"It's Janine, telling about how she was gang-raped at fourteen and had an abortion. She told the same story last week. She seemed almost proud of it, while she was telling. It may not even be true. At Testifying, it's safer to make things up than say you have nothing to reveal. But since it's Janine, it's probably more or less true.
But whose fault was it? Aunt Helena says, holding up one finger.
Her fault, her fault, her fault, we chant in unison.
Who led them on? Aunt Helena beams, pleased with us.
She did. She did. She did.
Why did God allow such a terrible thing to happen?
Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson" (71-72).
The first two sentences make Offred almost sound bored when talking about Janine. This story has been told "last week" which sets a mood about Janine. Janine gives the Aunts exactly what they want so she can get an advantage. Throughout the book Janine is disliked because of this trait and she can be seen as shallow because she doesn't care about those around her and she finds the easy way out of things. with this in mind the mood can become pessimistic or bitter.
The idea of conforming is in this passage in two ways. The girls make up stories at the Testifying because they know that they should say something and they do not want to be singled out. This is one of the major reasons as to why people conform. Conformity is also seen in the dialogue of the girls as they speak in unison and say a phrase three times. They are well informed of what they are supposed to do and they are crisp about it. It brings intimidation to the passage and is giving more reason to Janine to conform. In many dystopias they have the element of conforming and a rebellion going against everyone else. People always conform to be accepted by the corrupt authority whether it is an Aunt or the Government.
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