The Handmaids, the Eyes, and the Rebels

     I definitely have to say that the game that we played on Monday was a good eye opener (no pun intended) relating to The Handmaid's Tale.  While playing the game, the feelings and emotions that went through my head allowed me to directly connect to the story.  
     In the game, you can't really trust anyone since everybody is trying to hide their identity and/or convince everyone else that they are a handmaid.  Same is true in the story; handmaids don't really know who to trust.  Even Offred can't talk to Ofglen in a normal manner, all they really talk about is "how nice the weather" as if that is a real conversation.  One would think that these handmaids would console each other more about their harsh, cruel treatment - or at least talk about it.  But I guess in the long run, they don't know who is an "eye", and if they end up expressing their discontent to an "eye", extremely harsh consequences could follow.  
     I also found it difficult to figure out who really was a handmaid, rebel, or eye.  I feel like the "daytime" stage where we all conversed to try to figure out people's roles almost seemed like it did no help except to persecute every two to three days.  After being killed, though, I really enjoyed looking in on the game and seeing who were eyes and rebels and watching how the game unfolded.
     I was also able to relate to the confusion that was constantly going on, especially at the beginning of the game when none of us really knew what was going on at all.  It seems like we didn't really know what to do during the "daytime".  Questions like,

• "Do we make alliances?"

• "How do we convince other people that I am a handmaid?"

• "How do we figure out who's an eye or a rebel?"

and

• "How do I convince them not to persecute me?"

went through all of our heads.  This relates to the story because the handmaids are basically living in solid confusion.  many of them really don't know what is going on 'inside' and 'outside' the real world.

• "Why are we being treated like this?"

• "How is the war going?"

• "How much longer will we be living like this?"

• "Is there still hope for life after this?"

These are all questions going through each of these woman's minds every single day, as for us as well. 
     Finally, I was also able to connect to an anxious yet somewhat disturbing feeling throughout the game.  All of us were anxious to find out some kind of news such as who is an eye, rebel, or someone about to be persecuted.  We all felt uneasy as if we would be one of the ones killed, or hopefully one of the ones rescued.  Likewise, in the story, the handmaids are always feeling this same anxious/uneasy/disturbed feeling of the unknown.  The wonder whether or not they will become pregnant, who else is pregnant, what is going on in the outside world, etc.
     I thought this game was really helpful because it allowed us to relate to the handmaids on a whole new level.
 
 

The Handmaid's Tweet