Protagonist and Antagonist:-
The protagonist is frequently known
as the hero of the story while the antagonist is the villain. The protagonist
and the antagonist tend to be in conflict with one another. The protagonist is
essential character in a story. This character is often referred to as the hero
of the story. In many cases the story is told from this character's point of
view so that the reader knows how the protagonist thinks and feels.
The antagonist is the opposing force
or character who leaves the conflict against the protagonist. The antagonist
works to offset whatever the protagonist does, that is good. Often the
antagonist attempts to disguise himself or herself which usually builds
suspense in a story. The antagonist does not have to be human. Instead it can
be a force of nature such as a hurricane or tornado or even a complex problem
or idea such as poverty or oppression.
The protagonist and antagonist are
often complete opposite of one another. However, they can both be complex
characters.
There are many classic examples of
heroes and villains that fill these roles in fairy tales.
For example,
In Cinderella the Evil
stepmother and stepsisters are very cruel to Cinderella. Cinderella is the
protagonist while the stepmother and stepsisters are antagonists.
In Hansel and Gretel: There is
a witch who resides in a home, made of gingerbread and candy. She uses the
sweets to lure Hansel and Gretel into her home so that she can eat the children.
Hansel and Gretel are the Protagonist and the witch is the Antagonist.
In The Wizard of Oz: The
Wicked Witch of the West is constantly causing conflict for the main character
Dorothy. Dorothy is the Protagonist of the tale and the witch is the Antagonist.
In Jack and the Beanstalk: A
young boy named Jack climbs a magic Beanstalk into the sky and meets an angry
giant. Jack is the Protagonist while the Giant is the Antagonist.
Take a moment to read
this section from a story and try to identify a protagonist and an antagonist
keep in mind the traits of each character: Molly has been up all
night practicing words for the spelling bee. She was still so nervous even
though she knew she was well prepared. When she bumped into Lindsay, however,
she felt her stomach sink. “Oh, look,” Lindsay said, “there goes the worst
speller in the whole school.” Lindsay pushed past Molly and continued down the
hall. “See you after school, loser,” Lindsay said. Molly frowned but went right
back to practicing.
Who is the protagonist and who is the
antagonist in this paragraph?
Molly is the protagonist this section
features her point of view as the reader here's. How she was up late and that
she was nervous. it is also clear that she is the focus of the passage. The
antagonist therefore is Lindsay. She is the opposing force to Molly and is
clearly working to offset her. just seeing Lindsay makes Molly stomach sink. It
is also clear that Lindsay is Molly's rival as both are competing in the
spelling bee.
In review we trying to identify the Protagonist
and Antagonist in a story. Think about which character is central to the plot.
who is the central character in the Story this is the Protagonist. The
character or force that is acting against the central character is the
antagonist. The antagonist is the opposing force or character who leads the
conflict against the protagonist. In most cases the good character is the
protagonist and the bad character is the antagonist.