Food as a Control Mechanism in The Handmaid's Tale Food traditionally represents comfort, security, and family. We remember the traditional concept of comfort food and large family dinners in Norman Rockwell's song Freedom from Want. However, for many, food also represents a serious and potentially harmful method of control. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are classic examples of psychological syndromes, linked to control, which express themselves with eating disorders. Prisoners of war are denied food as a basic method of torture and control. Like all human beings, Offred, the main character of Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, believes that food is a central and important feature of life. Food has many meanings in the novel, nourishment, fertility and luxury; however, this article will focus on food as a control mechanism for Gilead's government. First, page 11 of the novel introduces tokens, which are the payment method for food in Gilead. The tokens don't have any writing on them, just basic images. Here it is important to recognize that handmaids, and all respectable women, are not allowed to read in Gilead. Gilead undoubtedly has a biblical mandate for this rule, but the most significant aspect of the rule is its use as a control mechanism. Women are denied the power of knowledge, and hopefully, from the government's perspective, women will ultimately lose any ability to acquire any knowledge that is not provided to them. We see this same idea expressed on pages 25 and 27 when Offred describes shop windows. All shops, but specifically food markets, no longer have written names and signs. The names of these stores are all expressed using rudimentary images. For example, a wooden sign with three eggs, a bee and a cow indicates Milk and Honey. There is an additional meaning of the tokens mentioned above. Since the handmaids must use these tokens to purchase food, they have no choice or free will regarding food at this stage. The food they will get at the store will be based solely on the tokens they were given, they will hand these tokens to a man behind the counter and he will deliver the food to her. It is very simple and extremely passive. The limitation of free will in the use of tokens is explained when Offred realizes that Milk and Honey has oranges, a rare luxury. Offred wants one of these fruits but cannot have it because she does not have a sign to have it (25).