Discuss the society of Gilead in the sections have read so far The society is based upon different classes, in some form of hierarchy. The society is very patriarchal, yet the society

Authors Avatar

Discuss the society of Gilead in the sections have read so far

The society is based upon different classes, in some form of hierarchy.  The society is very patriarchal, yet the society depends on what is done by the women. Among the top of the hierarchy are the Commander, Aunts, Angels and Guards. The Handmaids and Marthas are examples of the lower end of the hierarchy.

This hierarchy is shown in the opening chapter when Offred describes that the Aunts. Despite the Aunts being the controlling forces in the hierarchy, they cannot carry guns. This is evident in the following quote:

“No guns though, even they could not be trusted with guns.”

 This shows that the Angels do not trust the Aunts. However the guards are trusted with guns as they are “specially picked” from the Angels. The hierarchy is evident in the fourth paragraph already, as it shows the lines of control from the Angels to the Guards and Aunts. The writer gives an image of the control the Aunts have under the girls by the “cattle prods” that they carry. This gives the reader an image that these handmaids are being controlled like livestock.

Join now!

From the opening paragraph it is clear that no verbal communication is allowed between the girls, or to any of the others. This would have probably been stopped as word of mouth may have incited a rebellion. It is evident that the girls have combated this restriction by learning how to lip-read, if only to mime names to one another. This is shown clearly in the following quote:

        “We learned to lip-read…In this way we exchanged names…”

This one act shows how the girls may have been rebelling from the society of Gilead and breaking one of the ...

This is a preview of the whole essay