Publication Date

8-1-1995

Degree Program

Department of English

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Abstract

In this thesis, the writer examines the color imagery in three Margaret Atwood novels: Surfacing, Cat's Eye, and The Handmaid's Tale. Atwood uses color in unconventional ways by forcing colors to symbolize the opposite of their common meanings, by allowing colors to represent simultaneously two opposing ideas, and by disregarding traditional color meanings by creating her own unique associations. Atwood's color imagery supports her thematic concerns in that through her themes--as with her use of color--she challenges the reader's expectations by throwing into question many conventional ideas about progress, religion, and the sex-gender system.

Disciplines

Creative Writing | English Language and Literature

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