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Q&A What is the motivation to use a useless dolt as a protagonist?

I want to root for the protagonist. I want to feel the weight of his burdens so I can turn around and celebrate with him when he overcomes them. However, occasionally I come across a protagonist wh...

0 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by user2859458‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question fiction protagonist
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T07:00:13Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/30184
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar user2859458‭ · 2019-12-08T07:00:13Z (almost 5 years ago)
I want to root for the protagonist. I want to feel the weight of his burdens so I can turn around and celebrate with him when he overcomes them. However, occasionally I come across a protagonist who is so unbelievably stupid and useless I just can't bring myself to feel bad for him.

So it's a natural puzzle to me when other authors employ a protagonist who offers no comic relief, has no skills, relies on everyone else to solve the simplest of problems, and says so many dumb things my palm starts rubbing the skin off my forehead.

What does a protagonist like this add to the story?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-09-11T22:26:18Z (about 7 years ago)
Original score: 6