Protagonist Or Antagonist?
Does It Matter?
First of all, a quick reminder of which is which.
In its most basic terms, the protagonist is the character that the reader is supposed to be aligned with. That doesn’t mean they are a good person, it just means that in that scene, this is the character whose intentions will drive the narrative forward.
The antagonist is the person that is trying to prevent that. Again, that doesn’t mean they are a bad person.This definition means individuals can switch roles, depending on the stage of the story, the point of view of different characters, and what the writer wants the reader to feel at that time.
For example, in Thomas Harris’ The Silence of the Lambs, at the beginning of the book/film, when we first meet Dr Hannibal Lecter, the young FBI Agent Clarice Starling is the protagonist, as she attempts to catch the serial killer Buffalo Bill. Lecter is arguably just there to help her.
As the story unfolds, and Lecter escapes, he becomes the antagonist – everyone is desperate to catch the deadly killer. Yet at times during the blood-soaked second half of the film, our view of Lecter switches between him as the protagonist and him as the antagonist. Lecter is NOT a good person, yet we clearly see his goals and desires, which makes him the protagonist in those scenes, with the FBI (the good guys) becoming the antagonists as they seek to stop him.
In another example, Darth Vader in Star Wars Episode IV (ignore his earlier incarnation as Anakin Skywalker for now) is clearly the villain of the film, whilst Luke Skywalker is the good guy.
So for much of the film, Skywalker is the protagonist – we see him trying to rescue the princess etc, whilst Vader seeks to stop him, and is therefore the antagonist. But at times during the film, we see Vader’s goal – to get the death star up and running, whilst Skywalker seeks to thwart him. In those scenes, Vader is the protagonist driving the story, whilst Skywalker and friends are the antagonists.
The point I’m making, is that protagonists and antagonists are two sides of the same coin. Therefore, when drawing our characters, it makes sense to treat them the same, and ask the same questions of each. It doesn’t matter if they are the villain or the hero, that’s just detail. The process of planning them should be the same.
So to write a strong pro/antagonist, you need to answer the following questions. How much of this planning you eventually choose to share with the reader depends on the story you wish to tell.
Who are they?
To write them convincingly, you need to know them. You need to have thought about what sort of person they are, and ideally have an image of them in your mind’s eye (note, I don’t necessarily mean a physical representation, just that feeling you get towards a person when you’ve got know them).
What is their goal?
Everything we do leads to some sort of goal. That goal can be grand in scope (rescue the princess or prove to the emperor that you’re the right person to get the death star up and running) or tiny and inconsequential (switching TV channels without waking the cat on your lap).
Why are they doing this?
What is their motivation? Again, this varies in scope. It could be large and complex (you want to rescue the galaxy from the clutches of evil or you believe that it is your destiny to rule the galaxy as you see fit) or simple (Hollyoaks has just come on the TV, but the remote is over the far side of the room.)
The answers to these three questions will help you craft your character and determine how they will do what they do, how determined they are, and how well they will deal with adversity. Whether they are the protagonist or antagonist at a particular point in time depends entirely on the situation in which you place them, and how you wish the reader to perceive them.
One final thought.
This is a very different question, but may overlap with this topic.
Will there be a big event that needs foreshadowing? Even for those of us who indulge in minimal planning, keeping an eye on the bigger picture and potential future events can help make certain that when those significant events occur, our characters have been written such that their behaviour is realistic.
Returning to Star Wars, George Lucas had the benefit of knowing the fate of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, from the original trilogy of films (episodes IV to VI) when, years later, he started writing the character arc for Anakin Skywalker in the prequel trilogy (episodes I to III). He was able to seed lots of little hints about future events in the prequels.
However, when he first conceived the idea of Star Wars in the mid-seventies, he didn’t necessarily believe that it would become a smash hit and that he’d ever get the chance to film the vague ideas he had for sequels. Which is why there is an uncomfortable amount of sexual tension between Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia in the first film. The woman it is revealed in later films is his twin sister…
What are your thoughts on the protagonists and antagonists? Are they two sides of the same coin? Should they be treated in the same way? Feel free to comment here or on social media.
Until next time,
Paul
