How is the genre of dystopian fiction presented in The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood?

Through the use of the stream of consciousness featured in the narrative throughout The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood passes through the three tenses of past, present and future. In this, the reader is able to identify to separate episodes of time that the protagonist Offred refers to. For instance, she states in Chapter 13, "I used to think of my body as an instrument". The word 'used' refers to the past tense indicating how the society they currently live in has altered over time. By using structures of time within the narrative, Atwood connects to the genre of dystopian fiction by portraying the alteration a totalitarian state can have on a society. Introducing the reader to the past separates them from the present, exposing the flaws that could continue onto the future. Aunt Lydia also uses time to construct their reality in Chapter 6 claiming to the Handmaid's "It will become ordinary". This concerns how she views the future of society and how the absurd ways of the present will become the norm. Time is also used as a concept in facilitating the Gilead regime similarly to how it is often used in dystopian fiction such as in Orwell's 1984 where the protagonist holds onto pieces of the past that haven't been destroyed by the state by in order to retain his memory and identity of what the world was before the regime took hold. The Handmaid's Tale uses flashbacks and references to the past to suggest to the reader how monstrous the society that has taken over has become. For instance, the glimpse at Serena Joy's pre-Gilead singing career shows how women have become restricted to specific roles within society and Serena Joy is now unable to pursue her talent due to the regime.
The desensitization of violence within The Handmaid's Tale is another example of how the novel prescribes to characteristics typical of dystopian fiction. For instance, the brutality at the Salvagings show how violence has become an acceptable punishment within society for 'wrong-doers' of the state past off under the guise of rapists. The animalistic description of the Handmaids attacking the prisoner shows the complete abandonment of morality due to state intervention. The regime's control of the women by forcing them into a position of submission has desensitized immoral concepts in order for the society to function. The women have put trust in the state's rule and are willing to attack and hurt another human being when told to. Thus, violence has become a way of proving obedience to the regime and a solution to the state's problems showing how corrupt the society has become over time as Salvagings become an accepted event. Therefore, The Handmaid's Tale presents traits of dystopian fiction through the frequent desensitization to violence shown throughout.