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It is not and never has been about making the protagonist likable. It has always been about making them recognizable. If you want a great example of an unlikable protagonist, try Graham Greene's Br...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2020-01-03T20:41:57Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/34263 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T08:18:02Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/34263 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
by
System
·
2019-12-08T08:18:02Z (over 4 years ago)
It is not and never has been about making the protagonist likable. It has always been about making them recognizable. If you want a great example of an unlikable protagonist, try Graham Greene's _Brighton Rock_. Pinky is in no way likable and in no way moral. He is, however, recognizably human. When people ask for a character to be likable, what the really mean is a character that they approve of, that exemplifies their ideology or embodies their life lie. These reader's don't want real humanity. They want a plaster saint. For all other readers, though, it is all about making a character who is recognizably human and whose frailties we can sympathize with and whose career we can follow with interest (even if with horror).
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2018-03-13T21:13:51Z (about 6 years ago)
Original score: 10