Dissecting Story Structures, Part I: Antagonists

I’ve been struggling with writer’s block for the past few months. I’ve found myself trashing a lot of things I start and beginning all over again. I don’t like when I get like this, but thankfully it’s always been temporary.

Because I have something I want to discuss here, given I’ve covered subjects related to this topic before. Back in December, there was an announcement that the creator of one of my favorite shows – Gravity Falls – will be releasing a new tie-in book for the show narrated by the story’s main antagonist, and the announcement got me thinking about characters like that. 

Basically, I’m wondering about what makes an antagonist memorable when they are well-executed. Gravity Falls had a phenomenal one that impacted the story in ways that kept me on the edge of my seat, and this was with me being outside of the show’s target demographic. When a story has a great antagonist, the character helps add intensity to the situation and create emotional investment for the audience, even if they are not a villain.

While I could spend a lot of time talking about examples alone, I’d like to go a bit deeper than just listing off antagonists and explore the elements of their characters that leave a lasting impression on the audience. While there are instances where antagonists are not characters, I want to focus exclusively on those that are for two reasons: I actually don’t have enough concrete examples of antagonists that are not characters and I feel that the example characters I do have work best with the elements I am about to list. 

With that out of the way, let’s get into it. What is the key to creating a memorable antagonist? I think the answer boils down to a few crucial elements:

Believability. 

The first thing an antagonist needs in their arc is a goal that the reader/viewer can buy as realistic within the context of the narrative. For that to occur, the motive they have for reaching their goal must make sense as well. If the reader/viewer can’t buy either the antagonist’s actions or the reasons for them, their credibility as an obstacle or threat to the protagonist’s goals could fall apart. The stakes could be lost and the tension that the narrative previously built up runs the risk of falling flat if the audience doesn’t buy the information given. The character needs to either have a credible and/or sympathetic reason for reaching their own goal, and they need threaten the protagonist’s goal in a way that comes across as organic.

To best illustrate how believability is important, I want to look at Christof from the Jim Carrey film The Truman Show. In the story, Christof has constructed a false reality for the main protagonist Truman Burbank to live in, on a television show broadcast to the real world. Christof presents himself as calm and in control at first, only for that quiet demeanor to fall away when Truman begins to suspect something is odd about where he lives. As the film goes on, the narrative establishes that Christof has always been able to cope with Truman wanting to leave his hometown. However, it is when Truman starts to see evidence of his home being a show set that he takes measures to escape. This causes Christof to panic and take desperate measures to keep him from leaving. The viewer can buy Christof’s changing behavior because the narrative has established that Truman was always able to be controlled. With his loss of control of Truman, Christof no longer has a reason to maintain his calm and composed personality. Christof’s character unravels as the plot unfolds, helping him make an alarming impression on the audience. 

Power. 

This is probably one of the more obvious parts to an antagonist, but what would a character like this be without some measure of power? The challenge they pose to the protagonist would not be nearly as compelling nor would the conflict be as gripping if they had no power at all. Said power could come from anywhere. A common way to make the antagonist appear threatening to the audience is by showing the character gaining power as the story goes on, although sometimes they already have it at the beginning of the story. In either case, seeing what they can do or are learning to do should raise the stakes of the narrative. 

One antagonist I find myself thinking of when it comes to this facet of the discussion is the creature from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus. This character is both fascinating and terrifying to me and how he utilizes his power is part of the reason why. The creature realizing how he is viewed and treated by his own creator and society ends up motivating him to use the strength he has against his creator’s loved ones when he realizes he has that opportunity to get revenge. The creature’s actions help the reader understand what Frankenstein’s actions have caused, and we may even feel some degree of sympathy for the creature after his story comes out. That said, the point where he demands Frankenstein create him an identical partner raises the stakes significantly, because we know the creature can use his abilities to harm others if he chooses to and is leaving his creator with a difficult choice to make, cementing him as a significant threat in the story. The creature’s great power helps make him memorable because he affects the plot in ways that leave lasting impacts. Seeing those impacts forces the reader to consider greater questions about how we treat people and why, along with the responsibilities we have toward each other to be more compassionate and open-minded toward things that make us all different and unique as individuals.

Interesting Backstory/Personality. 

These are significant factors when it comes to antagonistic characters. I’m going to link them together because a backstory can often influence the antagonist’s personality. Without something of a background on an antagonist, and/or situations to show off who they are as an individual, the audience could be left in the dark on who the protagonists are dealing with. This is a very bad idea in terms of building a well-constructed narrative because the antagonist can’t make an impression on us if we have no idea who they are, which could cause the conflict to fall flat. A backstory can work to establish a motive for the character’s actions and enhance the aspects of their personality that are meant to create tension, and this in turn helps to build conflict.

As another example, in Richard Adams’ Watership Down, General Woundwort’s personality is terrifying, but it comes from a reason the reader can get behind. When his perspective is introduced, the tone of the narrative shifts, showing his complete obsession with safety that is suggested to come from having experienced trauma as a kitten. Over time, however, there is evidence that being Chief Rabbit of Efrafa has driven Woundwort to obsess over his authority as well. His unrelenting desire for control combined with his penchant for violence create a tense mood whenever he is given time in a scene. His actions are alarming at first, with the reader later realizing what they mean for the story thanks to the narrative building up his personality bit by bit. This gives us a character that leaves an impact long after the story is over. 

Conclusion

With all that said, I think that’s every aspect I wanted to cover. Discussing this topic in-depth ended up being rather challenging, but I enjoyed being able to try and pin down what makes these characters work to become more memorable for audiences. 

I think I’m going to expand this topic to other aspects of narrative writing in future posts. Since I covered antagonists first, I think I’ll flip it around and discuss protagonists next time. I don’t know how far this project will go, but perhaps it could lead to some more intriguing ideas about how stories are built. After all, the reason stories are so impactful is because of several elements coming together to create something unique and enjoyable. 

Works Cited

Adams, Richard. Watership Down. Scribner, 2005.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus. Project Gutenberg, 2012.

The Truman Show. Directed by Peter Weir. Performances by Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, and Laura Linney, Warner Bros, 1998.