Investigate the strategies employed by the Nazi regime in Germany to oppress various groups, including blacks, Jews, homosexuals, and Gypsies during the 1930s and 1940s. Compare these tactics to the methods used by the Gileadean government to subjugate women.

Consider the types of imagery a totalitarian regime might use to maintain its dominance. Create several posters that could be displayed in Gilead, reminding women of the expected behaviors; or compose a song that handmaids and Marthas might be required to sing each morning.

The abortion debate has been an ongoing issue in the United States, and it was particularly significant in the mid-1980s when this novel was published. Research a notable figure from that period who was either staunchly pro-choice or pro-life. Present a report on this person's background, their current activities, and what you believe they would say about the Republic of Gilead.

Locate an academic history similar to the "Historical Notes" at the end of the novel, detailing the Underground Railroad used to free American slaves in the early and mid-1800s. Write a fictional first-person narrative, based on information from that source, depicting what the experience might have been like for a slave attempting to escape.