Protagonist
main character of a creative work
A protagonist is the main character of a story. It can be used for any kind of story: in literature, a movie, a television show or a play. The protagonist is also called the central character or main character and is often the hero of the story. However, the protagonist does not always win and survive in a story.
Protagonists are usually moral and benevolent, helping other characters to change their badness to become good again, or defeating the bad characters. This is not always the case. For example, the protagonists in Psycho and Lolita are (respectively) a serial killer and a pedophile.
The protagonist's name can sometimes be in the title of the fiction he or she is in, for example:
- In Harry Potter, Harry Potter is the protagonist.
- In the anime Naruto and InuYasha, Naruto and Inuyasha are the protagonists.
- In the tragedy Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the prince Hamlet himself is the protagonist of the story.
- In DC Comics, Batman is the protagonist.
- In Marvel Comics, Spider-Man is the protagonist.
- In the Mario Games, Mario is the protagonist.
- In the Sonic Games, Sonic is the protagonist.
