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 |  This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
| Protagonist v Antagonist A story in the Western sense needs two things to be a story – events (things that happen) and a conflict. Conflict involves characters. And, from the reader/ writer point of view, these characters can be broken down into three types – protagonists, antagonists and (a term from RPGs) NPCs (non-player characters, people on the sideline not involved in any meaningful way with the plot). Now, I was asked recently because of my Horror Writing Contest what an antagonist was, so I thought this blog would be the perfect place to explain that concept. So, that’s where this comes from – a reader request! So, first… do you need a protagonist and antagonist to make a story? Well, it depends on the conflict. If the conflict is internal, then maybe not, but people would argue that the antagonist and protagonist in this case are the same person. However, that is beyond what I really want to get at here. I am looking at them being separate entities. So, in this case, the answer is a simple, “Yes.” Protagonist A protagonist is the character around who the story revolves, the main character, the one who is the main point of view character, or who the PoV character describes as being central to the action. The actions they perform, the choices they make, the things they decide not to do are what drives the story forward. It is through the protagonist/s that the reader experiences the events and the world around them. It is said a protagonist is usually reactive – they respond to what is happening around them. Generally, the protagonist is the “good guy” or “hero” of a story. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes the protagonist can be the “villain” of the piece, but if they are the central PoV character, then they are the protagonist. Having said that, the protagonist should engender some sympathy from the reader, and writing a villain in this manner is difficult. Even a regular protagonist does not have to be perfect. In fact, being perfect is boring. There can be shades of grey, and they can have different morals, but they do always see that they themselves are in the right or doing the right thing. And the reader tends to agree. Antagonist An antagonist is, simply put, the protagonist’s main opponent. The goals of the antagonist are generally opposed to those of the protagonist, but they can also have the same goal, only different methods of achieving it. The antagonist is generally the “villain” or “bad guy” of the story. However, many of the best antagonists are not “bad” or “evil”, but just come from a different moral standpoint. It is said an antagonist is usually proactive – they create or cause the events that happen. The idea of the antagonist/s is to create the conflict with the protagonist. The antagonist is central to that idea in the story. However, you need to be careful that the antagonist is actually a genuine source of conflict and not just a victim, especially of a villainous protagonist. This is something many slasher films fail to realise – victims are not antagonists. Simply put, the protagonist is the main character of a story, and an antagonist is what or who creates the conflict with the protagonist. Protagonist Types There are only a few types of protagonist generally used in stories. The “Good Guy” Hero This is the standard hero of way too many stories. They might have to overcome insurmountable odds, but what they are doing and fighting for is something the audience can relate to. They tend to be the main heroes we see in comics, films and books. This is the person at the basis of Campbell’s hero’s journey. The Everyman This is a normal person thrown into the role of leading a story, and are usually very reluctant to get involved. This is the sort of protagonist that appears often in horror stories. They have no great power or skill, do not develop this, and are often the sort of character an audience can relate to best. They can also be a blank slate for the audience to project themselves onto. The Anti-Hero They have grey morals, do things that are not considered good, might be cowards or even do things that the bad guys do, but in the end they defeat whatever they are against and have a hero’s ending arc. A redemption arc in some cases, or just an acceptance arc. Often best for internal as well as external conflicts. It should be noted that some anti-heroes do start off as antagonists and develop over the course of the story or series of stories. The Villain Protagonist Not sure about this, but it happens, so it’s here. As mentioned before, this is when the person who is the central character is the bad guy. Difficult to write well and with sympathy, and to make an audience empathise with them, to be honest. Antagonist Types There are more of these. And, it should be pointed out, they often have the best lines and command the page (or screen) more than the protagonist. The more imposing an antagonist, the better the conflict feels. In general. The “Bad Guy” Villain This your standard “bad guy” in so many stories. They tend to be bad for bad’s sake and, because readers have become more sophisticated, that sort of black-and-white thinking feels antiquated and not realistic. Which is why it is more common now for them to think they are doing the right thing, in their own warped sense of the world. However, they are aware all along that what they are doing can be viewed as wrong by most. But this is your normal antagonist. The Deluded Person This is a person who really does think what they are doing is for the best, and any objections are just people who cannot see things their way, or are born of jealousy. This sort of antagonist can become angry or disillusioned with the way they are treated, and so go to do their actions anyway, despite ramifications they refuse to admit or do not understand. The Rival Especially in romance, this antagonist is not bad at all, but they share the same desire as the protagonist and want it just as bad. However, both cannot have it. Be that an object, a lover or recognition, they are not a bad guy at all, just a rival. This also works in sporting contexts. The Force Of Nature This could be a natural disaster, an animal, or even a landscape. These are things over which the protagonist has no control and yet must overcome in order to succeed in the central quest of the story. It might be to rescue someone after an earthquake, kill the animal that took their family, or even get across the icy tundra to reach the only place where people live. Impersonal but deadly. A System This is fighting against a government, an Empire, something so much larger than the protagonist themselves. Winning against and defeating this antagonist is not realistic, but escaping it is. Themselves This is internal conflict, and is something I struggle to get my head around when writing, but it is used. Conclusion This is not a “how to write” post because every sort of protagonist and antagonist has many different ways of writing them, depending on genre, PoV, audience or writer’s preferences. There is no “one size fits all” method of writing a protagonist or antagonist. The idea of this post was to help the writers pinpoint who or what the antagonist and protagonist of a story are As you can see, it might seem simple on the surface, but it really can run very deep. |
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