‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Critical Review (3.4 task #1)

“Ordinary, said Aunt Lydia, is what you are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary.” Throughout the novel, The Handmaids Tale, the author Margret Atwood has utilised the totalitarianism regime of Gilead to serve as a warning to the reader. All totalitarianism regimes utilize the control of thought, control of fear and the control of movement to manipulate their citizens. They are societies completely over-ruled by a government or lead organisation of a country limiting freedom and basic human rights.

Control of thought in Gilead can be seen when Offred is describing her room. She goes on to say “nothing takes place in the bed but sleep; or no sleep. I try not to think too much. Like other things now, thought must be rationed. There’s a lot that doesn’t bear thinking about. Thinking can hurt your chances, and I intend to last”. From this quote, we can comprehend that in Gilead if one dares to reflect negatively on their time as a handmaid, they could start to doubt themselves surviving their time in Gilead. Doubting your chances of survival lowers your chances of survival as being in a negative and unmotivated mindset when faced with a difficult situation, diminishes the likelihood of a successful outcome. An example of this is seen with the first Offred who lived in the commander’s house before the Offred that the novel was formed around. Amid the mounting speculation that Serena Joy would find out about her affair with the commander (alike the commander and later Offred affair) as well as living an oppressive life, the first Offred hung herself from the chandelier in her room. From this, we can ascertain that Offred’s thoughts got to her head. Through the control of thought, the totalitarianism regime which she was living in was able to mentally break her down piece by piece until she was so distraught she committed suicide.

Control of thought isn’t the only way Atwood has utilized totalitarianism regimes in Gilead to serve as a warning to the reader. The control of fear is also apparent throughout the novel and can be seen by the wall where the dead bodies of nonconformists are hung. This wall inserts fear into the Handmaids at Gilead as they know that this could be their fate if they don’t abide by the strict rules that Gilead possesses. “Sometimes they’ll be there for days, until there’s a new batch, so as many people as possible will have the chance to see them.” … like scarecrows, which in a way is what they are, since they are meant to scare.” By having these dead people in clear view to passers-by (handmaids), it gives a sense of reality to the whole situation. It is a clear and bold outcome. If you take one wrong step, then there is a possibility that you will end up on the wall. Additionally, with covering the face of the victims, Atwood inserts more fear into the handmaids as they are left to speculate/guess who it is. Atwood also describes the dead bodies as ‘scarecrows’ and she goes on to say “… which in a way they are …”. As previously mentioned, the bodies are meant to scare therefore they literally are scarecrows.

The control of movement in the Handmaids Tale novel can be seen clearly in chapter 34 when Offred is being brought her breakfast. She say’s “An invalid, one who has been invalidated. No valid passport. No exit.” This quote illustrates how Offred is trapped in Gilead and unable to move freely. Without having a passport, Offred is unable to leave the country. From the word “invalidated” we can interpret that Offred must feel like she is ‘not valid’. This could mean that without her passport she is invalid as she doesn’t have a means of identity. “There is more than one kind of freedom,” said Aunt Lydia. “Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from… Don’t underrate it.”. This quote shows that free people cause anarchy as “in the days of anarchy” reflects on the past, a time before Gilead in a more open and free world. And that Offred shouldn’t take the freedom that she has for granted as it can be easily taken away. These are some examples of the control of movement in the novel and how it manipulates the citizens in Gilead,

Throughout the novel, The Handmaids Tale, the author Margret Atwood has utilised totalitarianism regimes in Gilead to serve as a warning to the reader. All totalitarianism regimes utilize the control of thought, control of fear and the control of movement to manipulate their citizens. They are societies completely over-ruled by a government or lead organisation of a country limiting freedom and basic human rights. Throughout this review, I have aimed to demonstrate how the totalitarianism regime in Gilead has utilized the control of thought, control of fear and the control of movement to manipulate their citizens.