There are countless disparities between Gilead society and 1980s America. In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, the citizens of this dystopian totalitarian state have unconventional reactions to life, death, sex and violence. When we first discover Offred, our protagonist describes her current environment. She is in some sort of gymnasium 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 always in the air, afterwards, while we were trying to sleep…” (4) This first glimpse of Gilead is extremely revealing of how our society has changed. Something as simple as a college gymnasium has become so sentimental, a palimpsest of what was once Cambridge, Massachusetts, in that wonderful land that is no more.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayA major aspect of Gileadean 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 a daily experience for the Handmaids. “It's the bags on the heads that are the worst, worse than the faces themselves would be” thinks Offred when she sees the dead hanging from what they call the Wall (32). “The heads are zeros… What I feel about them is emptiness. What I feel is that I shouldn't feel. (32-33) This could be contrasted with our society where seeing the dead is something rarely seen beyond the world of television and cinema. If you were running daily errands like Offred and saw this, the last thing you would feel would be nothingness. It would be shocking and terrifying for 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 twisted to mean something else to the living. Suicide was completely eradicated by the Marthas. They removed any tools 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 doomed to live. Offred develops an illusion of grandeur with regard to death; ultimately death can be considered a success if she fails to conceive a child. This attitude is revealed when Offred mentions an old library with a fresco painted on the walls. Victory is on one side of the inner door, guiding them, and death is on the other... The men on Death's side are still alive. . They are going to heaven. Death is a beautiful woman with wings and an almost bare breast; or is it Victory? I don't remember (166). This shows Offred's corruption by society because in the past when the mural was painted, of course the woman depicted was Victory. Offred also personifies the Gilaean convolution of ideas regarding sex and violence. For her, sex is work, her only meaning of existence. Handmaids are glorified concubines and if they do not conceive a child quickly enough, they are considered "Unwomen" 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..