Are the women of Gilead aware that they are being controlled by the society? In Margaret Atwood¯s The Handmaid¯s Tale, the theme of control is a very important factor of the book. In the story, at the Republic of Gilead, the women are being controlled by the society to do what the society wants them to do. The handmaids are brainwashed before they start working for the society. But since the brainwashing happens so naturally over a period of time, the handmaids don¯t fully realize that they have been brainwashed by the society to do what the society wants them to do.

The theme of control and being brainwashed could be found in many parts of books in many forms. For example, before the women became handmaids, they were at a institution where they get educated and influenced by

Although Offred sort of realizes that she is being controlled, she can¯t fight it back. It happened so gradually over a long period of time that she can¯t change it. And she is even used to it in a way that she wants to believe what the news tells her. The rest of the women in Gilead probably feels the same. Some of them might not know that they are being brainwashed, but they are being brainwashed and used by the society to the society¯s needs.

Another example of the society trying to influence the women could be found when the Offred describes the part where the household assembles for the ceremony at the sitting room. The house hold waits for the commander to arrive, and until than they always watch the news on the television which Serena Joy turns on. But we can also realize that Offred has doubts about whether the news is real or not.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Serena Joy, Aunt Helena, Republic Gilead, , Handmaid¯s Tale, women gilead, can¯t fight, controlled society, theme control, feels brainwashed, women society, society society, brainwashed society, influence women, fault fault,
Approximate Word count = 570
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)