The literature of witness; storytelling and self-expression as resistance in The Handmaid’s Tale

Abstract

Bacheloroppgaven ønsker å demonstrere hvordan Offred blir en stille talsmann for protest og mostand gjennom historefortelling. Hennes erfaringer gjennom historiefortelling og selvuttrykk står i mot det understykkende regime, og kan tolkes som en motstand/protest. Gjennom hennes ulike narrative handlinger kjemper hun for sin versjon av frihet og rettferdighet. Oppgaven ønsker å nå frem og demonstrere hvordan historiefortelling og selvuttrykk på mange måter kan støtte opp mot, og fungere som protest og motstand.

The thesis wishes to demonstrate how Offred becomes a silent advocate for protest and resistance, revolting against the oppressive rule, through her self-expression and storytelling of her life in the regime. It explores how her storytelling and self-expression can be seen as a form of resistance, which depicts how she through different forms of narrative acts ultimately fights for her reality of freedom and justice. Throughout the dissertation it is explored how this dystopian sci-fi novel displays a form of resistance through the storytelling and self-expression of Offred, and how her narration in many ways can be supported to function as protest and resistance.