The idea of color

In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the idea of color is a predominate theme I have found in the story. Color appears to dictate role, rights, as well as, status. The handmaids sport all red ‘habits’ with white wings on their bonnets with red bags; Marthas wear an off green; Rich married women wear blue; Man of power of importance wear all black; Econowives dress in tattered stripped clothing.
I have become interested in why this woman focuses solely of color details—with trees, tulips, grass, etc. The world appears to have nothing truly awesome existing—only war, oppression, and misunderstandings; and these things are not magnificent, in the sense of beauty or value, but rather demand awe due to their destruction of the color world. My definition of the ‘color world’ is the world outside of restrains; outside the cruelties of the world—the color world is innocence. She often wonders what it would be like to be outside this world surrounded by a faded red wall, The Wall; to be a cloud, a tree, etc. things which are not affected by war, and oppression. I believe she wants to understand why the world around her is the way it is and how it got that way—from innocence to corruption, freedom to and freedom from. In the Gilead society, one has the freedom to innocence and freedom from corruption. Although the idea of a utopia is amazing, no species can live in a perfect world. (E.g. many famous anthropologists explain in a perfect society there would be over population, death, and final extinction. Additionally, a radical change in environment often causes species to die off). With these two ideas one can see the transformation for a corrupted society to an innocent society would cause massive repercussions on the ability to bread as well as the ability to survive.
If the people of Gilead, realized their situations there would be no oppression, war, and misunderstanding. The non-forced world of innocence would not result in war, the Eyes, the Guardians, the Angels, and all that subcategorizes creating the hierarchy of this society. Atwood also appears to play with ideas about anthropology in her writing (hinting the importance of balance?).