As human beings, we are often so immersed in our shallow personal lives that we often become oblivious to the severity of major world issues, whether it be national or international. Despite our extreme ease of access to any public information worldwide, most often do not realise the full extent of the details of these issues. This is why these kinds of issues are commonly portrayed in literature, as this gives the author the opportunity to craft a text alluding a certain, well-known global issue in a way that is relatable to audiences universally to help readers better understand the smaller details of the overall issue. Because of the relatability to the audience, texts in this genre are often the most successful. In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood describes a dystopian environment that contains many allusions to totalitarian societies in past history. Allusions described include gassing and oppression of women’s rights.

In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, an allusion to a major world issue (from past history) is in the gassing of rebels and degenerates. In the fictional society of Gilead, the usual punishment for crimes such as heresy,