|
|
 |
|
|
Protagonist Vs Antagonist by Anthony White
|
|
|
Protagonist Vs Antagonist |
|
|
|
|
|
Education
|
|
|
A protagonist is the main character in a novel or story that all the action revolves around. They are the hero of the story, the one we are rooting for from beginning to end. We follow their life, learn about their problems, and know their feelings and thoughts. A protagonist needs a weakness. Even Superman, known as the Man of Steel, had a weakness, which was Kryptonite. This weakness can be anything from something that physically makes them weak to an event from their past that had put fear in them. It can even be a bad quality. In my series, the protagonist has supernatural powers and a form of Kryptonite that hurts her. She also has many scars from her past that resurface during the course of the series and a slight (okay, not so slight) anger problem that always gets the better of her. A protagonist also loves. In every book, from every genre, the protagonist loves. If they don't actually fall in love then they should show love. Another emotion a protagonist must reveal, at least once throughout the whole story, is fear. Fear is the most common emotion; it makes us human, and as I've mentioned before you need to make your characters as real as possible. Even my main character, that is known to be fearless, experiences fear in each novel. Most of all, a protagonist must struggle. Life is all about struggle. There needs to be conflict that the protagonist has to overcome whether it is beating cancer, putting a crumbling marriage back together, finding true love, or saving the world. Every story has a protagonist but not every story has an antagonist. An antagonist is a person who opposes, competes with, and fights against the main character in a novel. They are the villain of the story; the one we are hoping will fall to their demise. They cause problems for the protagonist, do everything in their power to ruin their life, and sometimes even try to kill them. An antagonist is driven to cause conflict on the main character out of pure spite or for a deeper, darker reason and they won't stop until they see the protagonist fall! If you are writing the type of story that requires an antagonist like a mystery, horror, or thriller here are five tips to help you create a powerful antagonist: 1. Surprise your readers by putting an air of mystery around the antagonist. Keep their identity and motive a secret. 2. Describe them in a darker light than you would the protagonist. Make them look evil! 3. Create dialogue that is sinister. 4. Make them coldhearted. Other than hate and anger, don't let him or her show any feelings, because an antagonist doesn't have sympathy, compassion, mercy, and they certainly don't regret their actions. 5. Have them do horrific things throughout the course of the novel such as threaten, kidnap, torture, and even kill. There are really two types of antagonists; the kind that is extremely dark and coldhearted toward their victims or the kind that while they are portrayed as "evil" they still posses at least one good quality. Above, I was describing the first kind. It is always up to the writer on which version of the antagonist they want to use. In my series, there are multiple bad guys and a few of them do show good qualities and even become good. But the main antagonists' in my stories are too "evil" to show an ounce of goodness because not all antagonists are meant to. But they definitely do have a weakness, which I will add as #6. 6. Give your antagonist a weakness. This weakness doesn't have to be a quality opposite from their demeanor like one that is classified as good, but the antagonist can have any type of weakness the protagonist does, like a horrible childhood or a special weapon that could kill them (if your writing science fiction). But I believe that their hate, anger, need for revenge, etc. is their true weakness. It's ultimately up to you, the writer, and your character. But whatever you do, don't let the antagonist win! You can let them come close to winning and make it seem as though they may win, but in the end the antagonist always loses and the protagonist triumphs! LONG LIVE THE PROTAGONIST!!!! dissertation
Related Articles -
Protagonist, Antagonist,
|
Rate This Article  |
|
|
|
|
|
Do you Agree or Disagree? Have a Comment? POST IT!
| Reader Opinions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Author Login |
|
|
 |
Advertiser Login
ADVERTISE HERE NOW!
Limited Time $60 Offer!
90 Days-1.5 Million Views
|
|
ALEX BELSEY
I am the editor of QUAY Magazine, a B2B publication based in the South West of the UK. I am also the...more
|
|
|
|
|
STEPHEN BYE
Stephen Bye is a fiction writer. His most recent novels are a 5-book “The Developer” series which be...more
|
|
|
|
|
PAUL PHILIPS
For more articles, blog messages & videos and a free e-book download go to www.NewParadigm.ws your p...more
|
|
|
|
|
TIM FAY
After 60-plus years of living, I am just trying to pass down some of the information that I have lea...more
|
|
|
|
|
LAURA JEEVES
At LeadGenerators, we specialise in content-led Online Marketing Strategies for our clients in the t...more
|
|
|
|
|
LEVAL AINAH
I am an internet marketer and also an educator. My goal is to help others who are looking to improve...more
|
|
|
|
|
GENE MYERS
Author of four books and two screenplays; frequent magazine contributor. I have four other books "in...more
|
|
|
|
|
ADRIAN JOELE
I have been involved in nutrition and weight management for over 12 years and I like to share my kn...more
|
|
|
|
|
MICHAEL BRESCIANI
Rev Bresciani is the author of two Christian books. One book is an important and concisely written b...more
|
|
|
|
