A Handmaid’s Playlist

The Wall - STOP TRYING TO BE GOD by Travis Scott In the first few chapters of The Handmaid’s Tale Offred and Ofglen come upon The Wall. A large wall of stone, with bodies hung from hooks sprawled across it. The wall represents power and the extreme control that the Republic of Gilead has over individuals, especially the handmaids. In “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD,” Scott reflects on the dangers of trying to play an omnipotent role, the illusion of control, and the consequences of overreaching one’s power. This closely corresponds with themes in The Handmaid’s Tale because the Republic attempts to play “God” by controlling the bodies of the handmaids and every aspect of their lives. Scott says, “It’s never love, no matter what you try,” which connects to parts of the novel where the higher-ups try and play off the strict commandments of the government as love and good for them. They would use the media or pornographic magazines to dismay the handmaids, trying to convince them that the old world was worse and that they were better off now. Offred talks about a specific moment when she was looking for her daughter and they tell her that “She’s in good hands,” and “With people who are fit,” (39). The Republic of Gilead continues to play “God” and Scott advises against that in his song because “they might never see it coming back.”

The Birth - Drew Barrymore by SZA In The Handmaid’s Tale, the handmaids are used as vessels to carry the children of their Commander. The time it takes for one of them to become impregnated varies but eventually, one handmaid will become pregnant and the day of the birth will come due. They treat the births of the handmaids very ritualistically, chanting and mimicking the breathing of the handmaid as she attempts to bring the child into the world. The handmaids are forced to give birth under oppressive conditions, where their bodies are controlled, and the act of childbirth is stripped of its personal meaning. The handmaids aren’t even allowed to name their child and that power falls to the wife of the commanders. In “Drew Barrymore,” SZA expresses feelings of insecurity, worthlessness, and not being in control of her own worth or value, themes that reflect the emotional isolation and objectification that the handmaids experience. Lines like, “Is it warm enough for you inside me?” or “I get so lonely, I forget what I’m worth,” mirror the emotional impact of what being a handmaid is like. While “Drew Barrymore” is a more personal experience, its exploration of self-worth and vulnerability parallel the emotional trauma and loss of identity that the handmaids endure.

Alone With The Commander - No Role Modelz by J. Cole Between chapters 22-25, Offred begins meeting the Commander after dark. Their interactions are all very strange and new for Offred because she knows he is breaking some of the laws he put into place to spend time with her. Most surprising of all for her is that during his time alone with her out of everything he could ask, he asked to play Scrabble. Their relationship through the next few meetings changes slowly and the Commander becomes more intimate as Offred begins to become more worried about someone noticing or the Commander suddenly changing his mind about their scheduled time together. The song “No Role Modelz,” by J. Cole closely relates to the themes of power dynamics, manipulation, and exploitation of Offred during her time with the Commander. In the song, Cole reflects on the stupidity of relationships, manipulation, and the emptiness of power-driven interactions. The relationship between Offred and the Commander is full of manipulation and how the Commander uses his position of power to draw Offred into a personal-like relationship outside her regular duties, blurring the lines between consent and coercion. Some lines from the song like “Don’t save her, she don’t wanna be saved,” touch on the false sense of “saving” that the Commander thinks he’s providing to Offred by treating her special, like playing Scrabble, giving her small gifts, or taking her out even though she is still trapped in oppression. Another strong line from the song is, “Fool me one-time shame on you, fool me twice, can’t put the blame on you,” reflects Offred’s growing awareness of the Commander’s manipulation, as she becomes more disillusioned with the Commander and the false sense of security he tries to offer.

Offred & Nick - L$D by A$AP Rocky Offred and Nick’s relationship is ever-growing throughout the book. It went from simple interactions to small contact, to a deeper connection between the two. Most of the rest came due to Serena Joy suggesting Nick as a replacement for the commander as she knows that he has a better chance of impregnating her than the commander. “L$D” by A$AP Rocky (which stands for Love, Sex, and Dreams) explores themes of passionate but complicated love, confusion, and emotional intensity—feelings that mirror Offred’s ever-growing feelings for Nick. Their relationship in the earlier chapters is secretive and contributes to the idea of forbidden desires, which fits the emotional ambiguity captured in “L$D.” Rocky blends emotional and physical desire in his song and their relationship begins with a sense of physical need but develops into a more emotional bond. Her interactions with Nick offer her an escape from Gilead’s oppressive reality, giving her a brief feeling of control. In the song, there’s a sense of escaping into love and desire, as Rocky compares his relationship to a drug-induced haze. His use of the lines, “I introduce her to this hippy life, we make love under pretty lights,” and “Make no mistakes, it’s all, a leap of faith for love, it takes place in, feelin’ that you crave doin’ love, sex, dreams,” capture the dreamy, intense, and slightly surreal mix with the danger, desire, and emotional uncertainty that defines Offred and Nick’s relationship in the earlier parts of The Handmaid’s Tale.

   The Handmaid's Tale - United in Grief by Kendrick Lamar

Throughout the entire novel, the handmaids deal with oppressive societal factors that change how they live their lives. Each handmaid has gone through some form of nonconsensual matters and dealt with difficult moments that caused them to become who they are. “United in Grief,” by Kendrick Lamar is the start of his album “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” and serves as an intro to Lamar’s therapy journey, detailing his faults and insecurities. The song starts with a voice saying to “tell them the truth,” and “tell them your truth,” which relates to how the handmaids want to hear the voices of each other and want to be able to tell their own truth but can’t because of Gilead. Lamar says, “I’ve been goin’ through somethin’ one thousand, eight hundred and 55 days, I’ve been going’ through something,” which connects to how each of the handmaids is going through some form of oppression for a long time and still can’t speak out against it. Every handmaid feels stuck in the societal norms of Gilead, united in grief.

STOP TRYING TO BE GOD - https://youtu.be/AcXp7m1g5yE?si=Gr1Bl31P1vuoss5l

Drew Barrymore - https://youtu.be/gANgH6gmWh4?si=QCy3c0rDJY7-_rMU

No Role Modelz - https://youtu.be/0EnRK5YvBwU?si=Zyb8pWJuF9YNEbqB

L$D - https://youtu.be/GEgkA3sXk7c?si=3QpsTPKMpj4k0xqd

United in Grief - https://youtu.be/tvNSXS4x9nc?si=fB_2ZjjCHLJhzbi9

The picture itself is designed to address the abstract themes and subjects of Offred’s thoughts and imagination. The background is set as what I picture the Wall looks like, with gray brick holding up the bodies killed by the rules of Gilead.

Offred is pictured through her uniform, with the bright crimson cloth covering her head to toe, except for the white veil over her head. The cigarette in her mouth represents hope and the things she wishes for as written on page 14, “The cigarettes must have come from the black market, I thought, and this gave me hope.” (14) Behind her is a wide arrangement of flowers, which represent the comparisons she has been making through the book related to flowers and seeds. She notes them when she says, “I go out the back door, into the garden, which is large and tidy: a lawn in the middle, a willow, weeping catkins; around the edges, the flower borders, in which the daffodils are now fading and the tulips are opening their cups, spilling out color,” (12), and again, “There’s a dried flower arrangement on either end of the mantelpiece, and a vase of real daffodils on the polished marquetry end table by the sofa.” (80). When Offred notices details in the setting she often talks about the flowers.

There were many artistic choices I made about what to put up on the wall, and I really wanted the Wall to hold the things that are stuck in her mind. Those thoughts seem to be mostly taken up by Luke, her daughter, her mother, and Moira. Luke is represented on the wall through the empty noose. Offred describes her feelings about the bodies on the Wall and her uncertainty on where Luke is in the world now, and whether he is alive or dead, “These bodies on the Wall are time travelers, anachronisms. They’ve come here from the past. What I feel towards them is blankness. What I feel is that I must not feel. What I feel is partly relief because none of these men is Luke. Luke wasn’t a doctor. Isn’t.” (33) In the quote she uses the past tense “wasn’t” and then switches to the present tense “isn’t,” and this demonstrates her uncertainty on Luke’s wellbeing that continues to plague her throughout the whole book, as seen when she dreams of him, “Luke, I say. He doesn’t answer. Maybe he doesn’t hear me. It occurs to me that he may not be alive,” (74) and when she thinks about what could have happened to him, “What is left of him: his hair, the bones, the plaid wool shirt, green and black, the leather belt, the work boots.” (104).

Her daughter is represented through the picture of a girl on the wall. I attached the photo to a rope in order to symbolize that the daughter Offred knows is now “dead” as she has been transformed to fit society in the same way Offred has. This can be seen when Atwood writes Offred’s memories, “You’ve killed her, I said. She looked like an angel, solemn, compact, made of air. She was wearing a dress I’d never seen, white and down to the ground.” (39)

Offred’s mother is represented through the body with overalls hanging on the Wall. This, similar to Luke, represents her uncertainty of what happened to her mother. In a memory of Offred’s she says, “I didn’t see why she had to dress that way, in overalls, as if she were young; or to swear so much.” (180). Even with their complicated relationship, Offred still yearns to see her mother, which is seen through the quote, “I wish she were here, so I could tell her I finally know this.” (181).

The last person who seems to fill Offred’s thoughts is her best friend, Moira. Offred voices Moria through her subconscious, providing commentary on the things happening in her life through what she believes Moira would say about it, and she also quotes things Moira has said, almost as if they are rules she ought to try and live by, “You can’t help what you feel, Moira once said, but you can help how you behave.” (192)

Moira’s name is written in scrabble letters because another thing that Offred dreams of is freedom from the new Gilead and society she has been forced to conform to. Offred describes the scrabble letters, “I hold the glossy counters with their smooth edges, finger the letters. This feeling is voluptuous. This is freedom, an eyeblink of it.” (139). Overall, all of the things represented in the picture and on the wall are things out of reach for Offred in her life now, and things she wishes she could have.