ANTAGONISTS AND PROTAGONISTS

CHARACTER

Antagonist

Someone whom the main character struggles against

Not necessarily a bad person (i.e., adult in YA Lit)Not necessarily a person!His/her/its role can changeCan begin as adversary but become an ally by the

end; or vice-versaOne way of maintaining suspense is to take time

revealing a character’s true roleEven most “villains” have justifications for their

behavior

Motivation

Main characters can be bad people, yet drawn sympathetically.

“Nobody is the villain of their own story.”

Elizabeth A. Lynn

Protagonist

Be true to the flaws of human nature.

“A character who is so goody-goody as to make the holiest saint feel soiled tends to feel alien and remote to a reader.”

--Michaela Roessner

Protagonist

Give them traits readers will sympathize with: weaknesses, foibles, idiosyncrasies, and other quirks.

Don’t rush: reveal your character over time.True for personality as well as backstory—

just as if you were getting to know the person in real life

Include just enough to make a well-rounded, three-dimensional character

Flat or two-dimensional characters are like cardboard cut-outs with no human complexity

Other Character Types

Deuteragonist“Second Actor”

(protagonist is “first actor)

Highlight, or emphasize by contrast, opposing traits of protagonist

Sidekick, love interest

In longer stories, can be fully drawn characters with their own subplots

Spear carriersPeople standing

around at the back of the stage of an opera holding spears

Indicate that there are a lot of people in a given scene

Not necessary in most stories, but can be effective

“The Thirteen Clocks”

By James Thurber, 1950

What famous story did Thurber write?

The crowd fell silent in awe and wonder, for the townspeople knew the Duke had slain eleven men for merely staring at his hands, hands that were gloved in velvet gloves, bright with rubies and with diamonds.

Writing Prompt

In 250 words or less, present a situation in which a protagonist is striving for something but is confronted by an antagonist

The “something” may be concrete or abstractDon’t worry about resolving the situation,

just set the sceneRemember, the antagonist may or may not be

humanSure, this could be true of the protagonist as

well