Is it ever okay to kill your protagonist?

The Deuce · Jul 21, 2011

Like in a self-sacrificing way?

I've been toying with the idea for a while. In one of my WIPs, it seems like the logical ending is for my MC to sacrifice herself--to save a whole lot of people and kill the antagonist. I've been looking for a way around it, but to be honest, I kind of like the idea. But I've never read a YA novel in which it's happened.

So is it ever okay to kill your protagonist or is that a no-no in YA? (And if it is doable, can anyone give me an example of a book in which it was done well?)

Thanks

mscelina · Jul 21, 2011

I wrote a scene once where I killed the protagonist of my fantasy series.

In first person.

I just wanted to see if I could do it.

I could.

OTWOV · Jul 21, 2011

Harry Potter lets himself be killed, with the knowledge that he would be brought back to life though. Also, in my current WIP, my MC is slated to become an angel upon his death, so he could sacrifice himself to do it. He won't, but he could.

Mharvey · Jul 21, 2011

Why not?

If that's the story you want to tell, go for it and tell it well... and people will hate to see the character they (hopefully) love die, but still respect the story.

Kitty Pryde · Jul 21, 2011

Off the top of my head, I know of two YA novels where the MC definitely dies at the end (but they are books about dying of diseases so there ya go), one where the MC probably dies at the end, and one where the MC maybe dies at the end. Plus books where the MC is a dead guy/ghost/postmortem/whatever. I hate to post the titles cause that's pretty spoilery for the most part.

Becca C. · Jul 21, 2011

Personally, unless you have other MCs, I don't think it can be done well. If your only viewpoint character dies, the story ends. If it were to then take off in another POV, it would feel gimmicky or bait-and-switchy to me. To me, if the main character dies (i.e., doesn't accomplish his or her goals, doesn't achieve a complete arc), what was the point of reading their story?

That's just what I think.

ETA: Except what Kitty Pryde said about books with MCs who have terminal diseases. That makes sense. I'm talking about random deaths that you don't see coming.

mscelina · Jul 21, 2011

I don't. I cut my teeth on stories of the Greek demigods and heroes that travelled to Hades and returned. I think the same sort of thing can be done with a contemporary protagonist. It would have to be done well and with a lot of care for establishing the narrative either up to that point (and end it) or to extend it beyond that original point of view.

thebloodfiend · Jul 21, 2011

In Before I Fall, the main character dies in the first chapter. In The Lovely Bones, the MC is dead throughout the entire novel. In Elsewhere, the main character dies before the story starts.

I think it's doable as long as it's not an asspull (deus ex machina) and the ending is satisfactory.

ETA: Also, in the Chronicles of Narnia (this shouldn't be much of a spoiler) the entire Pensieve family, or Peter, Edmund, and Lucy, die in the Last Battle in a train wreck.

Kyla Laufreyson · Jul 21, 2011

Does the story call for it?

Do it.

Sanoe SC · Jul 21, 2011

Yes. Though I think this works better in a novel with multiple viewpoints so we have some reflection on the death. Otherwise it's too abrupt. The reader needs time to process a death and understand it in the larger context of the story.

thothguard51 · Jul 21, 2011

The character could be mortally wounded in the first chapter and is reflecting there after. Naaa, why read it then when I know he is mortally wounded to start with...

The Deuce · Jul 21, 2011

Thanks for all your thoughts guys!

The story's in third person from multiple view points, so continuing from the POV won't be a problem. It's also urban fantasy, so it won't be a disease that kills her, and I feel like her death would be the end of her character arc--like she has to be willing to sacrifice herself in order for her development to be finished.

Any examples of that kind of thing done well in a YA novel?

Ajisai · Jul 21, 2011

I think an ending where the MC dies would work perfectly well depending on the plot, but I would prefer to not know it was coming. Readers have a tendency to assume the MC will live through any dangerous situation simply because they are the MC, so you could really mess with their expectations in a potentially powerful way if the book really did end with their death (and not a cheesy epilogue told by someone else).

Becca C. · Jul 21, 2011

thebloodfiend said:
ETA: Also, in the Chronicles of Narnia (this shouldn't be much of a spoiler) the entire Pensieve family, or Peter, Edmund, and Lucy, die in the Last Battle in a train wreck.

Awww... I didn't know that. But I guess I'd never have read it, anyway, since I got bored with the series in the fifth book. (also, my copy of Voyage of the Dawn Treader was misprinted and was missing ~20 pages, that's the reason I stopped reading)

Schnitzel · Jul 21, 2011

OTWOV said:
Harry Potter lets himself be killed, with the knowledge that he would be brought back to life though.

Actually, dear old Harry had no idea he'd be coming back. Quite the pleasant surprise for him, though, eh?

If you believe your story calls for it, then do it: kill your protagonist; do it meaningfully, and with purpose. And hopefully in a way that stirs your readers.

JennieRose8 · Jul 22, 2011

I hate stories where the MC dies. In fact, if I know a movie or book ends that way, I won't watch em/read em. Still have not watched Titanic to this day- for that very reason. I despise it when I become attached to a character, only to have them bumped off. It's a nasty twist people like to add to zombie stories, too, and it irks me.

lol

A lot of people feel as I do, so you stand to disappoint a lot of readers. Just food for thought.

Jen

OTWOV · Jul 22, 2011

Schnitzel said:
Actually, dear old Harry had no idea he'd be coming back. Quite the pleasant surprise for him, though, eh?

If you believe your story calls for it, then do it: kill your protagonist; do it meaningfully, and with purpose. And hopefully in a way that stirs your readers.

I'm basing my post on the movie, shameful I know, but I have yet to pass the 500 pages of camping to reach the good parts

Alouette · Jul 22, 2011

I once read a book where the MC died 1/3 of the way through the book and the rest of it was her watching others...Okay, that's kind of different but it worked.

I can think of a couple of others where what you're suggesting has worked, one where it really didn't and ruined the whole series of books for me (I don't want to spoil people by posting titles) but I think it's rare and I wouldn't be that eager to read a book if I knew that was going to happen.

If she's one of a few MCs then that would be better...but I'm not that keen on the idea, sorry. Nearly anything can work if you execute it well enough though!

dancing-drama · Jul 22, 2011

In "Passion", the third installment in the Fallen series by Lauren Kate (SPOILERS AHEAD) Luce experiences many of her deaths. Either from the outside or she kind of slips in to her former self. The whole series deals with reincarnation, but every life is different, and every death of Luce's is different than the others...
And if you want a narrator from the outside, I'd suggest you take a look at Looking for Alaska by John Green. In this book the narrator is Miles but the girl, Alaska, one of the main characters, dies.

I think it's totally doable. And as long as it's believable I wouldn't toss the book away...

Ashes Oh Ashes · Jul 22, 2011

If it's the end of the arch, and the story calls for it, why not?

Gwendolyn · Jul 22, 2011

I go back and forth on this, myself.

I think that I am in the "if the story calls for it, do it" camp.

I actually appreciate stories wherein the main character (or an important character) dies. I have a fondness for unhappy endings. A few years ago, I read Stephenie Meyer's The Host, and SPOILERS [I thought it was so perfect when Wanderer died. I was crying, enjoying how everything came together... and then the epilogue happened and she brought Wanderer back to life in a different body. It would have been more perfect if she had simply allowed Wanderer to die as she wanted.] Anyway, I'm not a Meyer fan, but that is an example of an ending that could have worked.

sadbeautifultragic · Jul 23, 2011

Haha, I was just going to ask this same question!
There is an ending I've been toying with in my WIP where the MC's girlfriend and mother of his child dies (inspired by the song "Terrible Things" by Mayday Parade, i.e. saddest song you will ever hear), and he ends up killing himself.
I really, really liked the idea of doing that, and even though that's probably not going to be the outcome (actually, I think at the end I may marry them off, lol, definitely different), I kind of wanted to do that *sorry Leon*.
But yeah. I would love to see a YA where the protagonist dies at the end.

sadbeautifultragic · Jul 23, 2011

OTWOV said:
I'm basing my post on the movie, shameful I know, but I have yet to pass the 500 pages of camping to reach the good parts

I hated that!

I love HP but seriously, does anyone really need (or care) to know about all that?

Zoombie · Jul 23, 2011

Yes. You can kill your MC. People do it all the time!

Anaximander · Jul 25, 2011

That happens in The Bartimaeus Trilogy, by Jonathon Stroud. Excellently done.

Is it ever okay to kill your protagonist?

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