Handmaid's Tale Ch 18-21

Why are the handmaids happy about the birthmobile?

• Because they get to go to the hospital with friends

  
  

• Because they get to be respected this day

  
  

• Because they get to be in a ceremony with the commander

  
  

• because they finally get to drive a car

  
  

What is an “unbaby”, and what happens to them?

• A baby born to an unmarried woman, who is disowned

  
  

• a baby with serious birth defects, who is taken away

  
  

• a baby that can't be given away, so they sell it

  
  

• a baby that can't be given away, so they sell it

  
  

How do the wives treat Janine when they offer her a cookie?

• like a dog or a child

  
  

• like a peer or an equal

  
  

• like a woman or a victim

  
  

• like a friend or a relative

  
  

What was the reason for the infertility in this society?

• People didn't want kids anymore

  
  

• The cause was unknown

  
  

• Some people were not allowed to have babies

  
  

• Environmental poisoning, pollution and radiation.

  
  

What do we find out about how they name the Handmaids?

• Each one has the last name of the commander

  
  

• The wives share their name with the handmaids

  
  

• they get old fashioned names from the bible

  
  

• They are named after the commander's first name

  
  

Why is there a double seat on the "birthing stool?"

• because handmaids must always be in pairs

  
  

• because they need a space for the baby to sit

  
  

• because the wife sits there too

  
  

• because they need to leave room for the aunt to sit

  
  

Why does Offred have such a physical response to the labor of Janine?

• She has strong empathy and can feel what Janine is feeling

  
  

• She is in labor too and it hurts her

  
  

• She has been trained to react this way to the births

  
  

• She feels pain from sitting on the floor for so long

  
  

The most likely reason that they treat the wife of Warren as if she really is in labor is...

• Because they are not very smart, they think it's real

  
  

• they need to convince themselves that this practice is ok

  
  

• because they want the handmaid to feel bad

  
  

• because they think that if they don't they'll get an unbaby

  
  

Who gets to name the baby, why is this?

• Offred names the baby Hannah , after her daughter

  
  

• the Handmaid's name their babies, because they love them

  
  

• the wives name the baby, because they get to keep them

  
  

• the wives name the baby out of spite

  
  

What does this line mean? Each of us holds in her lap a phantom, a ghost baby"

• They each imagine a ghost baby with them

  
  

• they carry the ghost of Angela with them

  
  

• They remember babies they've had and/or might have and lose

  
  

• they have superstitious beliefs about babies