There are countless disparities between Gilead society and 1980s America. In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, citizens of this dystopian totalitarian state have unconventional reactions to life, death, sex, and violence. When we are first introduced to Offred, our protagonist describes her current setting. She's in some kind of gym but has a unique emotional reaction to her surroundings. "We longed for the future...", says Offred (3). “It was in the air; and it was still in the air, an afterthought, as we tried to sleep…” (4) This first look at Gilead is extremely revealing about how our society has changed. Something as simple as a college gymnasium has become so sentimental, a palimpsest of what once was Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the beautiful country that is no longer. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One of the major aspects of Gilead society that differs greatly from ours is the way citizens view life and death. In Gilead, public executions are commonplace, and seeing the dead on display is something the Handmaids experience on a daily basis. “It's the bags over their heads that are the worst, worse than the faces themselves,” Offred thinks as she sees dead men hanging from what they call the Wall (32). “Heads are zeros… What I feel towards them is empty. What I feel is that I shouldn't feel." (32-33) This may be in contrast to our society where seeing the dead is something rarely seen outside the world of television and film. If you were out running daily errands like Offred and you saw this, the last thing you would feel is nothingness. It would be shocking and terrifying to us today, but the theocratic dictatorship of The Handmaid's Tale has desensitized its citizens to the macabre. The Handmaids' views on death are also distorted to mean something else to the living. Suicide has been completely eradicated by the Marthas. They removed every tool that could be used to orchestrate a suicide; be it glass, rope or even a hook. There are no knives and nowhere to jump, so the Handmaids are condemned to live. Offred develops delusions of grandeur about death; ultimately, death can be considered a success if she fails to conceive a child. This attitude is revealed when Offred remembers an old library with a mural painted on the walls. Victory is on one side of the inner door, which leads them, and death is on the other... The men on Death's side are still alive. They will go to heaven. Death is a beautiful woman with wings and almost bare breasts; or is that Victory? I don't remember (166). This shows the corruption of Offred by society because in the past when the mural was painted, obviously the woman depicted was Victoria. Offred also personifies Gilead's convolution of ideas regarding sex and violence. For her, sex is a job, the only meaning of her existence. Handmaids are glorified concubines and if they do not conceive a child quickly enough, they are considered "Not Women" and exiled to the colonies. The concept of being an "Unwoman" is introduced to the Handmaids by Aunt Lydia who indoctrinates them with the fear of promiscuity and sexuality. The aunts would sit the new Handmaids down and force them to watch violent pornography, trying to make them realize the error of their past lives. This Clockwork Orange-style scene speaks volumes about the lengths the Sons of Jacob have gone to to brainwash women and create.