If there\u2019s one thing every story needs, it\u2019s conflict. And while conflict takes many forms, some of literature\u2019s most beloved stories involve conflict in the classic form of the protagonist and antagonist. Without the antagonist, these books have no story. If there had not been the threat of Sauron, Frodo might have stayed in the Shire, playing pranks with the One Ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And as enjoyable as that may have been for him, it wouldn’t have made a very good story for the rest of us! That’s why having conflict in a story is so important. This article will look at those people: protagonists and antagonists. Let’s find out who they are, how they oppose each other, and what you can do to craft memorable rivalries for your own stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The protagonist is the lead character of a story. The term derives from classical Greek drama, literally meaning \u201cfirst actor.\u201d Though often referred to as the \u201chero\u201d of the story, the protagonist isn\u2019t necessarily virtuous, and also may be just one of many protagonists. Every narrative will have at least one protagonist, who may serve as the narrator as well. It may be difficult to identify the protagonist(s) immediately, but you usually know within a few chapters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is the protagonist always the main character?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Usually, yes. Some people differentiate between \u201cprotagonist\u201d and \u201cmain character,\u201d saying that the protagonist moves the story forward, while the main character may be anyone who features heavily \u2014 but doesn’t necessarily drive the narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, for almost all intents and purposes, \u201cprotagonist\u201d and \u201cmain character\u201d are synonymous terms. Then again, if you find yourself with less of a protagonist and more of a passive main character, you might want to reconsider that character’s true role and purpose in your story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s take a look at the three most common types of protagonists in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Lonely hero<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\u00a0lonely hero\u00a0is most common type. As the name implies, the lonely hero is the one and only person who can stop evil from triumphing and save the day. Though they\u2019re usually helped by a team of\u00a0supporting characters, the ultimate burden of the quest falls squarely on their shoulders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examples of lonely hero protagonists include Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games<\/em>, and Frodo Baggins from Lord of the Rings<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Group hero<\/p>\n\n\n\n With group hero protagonists, multiple people are equally involved in the story\u2019s main events and conflict. They may not all serve the same purpose or perform the same tasks, but they pull together to accomplish a single goal. No one person stands out beyond the rest \u2014 or if they do, it’s only because the group helped them get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some examples of group hero protagonists are Romeo and Juliet<\/em> from the homonymous play, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny from A Series of Unfortunate Events<\/em> and the Avengers from the Marvel movies and comics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Anti-hero<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although protagonists are usually shown as selfless, kind, and courageous heroes, anti-heroes can be bitter and sarcastic with a moral compass that tends toward gray. They don\u2019t have the typical \u201cheroic\u201d traits. An anti-hero will often start as a minor villain who experiences character growth into a more neutral -or even virtuous- territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some examples of anti-hero protagonists are Artemis from Artemis Fowl <\/em>and Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes! Though not as common as traditional, heroic protagonists, or even anti-heroes with complex motivations, there are some fully malevolent villains that serve as the protagonists of their own stories. Here are some examples of villainous protagonists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes an evil protagonist\u00a0undergoes a transformative character arc\u00a0to become good in the end (as with the Grinch). However, sometimes they remain just as monstrous as ever (often a sign of sociopathy, as in the first two examples).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re writing a villainous protagonist, just remember that, even if they don’t get a redemption arc, they still need to be compelling to readers in\u00a0some\u00a0way. Perhaps they have a delightfully twisted inner monologue, or a weakness that they fear will be found out. Maybe you’re writing satire and want to see how far you can push the limits of the genre. But whatever you do, your protagonist\u00a0cannot be flat or uninteresting\u00a0\u2014 otherwise readers won’t understand why you’re telling their story in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we\u2019ve seen who\u2019s standing in the protagonist corner, let\u2019s take a look at those on the opposite side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The antagonist is the primary opponent of the protagonist, and the biggest obstacle standing between the main character and their goal. This term also derives from Greek: anti, meaning \u201cagainst,\u201d and agonist, meaning actor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like the protagonist, the antagonist can take many different forms. From the traditional villain working alone, to a group of people, a force of nature, or even an intrinsic conflict, the one uniting factor of all antagonists is that they challenge the protagonist in some way. Let\u2019s venture over the dark side for a bit to see how antagonists can take shape, with the four most common types of antagonists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Villain<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you think “antagonist,” the first thing that comes to mind is probably a classic evil-doing character. This is, of course, the villain antagonist seen so often in stories from Dickens to Disney. Not only do the villain’s goals oppose the protagonist’s, they are also actively working against them in order to fulfill their own \u2014 often selfish or wicked \u2014 ambitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The villain may have a longstanding grudge against the protagonist and are out for revenge (think Syndrome in\u00a0The Incredibles). They may simply want to watch the world burn while the protagonist wants to maintain order (think the Joker in\u00a0The Dark Knight).\u00a0But whatever their motives\u00a0(or lack thereof), there’s no doubt about the fact that they’re a villain through and through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples of classic villain antagonists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, just as with protagonists, an antagonist doesn\u2019t have to be one person working alone. It can be an entire group or entity that actively opposes the protagonist. This is the group villain, and though it may have a distinct face or figurehead, the group itself is recognized as the real bad guys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The group villain usually represents political values and social mores that clash with the protagonist’s in a drastic way. As you might expect, the group villain often features in\u00a0dystopian works, such as those listed below. Group villains can also appear in a more \u201ctypical\u201d way, as simply a group of villains \u2014 however, this is pretty much exclusive to superhero comics and movies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples of group villain antagonists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Inanimate forces<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though not as common as human antagonists, inanimate forces \u2014 such as nature, technology, or the supernatural \u2014 can also create resistance that the protagonist needs to overcome. The inanimate force antagonist may take a form akin to a human figure (as with the Terminator below), but as with the group hero’s face\/figurehead, this form is only a stand-in for the protagonist’s true enemy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such inanimate forces may be on par with the unfathomably terrifying threats of\u00a0cosmic horror, or they may be as mundane as bad weather. But either way, this force blocks the protagonist’s path to victory and must be neutralized before they can succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples of Inanimate Forces as antagonists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Intrinsic forces<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is another type of antagonist that isn’t a character, but rather one of the protagonist\u2019s own shortcomings that keeps them from achieving their goals. An intrinsic force drives the \u201ccharacter vs. self\u201d conflict you’ll sometimes see in stories. This may be a personality flaw or some sort of physical disadvantage, but it’s something the protagonist (and those around them) must defeat \u2014 or give into, especially if they have a hero-to-villain arc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other thing to remember about the intrinsic force antagonist is that it may not be the only anatagonist in a story. Often, a character has to grapple with an internal issue and combat an external force at the same time \u2014 for example, Frodo battling both his own desire for the ring AND his ultimate enemy, Sauron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples of intrinsic forces as antagonists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes \u2014 or at the very least, the antagonist isn’t always as bad as we think they are. Oftentimes, a traumatic past explains why they act the way they do. Or they might want to be good, but got started down the wrong path and now believe it’s too late to change<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a character to be considered an antagonist, they only really need to meet one piece of criteria: their goals must conflict with the protagonist\u2019s goals. To show you what we mean, here are some not-evil-on-purpose antagonists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n An\u00a0anti-villain\u00a0is slightly different from a \u201cgood\u201d antagonist who just happens to oppose the protagonist. The anti-villain is undeniably villainous in behavior, but their motivations make us think twice about how to label them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, since these characters can be the difference between a memorable story and a forgettable one, we’ll provide some essential ground rules to help you create a legendary fictional rivalry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you have the traditional hero-villain character dynamic, or a non-traditional character rivalry, remember to make full use of the conflict their interactions generate in order to move your story along. By creating\u00a0complex characters, you will find it much easier to develop an interesting plot and bring your story to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What are your favorite protagonist and antagonist rivalries? Let us know in the comments below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If there\u2019s one thing every story needs, it\u2019s conflict. And while conflict takes many forms, some of literature\u2019s most beloved stories involve conflict in the classic form of the protagonist and antagonist. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3],"tags":[42,21,9,41,16],"class_list":["post-63","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-writingtips","tag-antagonist","tag-characters","tag-creative-writing","tag-protagonist","tag-writing-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluentinauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluentinauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluentinauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluentinauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluentinauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fluentinauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64,"href":"https:\/\/fluentinauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions\/64"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluentinauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluentinauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluentinauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Can the protagonist be the bad guy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What is an antagonist?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Types of antagonists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2. Group villain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can the antagonist be the good guy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What about anti-villains?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n