Atwood wrote Offred as an antihero in order to make her relatable. Because she is imperfect like us, Atwood is able to warn of the consequences should we ignore society’s problems like Offred does.

We are all weak, at some time, in some situations. Offred, the protagonist in The Handmaid’s Tale is presented as imperfect and an antihero in order to make her more relatable. Atwood has stripped her of the shiny glow that separates us from the heroes of other stories, which ensures The Handmaid’s Tale does not feel like fiction. In this way Atwood is able to warn us that her dystopian future of Gilead could become reality if society continues to act in the way it currently is.
The story is laced with examples of how Offred is meek and complacent; she often does the easiest option – which many of us are also guilty of. Downfalls like not standing up for her rights when she had the chance, failing to being a feminist and complying to Gilead’s regime all prove that Offred is no Wonderwoman. Atwood draws on issues prevalent in the world today to prove how Gilead is not far from our current society. She commented “There’s a precedent in real life for everything that happened in the book” It was designed in this way, like many other dystopian texts to teach us a much needed lesson. As Atwood stated: “you write these books so they won’t come true.”

Life before Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale is described by Atwood as being very similar to today’s society. In this way she is able to illustrate how quickly privilege can be lost. There were many problems in the world, and because humans are so good at disregarding the ‘uncomfortable subjects’ the installation of Gilead was possible. Offred thinks to herself “we lived, as usual, by ignoring.” She, possibly like us, is willing to turn a blind eye instead of stand up for her life. Atwood uses Offred’s complacency to warn that the stakes are higher than we think. By ‘ignoring’, Offred’s freedom was easily taken from her.
When Offred loses her job she thinks “what made us feel like we deserved it?” Perhaps the feeling of guilt arose because she did not appreciate her freedom, and did nothing to defend it. Similarly, many of us take our life for granted, which is what makes all that is happening to her seem more real, as it could happen to anyone. 
There were people who protested, but Offred did not participate “There were marches, of course, a lot of women and some men. But they were smaller than you might have thought.” She acts in a docile way, expecting others to fight her battles for her. 
The reader and Offred face similar issues. Sexism, descrimination and prejudice don’t exist exclusively  in The Handmaids Tale and Offred’s lack of action mirrors our own silence on these important subjects. She does not heroically advocate for women’s rights, but hides. Offred is imperfect and Atwood has done this to reflect back at us our own flaws, and illustrate the subsequent consequences.
Atwood once remarked that “nothing changes instantaneously: In a gradually heating bathtub, you’d be boiled to death before you knew it.” This realisation is designed to inspire change within the reader; improvement.  Like other Dystopian works, the Handmaid’s Tale uses real life issues to warn the reader of the possible consequences should we ignore our problems; should we choose inertia instead of action.

Throughout the text Atwood illustrates how Offred fails to stand up for herself and the women around her. She is not empowered, which adds to her layers of imperfection and therefore relatability. As the conversion to Gilead’s regime begins, normal life crumbles and women are rendered powerless. Offred suspects that her partner Luke enjoys her vulnerability ‘I thought, already he’s starting to patronize me.’ and ‘we are not each other’s, any more. Instead, I am his.’ Despite the fact that her husband is taking pleasure in ‘owning’ her, she does not stand up for herself, but meekly goes along with it. She is letting complacency and fear dictate her actions, not playing the hero in any way. The truth is, however, that at times this is the way we act too. As humans we often choose what is easy instead of what is right. Atwood is teaching that this way of thinking is dangerous, as she follows it with the creation of Gilead.
The dystopian genre is often referred to as ‘speculative fiction’, meaning that the texts are the author’s thoughts on how future society could look, should its problems not be addressed. Without a doubt, The Handmaid’s Tale meets this requirement, along with other texts like The Road by Cormac McCarthy and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Atwood draws a strong parallel to today’s society when, in The Red Centre, where many women are taken to be taught how to behave in Gilead, Offred joins in on shaming a woman named Janine for being raped. They chant “Her fault, her fault, her fault” then when Janine breaks down, “Crybaby, crybaby, crybaby” The subject of rape, and blame is an issue very prevalent in our current world. Abu Azmi, Samajwadi Party Leader commented in 2017 “The more the nudity, the more a girl is considered fashionable. Ants will swarm the place where sugar is” This comment is suggesting that, by not dressing conservatively rape is inevitable. Offred is piling onto this idea and shaming Janine for what happened to her. It is disgusting and wrong, made to shock the reader, but similar things happen in today’s society. Like Atwood said “I decided not to put anything in [The Handmaid’s Tale] that somebody somewhere hadn’t already done” The purpose of this is to be confronting and inspire change. Her warning is able to have impact because Offred is imperfect like us.

Offred does little to resist Gilead, and her compliance is as good as support. 
When given the opportunity to help the Mayday movement, Offred is too afraid, or perhaps too unwilling to put herself through hardship. Offred could supply information on her commander, but instead she equivocates “I can’t” “I’m too afraid. . . . Anyway I’d be no good at that, I’d get caught” She can’t bring herself to help others or resist Gilead. Arguably this could be out of fear, but her relationship with a low level officer named Nick counteracts this idea, as she is putting herself in danger by being with him. At some point this mixture of fear and laziness had no doubt rendered us too imobile, but on a lesser scale. In a way we loath Offred, but only in the way we despise ourselves for taking the easy option. Through Offred’s imperfections Atwood is reflecting our own flaws, and from an objective point of view the reader is able to see what Offred, and therefore we are doing wrong. In this way Atwood is able to warn us of the consequences, should our complacency continue.
At one point Offred fears she will be tortured, then discovering she is safe she prays to a God she did not originally believe in: ‘Now that you’ve let me off, I’ll obliterate myself, if that is what you really want; I’ll empty myself, truly, become a chalice’ This proves how Gilead and the fear that it inspires has broken Offred. She is no hero, and did not have the strength to stay her own woman. It is heartbreaking, but not in the glorious way of the protagonists of other stories: like a spectacular death for a good cause. It is heartbreaking in the way suicide is heartbreaking, she is so sad, so alone that she has given up. Every human has, or will feel this way to some degree. Because of this, Offred’s struggle (or defeat) which mirrors our own acts as a lesson. We are not heroes, but Atwood is urging us to at least try. To not end up lost like Offred and take back what is ours while we still have time.

Offred’s story makes us uncomfortable. It inspires this reaction because Atwood has made Offred so similar to us. We feel as though we are her, living in Gilead, suffering the consequences of ‘ignoring’. Atwood has taken Offred off the pedestal that heroes of other stories are placed on, which ensures The Handmaid’s Tale is all the more real and all the more worrying. It inspires fear, because if this could happen to her, then it could happen to us unless we fight for our rights. 
In the world today, as misogynist leaders like Trump make the unthinkable possible, Atwoods lesson taught through The Handmaid’s Tale becomes increasingly important. Humans are dangerously talented at turning a blind eye towards bad behaviour, not standing up for each other.. and it has to stop. 
As a society we may be like Offred, but do not have to be. Gilead does not have to be the future for us if we heed Atwood’s warning, and take back what is ours while we still have the chance.