In the novel The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, the author creates a fictional utopian society in which women are enslaved to the idea of procreation. In the "Republic of Gilead" women called "Handmaids" are forced to bear children for sterile couples. To emphasize the absurdity and horror of a society of enslaved women, Atwood incorporates the ideologies and techniques of both totalitarian societies of Communist China and Nazi Germany. The "real life" atrocities help the reader see how plausible Atwood's dystopian society might be.
             In The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood uses the Nazi idea of tattooing in order to dehumanize the women who are most affected by the new regime. " I cannot afford seeing, now, the small tattoo on my ankle. Four digits and an eye, a passport in reverse," (Atwood 65). She also uses dehumanization towards the Handmaids by not revealing their true names. Instead they receive names that refer to their commanders, such as "Offred". This shows the women as property and second class citizens. In our society there is also a restriction on women, such as in the work force. Women who work in major corporations make seventy cents of a dollar compared to men. This shows women as inferior in our present society. Women today are not considered equal to men. Atwood places these ideas in her novel to show that if we constantly continue to suppress people then there will eventually become a way to point out those whom the society feels to be mediocre, by means of tattooing or some other way of distinction.
             Atwood, in her novel, uses a desensitized society that could be found in both Communist and Nazi ideals. She uses this society to show the casualty of people who withdraw their emotions and allow atrocities to take place. " We stop, together as if on signal. And stand and look at the bodies. It doesn't matter if we look. We'
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