When finishing the book, The Handmaid’s Tale, the part I found myself questioning the most was this execution. I found it rather odd that the women attending the Salvage are not able to know the crimes of which these three women are accused of. Aunt Lydia states on page 275, “… It has been the custom to precede with the actual Salvagings with a detailed account of the crimes of which the prisoners stand convicted. However, we have found that such a public account, especially when televised, is invariable followed by a rash, if I may call it that, an outbreak I should say, of exactly similar crimes…” This quote makes me feel that the women of Gilead are not good enough or trusted enough to know what their fellow Handmaid’s did. I feel it is another way the government keeps the people pushed into the ground; by having them think they aren’t good enough or trusted enough to hear the truth. It’s another way for the men running the system and the rich women for that matter (Aunt Lydia, who obviously knows the truth) to remind the rest of the women they are the unimportant ones in the greater scheme of things. I know, if I was in Offred’s position, I would want to know the truth on what actually happened; if the death of these women were actually justified or something minor and blown out of proportion.

The man who was beaten to death by the Handmaids, his reason for death was explicitly stated by Aunt Lydia on page 278. “This man, has been convicted of rape. He was once a Guardian. He has disgraced his uniform. He has abused his position of trust. His partner in viciousness has already been shot….I might add that this crime involved two of you and took place at gunpoint. It was also brutal. I will not offend your ears with any details, except to say that one woman was pregnant and the baby died.” I’m not sure exactly when his reasoning for death was stated and the woman’s reason was not said. Maybe it shows that men can handle the truth and not get copycat ideas in their heads like women might. Also maybe, showing that men are more emotionally stable than women. I’m not sure!!

The part of The Hunger Games I am going to analyze is at the end of the book, where Peeta and Katniss are trying to fight off the sub-human, dog like creatures. During this scene, I didn't think anything of it other than it was the Gamemakers way of bringing the three together to fight to the death. It wasn't until Katniss said and noticed there was something familiar about this animals that I started to question the ethics of the Gamemakers. Once she realized it was the eyes of the fallen tributes, I was taken aback. I feel like the Gamemakers wanted to make sure Katniss and Peeta knew and understood that the fighting was not over. When Katniss started to question if not only the eyes of the fallen tributes were apart of the animal, but their brains too; it made me wonder, since this story line is projected into the future, if the Capitol was able to keep or revive the brains of the tributes to put into these animals so they were able to understand what was going on and communicate with each other once again. If so, it would take creepy to a whole new level!

When Katniss says, "And worst of all, the smallest mutt, with dark glossy fur, huge brown eyes and a collar that reads 11 in woven straw. Teeth bared in hatred, Rue..." Looking at the quote, I wonder how Rue could be filled with hatred toward Katniss since she did ally with her and survive together. Katniss did everything she could to save her, she even killed her killer, and then sang her a song and placed beautiful flowers around Rue before the hovercraft picked her up. This part of the book gives me reassurance that, if in fact, the Capitol used the brains of the fallen tributes, they would of had to alter their minds because Rue couldn't of hated Katniss. I have been in situations vaguely similar to that of Katniss, when I see features of people I know on random strangers I see walking about. I take double takes and stare for a while wondering if it's actually the person I know or someone else. Once I realize it's someone, then I feel odd for staring but the fact that I was so sure it was a person I knew and it wasn't is creepy. I couldn't imagine what was going through Katniss' mind at the time was she came to her realization.

My Feminist Awakening and the Influence of Beyoncé's Pop Culture Declaration
 I am going to analyze the fourth and fifth paragraph in this article by Janet Mock. When Beyoncé, in the fourth paragraph, talks about her view on being labeled as a feminist and how she feels she is a modern day feminist, I cannot help but question what is the difference between a modern day feminist from those from the Women's Rights Movement. I love history and understand women during the movement wanted equal opportunities as men in the work force. I also understand they struggled for a long time and that struggle is apparently not over. What I question is, if the fight has never ended, how has it changed from "old" to a "modern" feminist. I agree though, with Beyoncé who claims she could be a feminist but she is also in love with her family and her husband and maybe that's the difference between "old" and "modern" feminists; being happy in marriage. This new interpretation of a modern feminists might allow more women to connect and relate to the word if they know that feminists are not man haters and could be like Beyoncé and be a feminist who also is happily married and loves her husband. This could put a whole new meaning to the word.

I know my mother is not a feminist per say, but I do remember when she bought her truck when I was little and the man who sold her the truck turned to my dad and asked him all the money questions. Now, my mom is the person in my house that handles all the money and she was the one who was going to be purchasing the truck. But the man refused to bring her into the conversation until she called him out on it. Looking back, I know she wishes she would have spent her money elsewhere but she did buy the truck from that dealership. I cannot say whether I've experienced such inequality between me and a man, but I do know that I beat my friend up when he made the joke that a women's place is in the kitchen. There is something about that phrase that drives me nuts.