Protagonist Problem

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Hello! I am currently planning a series of novels, writing characters etc. It's going great, but I do have a problem with the character I have chosen to have as the protagonist. The story I am writing is not just about the protagonist, but a group of characters, and I have no idea what really defines the protagonist. Are they supposed to be the main focus in the novel? I know every scene doesn't have to contain the protagonist if you don't want them to (at least in specific POV's, like Omniscient POV and so on), but before I keep building up the protagonist for my story and making a mistake, can someone please tell me the definitions of that role, and what makes them different from other main characters?
 

Beanie5

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Have a look at the famous five it served as a template for evrything for the harry potter triad to stephen kings band in it.
 

BethS

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The protagonist is the character whom the story is about. Much of what happens in the story will be generated by his or her actions and decisions. You can have other POV characters, but it's the protagonist who drives the main action.

It should be noted, though, that some stories have multiple protagonists. George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series is an example of this. There is no single main character. There are three or so who act in that role.
 
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Mary Love

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I've also heard it said that your protagonist is the character who experiences the biggest arc (or change from beginning to end). Even if you have multiple POV's (or 'protagonists') your main one will be the one who's most changed at the end from how he was at the beginning, or experienced the most growth from the plot /journey.
 

MythMonger

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The protagonist could also be defined by the antagonist. Whose goals is the antagonist actively trying to resist?
 

Chasing the Horizon

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As BethS said, a protagonist is a character whose actions drive the story and also generally a character who has a full arc of development and change. But you can have more than one protagonist. Most of my projects have two or three full protagonists, as my tastes run towards longer, more complex stories with larger casts.
 

Cindyt

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The protagonist drives the title, theme, and ignites the major plot line. Whatever he/she does affects everyone in the book. My historical has seven viewpoint characters, but it's Mimi who drives them around.
 

Harlequin

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Lots of novels have multiple characters, and with vanishingly few exceptions still feature a protagonist.

Vanishingly few in this instance mostly boils down to intergenerational novels told in omniscient point of view, like Helliconia (3000 years on the same planet), Space Prison (similar deal), and others.

It doesn't sound like your novel fits into that category, though.
 

Layla Nahar

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Even if you have multiple POV's (or 'protagonists')

The protagonist is the person who drives the story. The antagonist is the person who (or force which) works against the protagonist.

'point of view character' does not equal 'protagonist' or 'MC'.
 

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The protagonist is the character who moves the story along. His decisions and actions are most vital to the story. He is who the story is about. He does not necessarily have to be the MC, but the story centers around his arc.

At first I was like - what? but then there's stories like 'Great Gatsby' and 'Sophie's Choice' where the narration focuses on an observer of the person who moves the story along...
 

Sonsofthepharaohs

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Going back to the origins of the word itself might help (or it might not, but it makes me feel better). In the ancient Greek theatre:

proto = first
agonistes = actor

So, the protagonistes was the actor who took the biggest part, the one who was on stage the most. Other actors might play multiple roles (in classical tragedy there were only 3 actors in total, plus the chorus) but the protagonistes was on stage for most of the play and generally only played that one part. The main character was often the one the play was named after - Agamemnon, Antigone, Philoktetes, Elektra, Medea etc. The story revolved around them, so that even when they were not on stage they were never far from the audience's mind. The other characters talked about them, anticipated their return, pondered their actions. The protagonistes moves all the action and dominates the theme of the play.

Now, something else about the origin of the 'agonistes' part - it comes from the word 'agon', which means struggle, contest or combat*, so an agonistes also means a combatant, someone who struggles for something, a champion.

When you think about what really drives a story, it is tension or conflict. Your antagonist is the one in the thick of that conflict, driving it with their needs and desires.

Hope that helps. :)

* To give the other side of the coin, 'agon' also means speech or argument, which has obvious links to the theatrical context as well.
 
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indianroads

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Check out the 'Expanse' series. Several protagonists - Holden (IMO) being the main one who drives most of the story.

POV's are separated by chapter.
 

Bufty

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It's a good explanation but doesn't help me :p I think I really struggle to categorise things in that abstract way.

Are you sure you meant to say that, Harlequin? :Hug2: I assume it's post 16 to which you are referring.
 
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Harlequin

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Definitely :) I tend to need concrete examples where I can see the concept manifested. Keeping it all in the abstract like that is confusing.

Same for philosophy (arguments versus logic equations) and linguistics (sociolinguistics versus syntax equations).

In the thick of a conflict--> driving conflict --> who a story is "about" --> these are all floaty, disconnected things. I suspect you could make a case for any number of novels being "about" any number of people, depending on perspective. For example.

For another example, conflict tends to be between two people, and arguably exists between (or for) all the MCs/protagonists (Wuthering Heights springs to mind).
 
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The Otter

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There's a fair amount of subjectivity in all this stuff. "Which character's choices drive the plot forward?" can be a matter of interpretation too.

I remember a critique a while back where someone felt my protagonist was passive because her choices were mainly reactions to things that happened to her, and I'm thinking...isn't that the case for all decisions? No one makes choices in a void. There's always an inciting incident. I do think that a protagonist should be making choices that factor into the plot, but they don't have to be the First Cause and Unmoved Mover.
 

Sonsofthepharaohs

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Definitely :) I tend to need concrete examples where I can see the concept manifested. Keeping it all in the abstract like that is confusing.

Same for philosophy (arguments versus logic equations) and linguistics (sociolinguistics versus syntax equations).

In the thick of a conflict--> driving conflict --> who a story is "about" --> these are all floaty, disconnected things. I suspect you could make a case for any number of novels being "about" any number of people, depending on perspective. For example.

For another example, conflict tends to be between two people, and arguably exists between (or for) all the MCs/protagonists (Wuthering Heights springs to mind).

I thought I was being quite concrete by saying the actor who is 'on stage for most of the play' - surely one of your characters has more page time than anyone else? If not, then you likely have multiple protagonists.

Oh well. I tried. But if you can't understand things in a conceptual way, what on earth are you hoping to gain by identifying the antagonist anyway? That suggests you're trying to apply theory to your story, and if that doesn't work for you.... what's the point?:Shrug:Just stop worrying about the theory and write the story.
 
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Sonsofthepharaohs

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I remember a critique a while back where someone felt my protagonist was passive because her choices were mainly reactions to things that happened to her, and I'm thinking...isn't that the case for all decisions? No one makes choices in a void. There's always an inciting incident. I do think that a protagonist should be making choices that factor into the plot, but they don't have to be the First Cause and Unmoved Mover.

Of course there is always an inciting incident, which is usually an external factor acting on the protagonist that forces them to take action, but if ALL the MC does is react to things, rather than deciding to do something of their own accord in pursuit of a goal, then yes they come across as passive. Some people don't mind that, but if you're the sort of reader who likes a hero to root for, then the character who only desires to weather the storm and allows it to toss them in any which direction just isn't going to cut it.
 

Harlequin

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I'm not worried about the theory; the op was.

Re commenting, I'm interested in the discussion itself because, the more you know...

I do think it's more fluid (or perhaps less important) than it is sometimes treated. There are a fair few literary books or big time scope books where I those definitions would not be very useful. Are all the POV characters in Helliconia protagonists, for example? And is it useful to put them in such categories?

But since you ask, here are the bits that stood out to me as baffling:

____________________________________________________________
So, the protagonistes was the actor who took the biggest part, the one who was on stage the most. [...] The protagonistes moves all the action and dominates the theme of the play.

[...]

When you think about what really drives a story, it is tension or conflict. Your antagonist is the one in the thick of that conflict, driving it with their needs and desires.
__________________________________________________________

Yes, I do have a character who is on stage the most, but they do not move all the action (not even close), although they do dominate the theme. (I'm not special in that, I'm fairly sure lots of stories would be the same.)

Conflict is shared between many people--conflict against each other drives characters forward together?
 

The Otter

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Of course there is always an inciting incident, which is usually an external factor acting on the protagonist that forces them to take action, but if ALL the MC does is react to things, rather than deciding to do something of their own accord in pursuit of a goal, then yes they come across as passive. Some people don't mind that, but if you're the sort of reader who likes a hero to root for, then the character who only desires to weather the storm and allows it to toss them in any which direction just isn't going to cut it.

Well, the book was eventually picked up by Harper Collins so I must have done something right. ;) I guess the ultimate test will be whether readers like it, though.

My point is just that even the most active character/person is always reacting to something. Plots proceed in a cause-and-effect fashion. X happens, so character does Y, which results in Z. Character then responds by doing A, which results in B, etc. Whether the character in this equation comes across as active or passive is largely a matter of technique and framing.