A revision timeline for teaching Atwood's novel

1. The Handmaid’s Tale
A Timeline

2. Events before the
beginning of the
novel

3. Offred’s mother is involved
in feminist demonstrations

4. Moira and Offred are
friends at college

5. Offred marries Luke

6. Offred is no longer able to
access her money

7. Offred loses her job as a
librarian

8. Offred and Luke try to
escape Gilead

9. Offred’s child is taken from
her

10. Offred’s mother is sent to
the colonies

11. Events that occur
at the Red Centre

12. Moira is brought back to
the Red Centre after a
failed attempt to escape

13. Janine is derided by the
other Handmaids

14. Moira escapes from the Red
Centre

15. Moira is found and taken to
Jezabel’s

16. Events that occur at
the Commander’s
house

17. Offred & Ofglen first look at
bodies on the wall

18. Offred discovers the phrase
‘nolite te bastardes
carborundurum’ written in
her closet

19. Offred discovers that her
predecessor killed herself

20. A doctor offers to try to
make Offred pregnant

21. Offred takes part in the
ceremony

22. Offred attends a Birth Day

23. The Commander and Offred
play Scrabble for the first
time

24. The Commander touches
Offred’s face during the
ceremony

25. Ofglen introduces Offred to
the Mayday movement

26. Serena Joy shows Offred a
picture of her child

27. Serena Joy suggests that
Offred use Nick to get
pregnant

28. Offred attends a
Prayvaganza

29. The Commander takes
Offred to Jezebel’s

30. Offred is Nick’s mistress

31. Offred falls in love with
Nick

32. Offred attends a salvaging

33. Offred attends a
particicution

34. Ofglen is replaced

35. The new Ofglen reveals that
she is not part of the
resistance movement

36. Serena Joy finds out about
the relationship between
Offred and her husband

37. Offred is taken to the
Commander’s house in a
black van

38. Offred’s story becomes part
of a symposium on
Gileadean Studies