Imagery and symbolism in The Handmaid's Tale

Vivid word-pictures

Throughout The Handmaid's Tale Atwood uses imagery to create vivid word-pictures which express Offred's feelings about and attitudes to her environment and experiences. At times these images form a sustained pattern and move closer to symbolism. So, for example, her frequent imagery about the garden makes us more aware of its representing a living, ultimately untameable, life-force.