The Idea Of Multiple Protagonists

For this week I wanted to address the idea of multiple protagonists.

In many of the books that I have read growing up I can account for at least a few that had more than one identifiable protagonist. For the sake of this post I will just focus on just two: Harry Potter and The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. From our discussion in class about multiple protagonists I found myself asking this question: Why did these writers choose to include more than one? Isn't it easier to follow just one, is it not less complicated to focus on the development of one major character. I may sound completely illiterate when it comes to literature for the rest of this post so please forgive me.

So at least for Narnia, when thinking about this question, at least one answer immediately comes to mind.  I read one of Lewis's books recently in which he stated his deep appreciation for community. Possibly in writing his novel with four protagonists this is a way to implement community. We are not just reading about the growth and struggle of just one main protagonist. But rather we are delving into the story of four separate people all growing together, interacting together, learning together. Perhaps this is his way of emulating much of the way life is today. All stories have human interaction for the most part, and yet by bringing four people into the spotlight I think that Lewis highlights these interactions in a deeper way.

I remember reading Harry Potter and thinking of myself as part of the group that was Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  Now this was just a child's delusion, or was it? I think that it is the genius of any good storyteller to make their readers feel as though they are apart of their world. The way this story is structured I actually more or less felt as if these fictional characters were my friends. Perhaps this is that suspension of disbelief or secondary belief that we have talked about in class, I'm not quite sure. This is something that I of course eventually grew out of, but I definitely have fond memories of the days when I was strolling about the halls of hogwarts with those who I deemed my friends.

At any rate, I think that by writing about more than one protagonist it includes a sense of community. It helps us, or me at least, feel as though there is not just one super complicated person that I am getting to know through reading these books. But rather I am learning about the growth of a beautiful and well thought out group of people. Of course more often than not the groups of people in these beloved books help me to learn about my interactions with people and maybe even help me to grow and appreciate people more and more for who they are: beautiful individuals blossoming with the insight and understanding of their surroundings.

That's my insight on multiple protagonists; I hope it all makes sense and if not, I'm terribly sorry.