Conflict with a Totalitarian Society
... the sink… Luke used to complain about it… She could get one of those stuck on her head, he’d say.” There are many times when Offred would make reference to her husband and her life before Gilead. Offred is also in conflict with her society because it is a theocracy. A theocracy is when government has no separation between church and state. In the Republic of Gilead, state and religion are inseparable. The government controls all aspects of political oppression of women, they try to control women’s minds and by doing that they control women’s bodies. The majority of they women in the Red-Center seem to be to scared to say anything against the government, because they have seen what happens to the people that speak out or defy the government. There is what people call ‘the wall’ where those who do something that is against the rules are hanged. When they are on the wall they hang “by their necks, their hands tied in front of them, their heads in white bags tipped sideways onto their shoulders.” They also have some sort of tag on them for people to see why they are hanging. For example, a man who has a drawing of a human fetus has helped a women have an abortion; against the religion thus against the government. Thirdly, Offred disagrees with Gilead’s rules because it denied her the right to read. Under this new government, the theory “that if the government could control every aspect of daily life, they would be able to control women’s bodies and minds.” The Republic of Gilead’s government sets down the law that no woman can read; consequently, all signs are written in symbols and there are no words anywhere. In addition, many books are burned in the center of town for all the towns people to see. When Offred goes to the market all places she stops at have symbols as signs. For instance, “Our first stop is at a store with another wooden sign: three eggs, a bee, a cow. Milk and Honey.” The government placed symbols on all of the signs because they believed “that even the names of the shops were to much temptation for us.” Offred is very content when she is reading old Vogue magazines or playing Scrabble with the Commander. Lastly, Gilead has made s sexual slave out of Offred. Handmaid’s main job is sexual slavery. Since the wives can not get pregnant, reproduction is the Handmaids’ sole purpose. These times are called The Ceremony. “I lie on my back, fully clothed except for the healthy white cotton underwear…...