Control In The Handmaid's Tale

Throughout our world’s history, there have been many oppressive regimes; much of these share many of the same methods of control. In Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, the government in power uses various methods to keep control over the people. In this story, the United States has been overtaken by a theocracy called the Republic of Gilead. The story follows a young woman through her struggles in this new oppressive nation. The Republic of Gilead displays its dominance by implementing a caste system, holding constant surveillance over its people, and performing mass killings.
This new government differs greatly from the democracy in the United States. Women can no longer work, possess money, or hold property; all of their rights have been stripped. Women’s new purpose in society is solely childbirth. All women, along with most men, are devalued and forced into a rigid caste system. People in Gilead are not offered the opportunity to purposefully work their way up in this system, leaving most feeling trapped and with no sense of identity. The main character, Offred, explains this concept: “My name isn't Offred, I have another name, which nobody uses now because it's forbidden. I tell myself it doesn't matter, your name is like your telephone number, useful only to others; but what I tell myself is wrong, it does matter” (Atwood 84). The narrator has been stripped of everything, even her own identity. She no longer holds any power
in society. The Republic of Gilead must keep this society under constant fear to avoid a revolt stemming from the oppressive theocracy. People behave much differently under surveillance, which is another method the Republic of Gilead utilizes to rein power over its people. Citizens are under continual surveillance. Men and women alike are constantly being listened to and watched for any unorthodox behavior by their fellow comrades, spies, and the Eye. The Eye is much like a secret police, although they campaign terror among society. Offred has a walking partner she often travels into town with. This constant fear of surveillance has kept Offred and her walking partner, Ofglen, from exchanging anything more than a simple greeting. “This woman has been my partner for two weeks. I don't know what happened to the one before. On a certain day she simply wasn't there anymore, and this one was there in her place. It isn't the sort of thing you ask questions about; because the answers are not usually answers you want to know. Anyway there wouldn't be an answer” (Atwood 19). The narrator describes to us that her past walking partner, also known as Ofglen, has disappeared and been replaced. This is most likely a result of the Eye’s actions. “’I am Ofglen," the woman says. Word perfect. And of course she is, the new one, and Ofglen, wherever she is, is no longer Ofglen. I never did know her real name. That is how you can get lost, in a sea of names. It wouldn't be easy to find her, now” (Atwood 283). If one is suspected to be unorthodox, they can be replaced within a day’s time.
Survival is a basic human instinct.
Threatening one’s life casts a strong influence over their actions. This is another method the Republic of Gilead uses to keep power. “There are three new bodies on the Wall. One is a priest” (Atwood 43). In the narrator’s town, there is a centrally located wall where the “wrong people” are hanged. Publicly displaying the result of being unorthodox in this society is a powerful scare tactic. Threatening the lives of their nation only increases the power the Republic of Gilded holds over its
people.
Dictating large populations with no revolt may seem near impossible, but the novel illustrates that with the right tactics, it can be done. In Margret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, the Republic of Gilead utilizes many methods of control to instill fear in its people. Through a caste system, surveillance, and public hangings, the theocracy is able to scare thousands into obedience.