51ºÚÁÏ

The Handmaid’s Tale – Lesson 4: Gilead’s Power Structures

Throughout this lesson, students will explore the Essential Question: *How does Gilead maintain control over its citizens, and how do different characters experience oppression? *

This lesson explores the hierarchy of Gilead’s society, analysing how power is distributed and maintained through fear, surveillance, and oppression. Students will critically examine the different roles within Gilead, evaluate how Atwood presents power structures in Chapters 7-10, and draw comparisons to real-world hierarchies.

Lesson Objectives:

• To be able to identify and rank the different roles within Gilead’s society.
• To be able to analyse how Atwood presents power and oppression in Chapters 7-10.
• To be able to evaluate the ways Gilead enforces control and compliance.

Lesson Activities:

• Starter Task: In pairs, students brainstorm and rank Gilead’s social groups in order of power, discussing hidden power structures and real-world parallels.
• Power Ladder Activity: Groups create a visual hierarchy of Gilead’s social classes (Aunts, Econowives, Commanders, Handmaids, Marthas, etc.), justifying their rankings and comparing results with peers.
• Character Analysis: Examining how different characters experience oppression based on their status (e.g., Offred, Serena Joy, Aunt Lydia, Rita), using a structured handout.
• Discussion: How does power function in Gilead? Where does Offred sit within this structure, and how does she resist?
• Exit Task: Students write a paragraph on how Gilead’s power structure controls individuals and how this reflects real-world hierarchies.
• Next Lesson Preparation: Introduction to the upcoming essay: ‘In Gilead, power is maintained through fear, surveillance, and ritual humiliation.’

Perfect for GCSE and A-Level English Literature, this lesson encourages critical thinking, discussion, and textual analysis of Atwood’s dystopian vision.

Download now to deepen your students’ understanding of power and oppression in The Handmaid’s Tale.

For the full pack, visit my Tes shop (available from 8th March 2025). You can also find individual lessons for this unit there, too.

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