DISCUSSION: What makes a protagonist?

[Flaze]

This is a question I've been asking myself for a while mostly from talking to other people about movies, anime and tv show that I liked. While it's true that everyone's opinion is suggestive I couldn't help but notice how a lot of people had different, sometimes contradicting views of what made a good protagonist.

For example, some people like protagonists that can overcome challenges with their own wit and knowledge but they don't like them showing off, a lot of people I've talked to have said how they hate it when stories have protagonists that just keep failing over and over or protagonists that don't take things seriously and act immature.

Similarly, others view a protagonist solely by the things they do or their importance in the story, so if a protagonist doesn't stand out over everyone else or doesn't do anything "cool" or showy that puts them in the forefront then it's like they're not a protagonist at all.

At the same time others hate protagonists that manage to solve things without too much trouble and that lack any sort of outward personality that isn't meant to tie into the audience, one can say that a lot of time protagonists are made to work as an audience surrogate and this can be a disservice for some while it can be exactly what people want.

So, what are your thoughts on this? What kind of aspects of traits do you think makes a real protagonist and how can you even define a protagonist, to begin with.

 

[Iggy]

The protagonist, or main character or hero, is the most important character of a story, the greatest drive behind all the action. The story revolves around this person because of their past, skills or ambition that let him/her drive the action.

How do you pick a protagonist? Which of your characters has the best story to tell? Let that one be the main character, I'd say. I don't think it has to be clear from the onset why someone is given more attention than others, as long as you, the author, is keenly aware of it.

How do you define a protagonist? Look at the characters you got and tell me, what are they like? What do they believe? What do they want to achieve? What is their past like that shaped them? What are their (moral) weaknesses? What are their (moral) strengths? How do these factors differ from the protagonist? Remember; a protagonist is often defined by who he/she is not.

For my work-in-progress fan-fic Two Perfect Cowards I have drawn up a web of characters, each with their own strength, weaknesses, roles and functions. I have chosen Nogal to be the main character because his story serves the best tale and I have chosen his opponents based on their ability to attack Nogal's weakness best and they compete for the same goal. The story works like this: Nogal is forced to succeed someone as gym leader. He has a big problem, however. Nogal is inexperienced, insecure, indecisive and above all, is scared to death of Pokémon. Others want to become a gym leader too and will do anything to keep Nogal from reaching his goal by attacking him through his greatest weakness. Nogal will win his goal if he beats his Poképhobia. In a very tiny nutshell, this is how my story works.

All of this is just my opinion, of course.

 

[canisaries]

one thing's for sure and that's that your protagonist needs to be a character - especially if you're writing in first person or otherwise a character-driven story. i dislike protagonists who have no personality and are just defined by being "the main character" - they're just not memorable at all and they have a bad stench of just being empty shells the readers are meant to put themselves in for wish fulfillment.

honestly, for me it doesn't matter what the protagonist's personality is, as long as it's believable and consistent and the other characters' attitudes towards them make sense. they can be a total doormat, they can be a complete narcissist, they can have good wholesome morals or no morals at all. it just needs to be established that that's indeed the character and not just something the author thinks is cool or likable.

 

[Dorothy]

A protagonist needs to have charisma of some sort even if the audience isn't necessarily meant to "like" them - they need to be interesting enough of a character for folks to keep reading.

 

[lucarioknight56]

The protagonist is simply who the story centers around, and likewise, the antagonist is who goes against him. The pro should be a developed character to some level, one who has clear ideals and can help the audience feel connected to the story.

That doesn't necessarily mean they have to have good ideals, or that the antagonist has to have bad. It's nice to have a change in perspective to know how the usually-antagonistic side of stories work.

 

[Juliko]

The protagonist of the story needs to have a lot of things in order for the story to truly work. But the ones I'd like to empathize are the following:

1. Give them flaws and weaknesses! Lots of media nowadays seem to think that making their MCs perfect in everything will make people love them, but instead doing that makes them boring or a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. People often forget that what makes a good character in general is how they deal with their flaws. Maybe they have a hot temper and it gets the better of them a lot. Maybe they tend to be impulsive and reckless, and their decisions have consequences for everyone, the MC included. Maybe they're too passive and fearful, and their lack of action also leads to consequences, or hinders them from making friends or getting out into the world (Futaba Sakura from Persona 5 is a good example for that one).

2. Give them actual personality traits. Hobbies. Preferences. Little quirks that make them more human. Having a high IQ or uber powerful fighting skills don't count. Maybe have them do things like collect vintage T-shirts or love studying planets, especially the moon. Maybe have them utterly loathe cheesecake or love a certain obscure candy that nobody else knows about. Or have them like putting pineapples on their pizza or love trashy slasher movies. I try hard to make sure I give my characters at least two or three of these when I write them, because if a character is just there to do something and nothing else, or be perfect at everything, then they're not interesting at all.

 

[Ereshkigal]

When writing Multiple Dimensionality, I kept one important thing in mind: The protagonist has to be relatable.

Chris and Lena are very much not the driving force of the tale, despite being the protagonists; Shirona and Kotone fill that role.

Shirona is the Pokemon world champion and a living myth (who is often irked by how much the myth attributes to her). And Kotone has her own long, involved story. Both of these are people with a couple decades of experience, and they are two people who would drag and proteges of their's into overwhelming conflict after overwhelming conflict. They are people who are very much active on the upper end of conflicts in their world.

Chris and Lena are very much the opposite. Both are more down to earth. Chris clings to opportunities that present themselves as he tries to find who he is and what he wants out of life. And Lena has spent years of her life effectively crippled by her own psychic power.

Chris and Lena are effectively in over their heads. They do not drive the plot or any of the central conflicts; they just end up stuck dealing with it and trying to adapt to things much bigger than them and much more important than their concerns. They just have people much more important in the world than them to help act as guides.

You could say it's like a classic Pokemon game, where the protagonist starts off just trying to find out who they are and ends up involved in grand events.

So, in many ways, Chris and Lena act as proxies for the readers while still being their own, separate people.

 

[diamondpearl876]

I agree with a lot that's been said here, and I've been trying to think of what else to say. I honestly approach all my characters as protagonists, in a sense. That is, I try to have each and every character have the same amount of depth as a protagonist would, whether or not they're actually a protagonist. So, they may get less screen time and less development and whatnot, but I try to make them feel real always.