51ºÚÁÏ

In this lesson, students will explore the Essential Question: How does Offred’s fragmented storytelling shape our understanding of her experiences and emotions?

This lesson delves into Margaret Atwood’s use of narrative voice and memory in The Handmaid’s Tale, exploring how Offred’s storytelling affects the reader’s perception of her reality. Students will analyse the structure of Offred’s narration, the impact of memory on dystopian narratives, and how shifting perspectives influence meaning.

Lesson Objectives:
To understand how Atwood structures Offred’s narration.
To be able to explore the role of memory in dystopian fiction.
To be able to analyse the effects of narrative style on meaning and reliability.

Lesson Activities:

1. Starter Task: Memory Exercise – Students recall and compare personal memories, considering how clarity and reconstruction influence perception.
2. Discussion: Why might Offred’s memory be unreliable? How does her fragmented storytelling shape the novel’s meaning?
3. Exploring Narrative Style: A guided workbook task examining Offred’s shifts between past and present, her intimate tone, and the impact of uncertainty on reliability.
4. Thought-Tracking Monologue Task: Students reinterpret passages from Chapters 4-6, performing them for different audiences (herself, a future friend, or someone in Gilead) to explore shifts in meaning.
5. Discussion: How does the implied audience change our understanding of Offred’s control over her story?
6. Writing Challenge (Extension Task): Students experiment with fragmented storytelling by rewriting a personal memory in Offred’s style, using shifts in time and perspective.
7. Exit Task: How would a clear, linear narrative change our understanding of Offred’s emotions and experiences?

This is an ideal lesson for GCSE and A-Level English Literature, encouraging critical thinking, discussion, and creative engagement with Atwood’s narrative techniques.

Download now to deepen your students’ understanding of narrative voice in The Handmaid’s Tale. Visit my shop to find the other lesson’s for this unit or to download the whole pack (available 8th March 2025).

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