Fun Trivia : Atwood, Margaret

Structure Sub-topic of: Authors A-C Quizzes Interesting Questions, Facts and Information There are a total of 60 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display. Special Topics Oryx and Crake Part II Oryx and Crake Part I Alias, Grace The Handmaid's Tale All About "Alias Grace"

Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

Atwood, Margaret

In what country does most of the story take place?

Margaret Atwood's 'Cat's Eye'


Canada. Mostly in Toronto.



What does the woman at the art exhibit throw on Elaine's painting 'White Gift'?

Margaret Atwood's 'Cat's Eye'


Ink. She thought the painting was blasphemous.



Which girls were mean to Elaine as a child?

Margaret Atwood's 'Cat's Eye'


Cordelia, Grace, Carol.



What did Elaine do to herself when she was stressed?

Margaret Atwood's 'Cat's Eye'


Peel the skin from her feet. She would do this at night when no one could see.



What was the name of the portrait Elaine painted of Cordelia?

Margaret Atwood's 'Cat's Eye'


Half a Face. "Half a Face" is the title of Part 8 of the book and later in Part 9 is revealed to be the title of a paining of Cordelia. The painting shows Cordelia with fright in her eyes. Behind her is another face covered with a white cloth, Elaine's face.



What did Cordelia's sisters call their cigarettes?

Margaret Atwood's 'Cat's Eye'


Ciggie-poo. These two girls would do anything to be considered 'cool'.



Where was Cordelia living when Elaine met with her after they had grown up?

Margaret Atwood's 'Cat's Eye'


Rest home. She begged Elaine to get her out.



What item of Elaine's does Cordelia throw into the ravine?

Margaret Atwood's 'Cat's Eye'


Hat. Cordelia makes her go down into the ravine where the 'bad men' are to get her hat and then leaves her there.



What is Elaine's father's profession?

Margaret Atwood's 'Cat's Eye'


Entemologist. He taught classes at the university.



Which war takes place during Elaine's childhood?

Margaret Atwood's 'Cat's Eye'


World War II. Vietnam took place in her lifetime, but WWII was during her childhood.



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

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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.



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

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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



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

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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.



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?

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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!



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?

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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



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

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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.



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 ____?'

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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.



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

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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).



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?

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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.



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?

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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.



"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?

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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'.



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?

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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.



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?

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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.



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?

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood


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!



What is Snowman's given name?

Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake"


Jimmy. Snowball is the name Jimmy gives himself after the disease kills off most human beings. "Snowman" is what the Crakers call him. It is a rather ironic name, as it never snows anymore due to global warming.



What is a rakunk?

Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake"


an animal. A rakunk is a cross of a raccoon and a skunk. They were an early "create-an-animal" experiment that caught on as pets.



What colour eyes do the Crakers have?

Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake"


Green. Crake liked green eyes.



Crake's given name is Glenn. Whom does Atwood imply he is named after?

Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake"


Glenn Gould. Crake mentions that he is named after "some pianist."



Snowman briefly has an activist roommate while attending university. She was a member of which group?

Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake"


God's Gardeners. "God's Gardeners" is a revolutionary group of environmentalists and animal activists.



What is the name of the highschool where Crake and Snowman first meet?

Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake"


HelthWyzer High. HelthWyzer High is the school for children of HelthWyzer employees.



What is a crake?

Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake"


an Australian bird. Glenn chooses the red-necked crake as his handle on the internet gaming site Extinctathon, all about extinct animals.