cintinative Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 SPOILER ALERT!!!! Do not read if you have not read book!!! - - - - We were discussing this book today and trying to identify the antagonist and protagonist. Here's the thing--I think Edward is the antagonist. He is the one that is preventing the action from moving forward. He is the one that stands in the way of him understanding, giving, and receiving love. The question is--who is the protagonist? The best we could come up with is Pellegrina. She seems to supernaturally be involved in all of his "adventures"--coming up in different things he sees or remembers or in phrases repeated by another character ("you disappoint me"). Help me out here. Do you agree? Or is it possible that Edward is both the protagonist and antagonist??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamanthaCarter Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 I think it is entirely possible that he is both. <shrug> 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 I think he is both as well. If we consider the protagonist to be the main character (without applying any other labels such as "hero" to him) than definitely. And the antagonist doesn't necessarily have to be an "opponent" of the protagonist, right? Being as how the main conflict of Edward is the inner journey within himself, I'd say it's safe to consider him both antag and protag 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 I do not know. That book made me bawl. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted May 27, 2016 Author Share Posted May 27, 2016 I do not know. That book made me bawl. Me too! Several times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Not every story has a clearly defined antagonist - and if "protagonist" means "good guy", then they don't all need one of those either. (If protagonist means "main character", then it should be easy to figure out which character or characters get the most screentime and, hey, they're the protagonist(s), good job!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm919 Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 (edited) I think it is entirely possible that he is both. <shrug> Agree... it seems like Man v. Self. Edited May 27, 2016 by tm919 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted May 27, 2016 Author Share Posted May 27, 2016 Not every story has a clearly defined antagonist - and if "protagonist" means "good guy", then they don't all need one of those either. (If protagonist means "main character", then it should be easy to figure out which character or characters get the most screentime and, hey, they're the protagonist(s), good job!) I was kind of trying to apply Deconstructing Penguin's methodology which says that the protagonist pushes the action forward and the antagonist holds it back. By using this way of thinking it is easier to identify the conflict and the theme. Does that make sense? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 I was kind of trying to apply Deconstructing Penguin's methodology which says that the protagonist pushes the action forward and the antagonist holds it back. By using this way of thinking it is easier to identify the conflict and the theme. Does that make sense? Maybe, but it seems a strange rule to apply to every book out there. What does it do, for example, to Harry Potter? Or Star Wars, or really, any story where the hero starts off because the villain acted and thus wronged them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted May 27, 2016 Author Share Posted May 27, 2016 Maybe, but it seems a strange rule to apply to every book out there. What does it do, for example, to Harry Potter? Or Star Wars, or really, any story where the hero starts off because the villain acted and thus wronged them? That's kind of hard to address--I've never read Star Wars books. Harry Potter--it's pretty clear from the beginning that Harry is the protagonist. He is pushing forward the idea that good can triumph over evil. Voldemort, on the other hand, is his antagonist who is working against this by promoting and spreading evil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 That's kind of hard to address--I've never read Star Wars books. Harry Potter--it's pretty clear from the beginning that Harry is the protagonist. He is pushing forward the idea that good can triumph over evil. Voldemort, on the other hand, is his antagonist who is working against this by promoting and spreading evil. Haven't you watched the SW movies, though? With regards to HP, Harry isn't really "pushing forward" anything - he's just trying to live his life until Voldemort's actions force him to respond. Voldy is HIS antagonist, yes - but he's also the main driver of most of those books. Harry usually doesn't even know what's going on until the end. You could say Harry is actively pushing forward these ideas, but only if you're bound and determined to squash an understanding of these works that doesn't really fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Sigh, love that book! We did it for our first homeschool book club and it was a huge hit! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dramorellis Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Using the Deconstructing Penguins method of understanding (which I really, really like) then I think he is both. Sidenote, shortly after reading it at home we had the opportunity to see a theater adaptation and I ugly cried through the entire show. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.