Parra Auquilla 1

Nelly Parra Auquilla

Identify Space could be any place where people interact and shapes their behavior to
something they are not. Space shapes a person in our world just as if it shapes a character in a
novel. In The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, government control influences these people
to be alert, while the real world government control is acceptable that the people do not have to
fear for their lives because the laws that protect our human rights. Government control creates
spaces such as rank, religion, clothing, work, freedom, and human rights, which has a critical
affect on both the characters in the novel and in the real world.
Men are part of the space of power structure that governs Gilead. The Commander or better
known as the Commander of the Faithful are the rulers of society, in which people treat them
better than others. The Commanders are highly respected; a worker in the market would not dare
to mishandle a Commanders Marthas grocery list, . Tell them who its for and they wont
mess around (Atwood 11). Atwood explains that lower ranking people know who has authority
over them, so they understand not to fool around when it comes to someone above them. Then
there are the Eyes of God, the secret police. The Eyes retrieve people not following the rules,
therefore ruler breakers receive a death sentence. They see and hear everything that is going on
around the community, The Eyes of God run over all the earth (Atwood 193). They have spies
within the lower ranks overlooking the people. Angels are object of fear (Atwood 4). Become

Parra Auquilla 2

soldiers that fight in the war and keep people of the society in line. The lowest rank are the
Guardians of the Faith who are not soldiers, but manual labors. After them comes the
Commanders wife, who is in charge of the household Marthas and Handmaid. The Aunts deliver
the Handmaids to the Commander and his wife to bare a child for them, because the wife could
be barren. The Aunts are the instructors of the Handmaids. These ranks in government keep each
and every one in line that they have certain role to play, like the Eyes work for the government to
spy on who is not following the commands of the Commanders. This space of power structure
affects people on a social level of importance. As a Commander will get a Handmaid if the wife
is not able to reproduce a child, while Guardians will never be able to be married or take a
Handmaid.
In the state of the real world, authority space starts in the middle of the chain-in-command.
In the State of California, it starts with a governor, who is responsible to run the state and under
them is the mayor who is responsible to run the city of the state. After, them the Police
Department and Fire Department that look after the well-being of the citizens. The Police
Department enforces the written laws which people need to follow for their safety. If a person
decides not to follow the law, then they are in the process of going to jail, until proven nonguilty. I observed that a teenager was about to ride his bike on the street, yet he stopped because
a Police Officer stopped him from mounting his bike. The officer asked him questions and he
answered them respectfully. It looked like the officer was about to give him a ticket, but hesitated
for a second and she left him of with a warning, not to ride his bike without a helmet. The Fire
Department is on call if a building is on fire or if people are stuck in an elevator. After them are
the people who live in the state that are adjusted to follow the chain-in-command. This authority
space influences this people at a young age to have respect and follow the law that is presented to

Parra Auquilla 3

them. The space shapes the people to understand that these authority figures are there to keep the
order, and keep them safe from harms way.
The novel The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, take place in the future in a city in
what used to be the United States now called Republic of Gilead. Therefore, the people of
Gilead overthrown the government and replace it with a type of government system that is
centralized to a specific rule with total power to govern. It is mostly governed as Theocracy, that
there is no separation between state and church. This becomes a religious space. The space
shapes them to revolve around religion terms, language, and behavior. The characters have a
problem-reproducing babies, in which it becomes a religious space that these characters follow
the Bibles guidance, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth (Atwood 88). In the Bible
God tells Noah to reproduce more human begins onto the earth, but the characters take this
scripture as part of a ceremony so to increase the population of humans in Gilead. The
Commander says, And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden
to my husband (Atwood 90). These characters believe that the Commander should take a
Handmaid for God will grant them a child. This society wants children intensely that the
religious space influences them to have a ritual of what Leah and Rachel did to have a child.
The real world the government is a Federal Republic. Therefore, it has federal states with a
constitution and is self-governing. Each state has its own laws, but the main one has a separation
between state and church for all states. Hence, the law protects freedom of religion in our First
Amendment of the Bill Rights. Thus, the people are free to practice any religion, but people are
not force to follow any religion. It brings a lot of arguments and tension so it is avoided in
schools and in the public. I observed that my family and others connect to God through prayer,
reading the Bible, and follow the word of God. These shapes people of faith to follow God and to

Parra Auquilla 4

do the right thing through the word of God. I observed a man in the street with a Bible in hand
stopping people to ask them if they are safe through Jesus Christ or do, they know of Him. Some
of the people ignore the man because of freedom of religious space. Freedom of religious space
affect the people to analyze any religion and to question the belief. It influences people to think
outside of the box.
In Gilead, clothing space represents their authority and work in society. These clothing shape
them of who they are by importance to the society. In a way it could be looked like a uniform
that they wear every day to work and home. If a man wears all black, the people would know it is
the commanders, rulers of Gilead. While the Commanders wife dresses in a blue dress, in which
it represents a stay home wife that looks after her garden. The commanders household staffs are
the Marthas, Handmaid, and the Guardians. The Marthas wear a green dress that expresses their
work in the kitchen preparing the food. The Handmaid wears a red dress that signifies that she
could bare children. Therefore, they assign Handmaids to each Commanders household if the
wife is barren. Last of the household is the Guardians who wear a green suit. They do the
gardening for the Commanders wife and driver to the Commander. The clothing space affects
the people by being brand to one particular job. It also affects their personality because their
force to wear just one specific clothing that represents the work.
In the real world, United States does not regulate a clothing space unless in specific
environment that has a dress code like schools and work. Schools do not allow students to wear
hats or beanies during class time. While mini-skirts and see through shirts are against school
policy for girls to wear, and same goes for boys with baggie pants and gang related bandannas.
While a specific job requires professional clothes or a uniform. I observed that lawyers and
business people wear professional clothes. As Police Officers, wear a royal blue uniform with the

Parra Auquilla 5

LAPD badge on the left side of the shirt. People that are not at work or school they wear casual
clothes. This clothing space shape them of who they are in society of high class, middle class,
and lower class. It affects how people see others by how expensive is there clothing or how lowcost clothes they wear.
The human rights space in Gilead abolishes half of the human rights that used to exist like,
Women cant hold property anymore, she said. Its a new law (Atwood 178). Atwood explains
that after the fall of the United States Government, women no longer had property. Holding
property was left to the men. These laws affect women because they became property of men and
became dependent on them for support. Female rights are not the only rights the rulers of Gilead
took away, but homosexual rights. This society despise homosexuals that they would call them,
Gender Treachery (Atwood 43). If someone found homosexuals in the act, homosexuals will
have a death sentence or sent to the colonies for a slower death. The human rights space affected
women and homosexuals because their freedom was no longer available. It affected the
homosexuals because they had to live in fear. While women were stripped of their identify. The
human rights space abolishment shaped men to lead a society they felt was right to treat people
as puppets.
The real world the government protects the human rights space by the constitution. Therefore,
it lets heterosexuals and homosexuals to exercise their human rights. Women are able to own
property and businesses. They do not have to be dependent on a male. Homosexuals could go
public without being arrested or killed. These human rights space shapes people to understand
that everyone should be equal under the law. Those women are able to be independent and smart
to uphold themselves. This space affects the people in a good way because in a relationship both
people could support each other and not just one.

Parra Auquilla 6

Government control creates space such as rank, religion, clothing, work, freedom, and
human rights, which has a critical affect on both the characters in the novel and people in the real
world. These spaces do shape both characters in the novel and people in the real world but it
shapes them differently than each other. Power structure affects the characters to know where
they stand by importance but it affects the people in the real world to understand authority is
there to keep them safe. Religion shapes the characters not to question the belief, but it shapes
people in the real world to question the belief. Clothing affect the characters in the novel to
suppress their personality while in the real world it shapes people of social class. Both the novel
world and the real world government control have ways to shape its people to do what they want
in the end.

Parra Auquilla 7

Work Cited

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaids Tale. United States of America: O.W. Toad, Ltd, 1985.
Print.