Tag: protagonist
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Yearning for Change
The Trickster archetype wants change. The character who carries this role operates like a court jester. Seen as a fool whose words were spoken in jest, the court jester of medieval times addressed taboo and controversial issues, topics about which common citizens, lacking freedom of speech would and could not dare speak.
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Hark, the Herald Angels Sing!
Much like Paul Revere announced the British were on their way to do battle in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, the Herald archetype in storytelling announces change and transformation to the major character. The Herald places the protagonist on a state of alert, tells him or her how to read the signs, “One if by land,…
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Who Am I: What Do I Really Want?
According to Jungian theory, the shadow aspect of one’s personality contains any, and everything that falls out of alignment, stands apart, from the ego ideal. The writer must examine the central character’s values, those held by her or his family, mother, father and culture, to gain a sense of how the Shadow archetype might manifest…
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Transformation: Making the Ordinary into the Extraordinary
Just as all good stories contain aspects of redemption, and death, so too transformation forms the engine propelling the narrative. A major character or protagonist is like the Prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament. God used Ezekiel to teach the Children of Israel how to suffer. Protagonists of our stories show readers, in much the…
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The Enemy at the Gates–Guardians of the Threshold
Guardians of the Threshold, which Christopher Vogler discusses in The Writer’s Journey, Mythic Structure for Writers, may present as enemies. Yet instead they seek to test the protagonist or central character of a story, to ensure that she or he has integrated the wisdom and information provided by the Mentor. The best protagonists earn success…
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Mentor and Story
Mentors are the wisdom-carriers in stories. They infect the protagonist or major character with knowledge and information needed to complete their quest. Mentors encourage the heroine or hero to believe, and have faith in her or his ability to meet the challenge standing before them. On a psycho-spiritual level mentors represent the Imago Dei, the…
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The Heroine/Hero and Their Function in Story
The heroine or hero provides the reader with perspective and focus on the story, point of view. She or he also serves as the point of identification allowing the reader to invest her or his feelings towards care and concern for not simply the major character but also remaining with the story to see its…