Two Sides to Every Story

Every story has a protagonist.  This is the person who has a goal or problem that is central to the story.  This is the person who the reader usually identifies with.  The reader hopes for success for this character because we believe his cause is just or he is in the right.  We, the readers, want this person to win love or a treasure and live happily ever after.

Every story also has another side. This is the antagonist.  This character may not be a bad guy.  This character stands in the way of success for the protagonist.  This character disagrees with the protagonist.  He may even think of himself as a hero, believing his cause is just and that the world will be a better place if he succeeds.

Let's look at a familiar story to explore the idea that the antagonist could be in the right, could be the hero of his own story.

In the story The Three Little Pigs there are three protagonists, three characters that the reader hopes will succeed with their story goal or problem.  The three little pigs each build a house and want to live happily ever after in their house.  They did not make an equal effort to build their house, which is the tragic flaw for two of the pigs.

The antagonist in this story is the wolf.  He finds the three houses and manages to eat two of the pigs who did not build a strong enough house.  How could he be a hero in his own story?  He is obviously hungry. What if he has been on a long journey and is trying to get home and is nearly starved when he finds the first little pig's house of straw. We would cheer for him when he gets a well deserved meal, wouldn't we?