The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

The modern political history of the United States has been plagued by infighting between two major groups of American politics: the liberals and the conservatives. Liberals always seek to modernize and change, saying that change will make the country better and better. Meanwhile, conservatives believe that maintaining the status quo and even returning to “the good old days” would be the best path for the country. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood, a Canadian author with liberal standings, displays what happens in a futuristic dystopia where the United States is taken over by an ultraconservative Christian dictatorship. It follows the story of one young lady, who is referred to as Offred but never reveals her true name, and her experiences in the newly formed Republic of Gilead. She explains, in a fragmented manner, how Gilead was born …show more content…
People are taught to fear those in castes higher than your own, and women are taught to be subservient to men in this dystopian society. Those in higher castes have more power in the Gilead government and in the Gilead social structure, so in essence, the fear of upper caste people is a fear of the power they hold. As for women’s fear of men, this is due to the emphasis on men being superior to women, and to the increased responsibilities that men generally have, especially as Angels or Commanders. Through the structure and the interactions of members in Gilead’s caste-based social system, Atwood describes to us how a government like Gilead’s can stir up fear amongst normal people trying to live their lives without hindrance, and how it is possible in our modern world. The author also tells us that a dystopia can be self-perpetuating socially through a constant cycle of fear and mistrust of the people around you, and that this is the way dystopias stay in power and exert their