15. “This she takes an undue length of time to unfold and scan. She’s rubbing our noses in it, letting us know exactly who she is, making us watch her as she silently read, flaunting her prerogative.” (Page 275):
In this excerpt, Atwood address two of her main themes: how a totalitarian state works and control through the power of reading. Offred is at a gathering where women will be punished for crimes they have committed. Atwood describes the frustration and anger that Offred feels for Aunt Lydia. Aunt Lydia is allowed to read and write because she has special privileges. The totalitarian government maintained control not only through surveillance, information control and torture but also by keeping the people in charge happy and giving them the illusion of power. Furthermore, in dystopian areas language plays a big part of control. If people can not read, they will not be educated. If people are not informed, they will not know what is going on. If people cannot read, they will not get any ideas. They will be more easily controlled.
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