Appearance vs. Reality in The Handmaids TaleImage is an effective element used by writers. It allows readers to be one with the story and better understand the actions and thoughts conveyed by the author. In The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, the actions and images of Offred and other individuals parallel the theme of appearance versus reality. These images such as food and nature recur to further emphasize the theme. The gustatory and olfactory images of food and perfume, as well as the kinesthetic and visual images of cut flowers and sexual intercourse juxtapose the dissatisfaction of Offred's life as a handmaid. Food is a symbol of contentment. At the beginning of the novel, we are immediately associated with it as Rita asks Offred to pick up things from the grocery store. “Fresh eggs,…cheese,…steak,…and peas;” with this image the reader visualizes the food, as well as smells and tastes it (15). With this vivid and boisterous image of food, it seems that Offred and the maids are nourished and satisfied not only by nourishment, but also by life because food is a symbol of life. But in reality, Offred is not satisfied with her life due to the lack of freedom she has, and the remaining handmaids have fallen similarly. The food they embellish is not as rich as Atwood's gustatory and olfactory images make it seem. The diet of handmaids is controlled, especially that of expectant mothers, by other individuals. The olfactory image of "lemon oil, heavy fabric, withered daffodils, the smells left over from the kitchen, ... and Serena Joy's perfume: lily of the valley", introduces a new element of reality into the n... ...half of the card...is a picture of appearance versus reality. Serena Joy "grabs [Ofred's] hands as if she, not" Offred, is having intercourse with the Commander (121). On a larger scale, it seems like utopia is satisfying, but in reality it is just a fantasy and an amplified vision of sadness. The gustatory and olfactory images of food and perfume, as well as the kinesthetic and visual imagery of cut flowers and sexual intercourse contrast with the unhappiness of Offred's life as a handmaid in Atwood's novel The Handmaids Tale. Atwood's use of imagery parallels his use of the theme of appearance versus reality. Although all the images of flowers, food and sex seem to suggest happiness among the inhabitants of utopia, they are actually underlying symbols of the dystopia they represent.