora and Rita are the two Marthas in the Commander's household. Their function is to prepare food and keep the house clean.

6. And the name for those assigned to poorer men who wear striped clothes of many colours?

Answer: Econowives

The Econowives wear multicoloured clothes to represent that, as the wives of poorer men, they must fulfil the many duties of Martha, Handmaid and Wife all at once.

7. In a play on words typical of Offred, she turns a well-known saying on its head and asks 'I am not wasted, why do I ____?'

Answer: want

This refers to 'waste not, want not'. Offred is not being wasted; on the contrary, she is being put to a very specific use by the Republic of Gilead. However, she is treated only as a body and not as a real human being, which is why she still 'wants' for emotional sustenance and intellectual stimulation.

8. True or false: Offred had a husband and child in her pre-Gilead life.

Answer: true

Offred's husband was named Luke; they were separated at a checkpoint when trying to flee Gilead in the early days of the republic. Whilst she does not know if Luke is alive, Offred knows her daughter is living with another family, as Serena Joy shows her a photograph.

9. 'Gender treachery', for which individuals can be put to death and hung on the Wall, is the Gilead name for which crime?

Answer: Homosexuality

Gender traitors are hung on the Wall and dressed in pink. Other crimes for which people are executed and displayed include being of illegal religious affiliations (such as Jehovah's Witnesses or Jews).

Answer: Don't let the bastards grind you down

Offred finds out that, like her, her predecessor had an illicit 'out of hours' relationship with the Commander. The former Offred wrote this defiant message, but we find out later in the book that she eventually committed suicide.

Answer: Freud

Austrian philosopher Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) theorised that women were neurotic, and envied the male phallus. Since Gilead was obsessed with sexual politics this is an ideal quotation for it to have appropriated.

Answer: Aunt Lydia

Aunt Lydia is one of the cattle prod-armed Aunts who officiate at the Red Centre. She was attempting to persuade the Handmaids that in the new order of Gilead they would be free of many of the problems of twentieth century life, all caused by its profusion of 'choices'.

Answer: Ofglen

Ofglen is one of the most enigmatic characters in the book. She is Offred's lifeline when she reveals herself to be a resistance member, but suddenly disappears and is replaced by a 'new, treacherous Ofglen' in whom Offred can no longer confide. The section where we first meet the new Ofglen when expecting to see Offred's usual friend is one of the most chilling in the book.

14. By the end of Offred's story, has she succeeded in having the baby she so desperately needs to escape classification as an 'Unwoman' and banishment to the Colonies?

Answer: no

Offred's story breaks off at an excruciating moment, as she is taken away from the Commander's house by men who claim to be part of the 'underground', but who could be lying and actually about to take her away for punishment or execution.

Answer: Deny none of it

The 'Historical Notes' show us a symposium far in the future, in which academics dissect Offred's legacy in what appears to be a cold and unfeeling way, caring little for her suffering. It is also an appropriate phrase for a Canadian such as Atwood, since 'Nunavut' means 'our land' to Canada's Inuit people. I hope you have enjoyed this quiz and done well!

Source: Author Frideswide

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bullymom before going online.
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