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False protagonist

In fiction, a false protagonist is a literary technique, often used to make the plot more jarring or more memorable by fooling the audience's preconceptions, that constructs a character who the audience assumes is the protagonist but is later revealed not to be.

A false protagonist is presented at the start of the fictional work as the main character, but then is eradicated, often by killing them (usually for shock value or as a plot twist) or changed in terms of their role in the story (i.e. making them a lesser character, a character who leaves the story, or revealing them to actually be the antagonist).[1]

Overview[edit]

In film, a character can be made to seem like the main protagonist based on a number of techniques (beyond just simply focusing the plot on their role). Star power is a very effective method; audience members generally assume that the biggest "name" in a film will have a significant part to play. An abundance of close-ups can also be used as a subliminal method. Generally, the star of a film will get longer-lasting and more frequent close-ups than any other character, but this is rarely immediately apparent to viewers during the film. Alternatively, the false protagonist can serve as a narrator to the film, encouraging the audience to assume that the character survives to tell their tale later.[2]


Many of the same techniques used in film can also apply to television, but the episodic nature adds an additional possibility. By ending one or more episodes with the false protagonist still in place, the show can reinforce the viewers' belief in the character's protagonist status. Also, because TV shows often have changes of cast between seasons, some series can have unintentional false protagonists: characters who begin the series as the main character but then are replaced early in the show's run by another character entirely. When the series is viewed as a whole, this can lead to the appearance of a false protagonist.


In video games, a false protagonist may initially be a playable character, only to be killed or revealed to be the antagonist. One key way in which video games employ the method that differs from uses in non-interactive fiction is by granting the player direct control over the false protagonist. Since most video games allow a player to control only the main characters (and their success or failure is based on playing skill, not pre-determined story), the sudden demise of the character that is being controlled serves to surprise the player.

The begins with Samuel's birth and God's call to him as a boy. At this point, readers are led to believe that Samuel is the central figure of the book. However, by the sixteenth chapter, the book begins to primarily focus on David.[3]

Book of Samuel

The story of in the Arabian Nights begins with a wizard undertaking a difficult quest from Morocco to China to recover a powerful magical lamp. Gradually, it becomes clear that the boy Aladdin, whom the Wizard meets in China, is the true protagonist, while the Wizard is the story's villain.

Aladdin

's 1940 science fiction short story The Roads Must Roll begins with an orator stirring up a rebellion among the workers of the story's "roadtowns" (wide rapidly moving passenger platforms). The orator enumerates the workers' grievances, gaining their and the reader's sympathy. However, the rebelling workers then callously cause mass death and injuries among commuters, and the true protagonist is revealed to be the director working effectively and courageously to put down the rebellion. By the end, the original orator is depicted as a cowardly and contemptible villain.

Robert A. Heinlein

's novel A Game of Thrones, the first entry in the A Song of Ice and Fire epic fantasy series, features chapters told from the point of view of numerous characters, though the most prominent is Ned Stark. In the television adaptation Game of Thrones, he was portrayed by Sean Bean, who received top billing among the cast for Season One. Stark is generally assumed to be the series' main protagonist until the final chapters of the novel (corresponding to the penultimate episode of the first season) where he is unexpectedly executed.[4][5]

George R. R. Martin

The light novel introduces a Warrior, Mage, and Monk who recruit a Priestess for a goblin killing quest. The three are eaten, poisoned to death, and sexually assaulted to the point of ending up in a vegetative state. The Priestess is rescued by the legendary Goblin Slayer who replaces her escorts as the protagonist. The escorts were featured in promotional marketing material for the novel and its anime adaptation until the first episode was released.[6]

Goblin Slayer

's novel Pedro Paramo initially features Juan Preciado, who is searching for his father as a final wish made to his dying mother, as the main protagonist of the story. Halfway through the novel, Juan Preciado unexpectedly dies in the abandoned town of Comala. The latter half of the novel focuses exclusively on the life of Pedro Paramo, his rise to power, and how his ambition and ruthlessness leads to Comala's demise.

Juan Rulfo

Antihero

False hero

Plot twist

Red herring (narrative)