The Protagonist Archetype
Do you know what a the protagonist archetype is? Some people think it is the Main Character. The Dramatica Theory will guide us through the Journey of
The Guy in Trouble
The Protagonist, in a well structured dramatic plot, is that player that is presented with a problem to solve when the Point of Attack is triggered.
The protagonist usually carries 2 main dramatic functions to the player (or players) that it influences throughout the story. Those functions will guide his personality to follow some actions that are always attached to a protagonist. Those are:
Pursuit and Consider
His job, from the moment a problem is presented, is to try to solve that problem.
If the Protagonist should decide not to solve the problem, then there would be no story.
In other words,
A STORY ONLY EXISTS BECAUSE ITS PROTAGONIST IS TRYING TO SOLVE A PROBLEM
In order to solve the presented problem, the protagonist uses physical skills and mental skills.
Physical skills = Pursuit
Using his physical skills the protagonist runs after the solution of the main problem.
Mental skills = Consideration
Using mental skills (Analysis, or Evaluation) the protagonist tries to estimate the situation over and over to find the solution or means for the solution of the problem.
Famous Protagonists
| Protagonist | Story |
| Luke Skywalker | Star Wars |
| Dorothy | The Wizard of Oz |
| Harry Potter | All stories |
| William of Baskerville | The name of the Rose |
| Indiana Jones | all movies |
| Most villains in | James Bond stories. |
| James T. Kirk | Star Trek |
| Simba | The Lion King |
The protagonist is the diametral opposite archetype of the Antagonist, therefore, they play opposite functions in the story.
Not all characters features need to be opposite to the each other when dealing with opposite archetypes, but it is advised that a few evident ones are designed for that matter. This way the reader/viewer can spot them more easily.
Most good stories have more one or more sub-plots running along with the main plot. The protagonists for all plots don’t have to be the same.
The following is a great explanation about the Protagonist-Antagonist dinamic pair.
If you have anything to add, please leave a comment.
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