Tuesday, December 13, 2005
The Importance of Having a Protagonist & an Antagonist
A protagonist may be defined by many other terms: "hero," "main character," "focal character," "central character." Whatever label a protagonist wears, it is the primary character the story is about. The protagonist is actively on the side of moral good. The protagonist also changes, and by doing so expresses the theme of the story.
Perhaps the most indispensable job of a protagonist is serving as a door into the emotional heart of the story. A protagonist draws readers' emotions like a magnet, concentrating their feelings about the story into the hopes, fears, and fates of one character.
A protagonist provides relevancy to the story's events. Readers can measure the positive or negative outcome of an event by how it impacts the protagonist. In The Sound of Music, a wedding is a pivotal positive event in the story, because it's a good thing for the protagonist, Maria. But in While You Were Sleeping, another pivotal wedding is a negative thing because it's bad for the protagonist, Lucy, who's about to marry the wrong man.
Even in ensemble stories, typically one character stands out from the others, even if only a little. In Annie Jones' The Prayer Tree, the story is about four Southern women, but it's Naomi who opens and closes the story. She's the character who's a little more at loose ends than the rest, the one who'll be a little worse off than the rest if she fails. In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, readers (and audiences) anxiously follow the adventures of several characters. Though it is very much an ensemble story, Frodo Baggins is the first main character introduced to readers. By the end, the destinies of everyone rests upon his shoulders.
An antagonist is the primary opposition to the protagonist. An antagonist need not be a villain, though it may be. Typically villains are immoral, whereas antagonists may simply be doing frustrating things (to the protagonist) for what seems like a very reasonable, even moral, reason to them.
Stories benefit from the central conflict being personified in either an antagonist or a villain. It takes the pressure exerted by the antagonist to bring the protagonist's inner conflicts and foibles to light. An antagonist tests and proves the protagonist's commitment to the story goal. Would Dorothy's journey through Oz be even half as exciting without the Wicked Witch? Personifying the conflict in a single bad guy gives readers the contrast they need to inspire them to cheer for the good guy. It's like placing opposing teams on a football field. Without the visiting team, led by the quarterback, present on the field, home team fans have little reason to cheer their own side running back and forth with the ball. Personifying the conflict in a central antagonist, instead of diffusing it among several bad guys or even impersonal complications, is the primary way readers know when the "game" is over.
Perhaps the most indispensable job of a protagonist is serving as a door into the emotional heart of the story. A protagonist draws readers' emotions like a magnet, concentrating their feelings about the story into the hopes, fears, and fates of one character.
A protagonist provides relevancy to the story's events. Readers can measure the positive or negative outcome of an event by how it impacts the protagonist. In The Sound of Music, a wedding is a pivotal positive event in the story, because it's a good thing for the protagonist, Maria. But in While You Were Sleeping, another pivotal wedding is a negative thing because it's bad for the protagonist, Lucy, who's about to marry the wrong man.
Even in ensemble stories, typically one character stands out from the others, even if only a little. In Annie Jones' The Prayer Tree, the story is about four Southern women, but it's Naomi who opens and closes the story. She's the character who's a little more at loose ends than the rest, the one who'll be a little worse off than the rest if she fails. In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, readers (and audiences) anxiously follow the adventures of several characters. Though it is very much an ensemble story, Frodo Baggins is the first main character introduced to readers. By the end, the destinies of everyone rests upon his shoulders.
An antagonist is the primary opposition to the protagonist. An antagonist need not be a villain, though it may be. Typically villains are immoral, whereas antagonists may simply be doing frustrating things (to the protagonist) for what seems like a very reasonable, even moral, reason to them.
Stories benefit from the central conflict being personified in either an antagonist or a villain. It takes the pressure exerted by the antagonist to bring the protagonist's inner conflicts and foibles to light. An antagonist tests and proves the protagonist's commitment to the story goal. Would Dorothy's journey through Oz be even half as exciting without the Wicked Witch? Personifying the conflict in a single bad guy gives readers the contrast they need to inspire them to cheer for the good guy. It's like placing opposing teams on a football field. Without the visiting team, led by the quarterback, present on the field, home team fans have little reason to cheer their own side running back and forth with the ball. Personifying the conflict in a central antagonist, instead of diffusing it among several bad guys or even impersonal complications, is the primary way readers know when the "game" is over.
