All around us we see evidence of the way in which belief is institutionalised and abused. Consider Atwood's portrayal of religion in Gilead

The first 200 words of this essay...

Jonathan Newcombe

January 2003-01-15

All around us we see evidence of the way in which belief is institutionalised and abused. Consider Atwood's portrayal of religion in Gilead

Many modern day beliefs have been used as excuses for war, or as a way of suppressing groups of people. In 'The Handmaid's tale' Atwood has taken abuse of belief and religion to the extreme, using it to create a worrying futuristic dystopia where all laws are based on extracts from the bible and the texts have been twisted to suit the more powerful members of society. It is impossible for handmaids, or many other members of Gilead to check the authenticity of the extracts that rule their life as they are forbidden from reading and the bible is kept locked up. In 'The Handmaid's tale' free will is nothing more than a memory, different Christian branches are at war with each other. The bible is used to justify the regimes and practises of Gilead and sexuality has been suppressed into something shameful and dangerous.

Chapter two offers the reader their first decent example of how religion is used within the society of Gilead. It is in