committing illegal acts, then punishing them in a public manner that is very disturbing.This fictitious scene is not far from the truth in India, where the lynching of a village girl and her twoalleged lovers made Canadian newspaper headlines. The public lynching was thought necessary bythe "court" in order to punish the 16-year-old girl of eloping with members of different castes. Theyoung men were hanged for "transgressing the village code prescribed for their Chamaarcommunity."1 (Reuter) The lynching sentences intensified the tension in the 3000-year-oldChamaar-Jat rivalry. India's caste system is quite similar to the social set-up in The Handmaid's Tale.India's caste system - a complex social order in which certain groups are viewed as superior toothers - originated thousands of years ago in one of the holy texts of Hinduism. In it, society isdivided into four general castes, with thousands of sub-castes. Existing outside of these four castesare the 'untouchables' - outcasts traditionally associated with 'unclean' jobs such as removing humanexcrement.2 (Reuter) The only difference between the two is that the caste system in India isseparated by the wealthy and the poor. The system in the novel is separated by those who canprocreate and those who are unable to do so. Yet in each instance, the most important element to thecommunity is what distinguishes the castes. Money is of little importance in Atwood's future,therefore it is not the basis of Gilead's caste system. The handmaids are the most importantindividuals, and the government finds many ways to segregate them from the rest of society. Theyultimately have no control to make any decisions, and no ambition to escape, because they havewitnessed the punishment. Another method of controlling the handmaids involves drugging them, thisis evident in the structure of the novel. Every other chapter is entitled "Night" or "Nap", to symbolizethe drowsy feelings the handmaids carry, which...
