I.

Introduction
A. Thesis statement: In The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood uses one theme,
the power of evil, to reveal the dystopian society, the citizens feelings, and
conformity.

II. Body Paragraph #1

A. Topic sentence: dystopian society
B. Supporting evidence:
i. They show us only victories, never defeats. Who wants bad news? (p.83)
C. Clincher sentence: The power of government (propaganda), People have no
right ex. The Handmaid, Extreme punishment

III. Body Paragraph #2

A. Topic sentence: the citizens feeling
B. Supporting evidence:
i. I wish this story were different. I wish it were more civilized. I wish it
showed me in a better light (p. 267).
C. Clincher sentence: People wanted to escape, Living with fear, Lonely and
depressed

IV. Body Paragraph #3

A. Topic sentence: conformity
B. Supporting evidence:
i. No anesthetics, even. Aunt Elizabeth said it was better for the baby
(p.114)
C. Clincher sentence: Separate society classes (the commander, the aunt, the
handmaid, etc.), Everyone accepts that man has more power than woman, Cannot
wear whatever they want to (The handmaid wear red dress).

V. Conclusion
A. Rephrased thesis statement: In The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood utilizes
one topic, the power of evil, to uncover the anti-utopia, the citizens awareness, and
obedience in the society
 The power of evil in The Handmaids Tale

A dystopian society is a place where the citizens are living with oppression from

someone who controlled the society. It can be the ineffective government, the religion, or an

organization who do not give freedom to their people. Moreover, the citizens may not know

that they were controlled because of brainwashing by propaganda. This problem was

overlooked and it can lead to a big problem in real life. Therefore, Margaret Atwood wrote a

novel named The Handmaids Tale in 1985. Atwood uses one theme, the power of evil, to

reveal the dystopian society, the citizens feelings, and conformity.

In Gilead, the government has full power to control the society. In this case, the rules

of Gilead are very strict and there is an extreme punishment for those people who break the

rules. Propaganda was used in this society. Therefore, the citizens were brainwashed and

misleading to believe in something that the government wants them to. They show us only

victories, never defeats. Who wants bad news? (p.83). They do not show everything that

happens but they only show want they want to and it can lead to misunderstanding. There is

no equality in this society. People were classed into different classes, for example, the

Commander, the Handmaid, the Guardian, the Angel, and the Aunt. In Gilead, it is obvious

that men have much more power than women and the Handmaids do not have the human

right to their life. The society is full of injustice for women. There is also the punishment for

people who did something against the rules. The story is also told about a man who was

punished by hanging on the wall in the public. The government continues to control this

unfair society, used the extreme punishment, and they seemed not to change the society into a

better way. These show how evil of the government who control the society.

Living in the Gilead, people are not showing that they are happy with the way they live. In

contrast, the characters showed their feeling in a negative way. For the Handmaid, they are
living with fear, for example, they fear of not getting pregnant because they can be sent the

colonies which is worst. Moreover, they cannot live freely because they need to follow those

unfair rules or they will get punished. They also feel lonely for living in the Gilead because

they do not know what is going to happen and they may think that will anyone know about

their agony. I wish this story were different. I wish it were more civilized. I wish it showed

me in a better light (p. 267). The quote shows Offreds thought. Because of the evil society

made she think in this way and she hopes for a better life although she did not know that

there is a hope or not. Many people end up with trying to escape from this evil society. More

than that, these feelings can lead to the worst decision for a human which is suicide.

There is some kind of conformity happening in the Gilead for example, people in the

society believe that men have more power than women which is definitely wrong and women

are the baby maker in the others view. People believe that they should not use anesthetics

because it affects the babys health. No anesthetics, even. Aunt Elizabeth said it was better

for the baby (p.114). They made female suffer rather than give them anesthetics because the

bible said it is not good for a baby. If everyone still stuck in this untrue view, then the society

cannot be better. Women are suffering and if no one stands up against the government, then

the problem will not be solved and everyone will get used to it.

In The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood utilizes one topic, the power of evil, to uncover the

anti-utopia, the citizens awareness, and obedience in the society. In Gilead, citizens

controlled by the government and there is no freedom at all. The propaganda changed people

and made them conform. Moreover, people are not living happily because they are afraid of

the government. These facts represent the dystopian society which Atwood is trying to say to

the readers because these things can happen in our real life for example, in the North Korea,

the president controls everything including an individuals life of the citizens and Nazi
situation which Adolf Hitler used propaganda to make people believe him. If we do not

notice it before it is too late, our society can become the dystopian society.