Dehumanization In The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood

The government wrongly relies on dehumanization to control people. People shouldn’t be dehumanized by the government and be brainwashed for the government’s benefit. In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the author describes a society led by a government with complete control, not allowing citizens to have any freedom whatsoever. Atwood uses story as a construct and character roles to convey the theme, explaining that the government relies on dehumanization to control the people and how this is wrong. Firstly, Atwood uses story as a construct to convey the theme of the government relying on dehumanization to take control of the people. After Offred explains what happened to the Commander, she says, “I made that up, it didn't happen that way. Here is what happened” (Atwood 261). This quote
The author uses character roles in this quote to show the government relies on dehumanization to take control by explaining how the handmaids would be physically punished in order to be disciplined. Furthermore, Offred reflects on when things were starting to change, “That was when they suspended the constitution.[..] There wasn't even any rioting in the streets. People stay home at night, watching television, looking for some direction.”(Atwood 174). With Offred remembering “there wasn’t even any rioting” it is made clear that the civilians did not rebel and instead sought a form of authority to be mindlessly controlled by. With all of this in mind, it can be concluded that the author uses character roles to expand on how the government wrongly relies on dehumanization to control people. In conclusion, the author uses story as a construct and character roles to convey the theme of government relying on dehumanization. Atwood specifically uses story as a construct and character roles in order to show how the citizens, and more importantly the handmaids, are dehumanized to be easily controlled by the