【2.1】 CHARACTERS:THE PEOPLE IN FICTION The term character applies to any individual in a literary work.For the purpose of analysis,characters in fiction are customarily described by their relationship to plot, by the degree of development they are given by the author,and by whether or not they undergo significant character change. Types of Characters Protagonist Antagonist The major,or central,character of the plot is the protagonist,his opponent,the character against whom the protagonist struggles or contends,is the antagonist.In John Updike's A&P,for example,the protagonist,Sammy,is brought into conflict with the antagonist,Lengel,the manager of the grocery store.The terms protagonist and antagonist,do not(unlike the terms hero,heroine,or villain)imply a judgment about moral worth.Many protagonists embody a complex mixture of both positive and negative qualities,very much in the way their real life counterparts do. The protagonist is often easy enough to identify;he or she is the essential character without whom there will be no plot.It is the protagonist's fate the conflict or problem being wrestled with)on which the attention of the reader is focused.Often the title of the work identifies the protagonist:Young Goodman Brown,Rip Van Winkle,A Rose for Emily,and Yellow Woman (cf.P.117),The Horse Dealer's Daughter (cf.P.128) The antagonist can be somewhat more difficult to identify,especially if he is not a human being,as is the case with the marlin that challenges the courage and endurance of the old fisherman Santiago in Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea.In fact,as noted above,the antagonist may not be a living creature at all,but rather the hostile social and natural environment with which the protagonist is forced to【2.1】 CHARACTERS: THE PEOPLE IN FICTION The term character applies to any individual in a literary work. For the purpose of analysis, characters in fiction are customarily described by their relationship to plot, by the degree of development they are given by the author, and by whether or not they undergo significant character change. Types of Characters Protagonist & Antagonist The major, or central, character of the plot is the protagonist; his opponent, the character against whom the protagonist struggles or contends, is the antagonist. In John Updike’s A&P, for example, the protagonist, Sammy, is brought into conflict with the antagonist, Lengel, the manager of the grocery store. The terms protagonist and antagonist, do not (unlike the terms hero, heroine, or villain) imply a judgment about moral worth. Many protagonists embody a complex mixture of both positive and negative qualities, very much in the way their real life counterparts do. The protagonist is often easy enough to identify; he or she is the essential character without whom there will be no plot. It is the protagonist’s fate （the conflict or problem being wrestled with）on which the attention of the reader is focused. Often the title of the work identifies the protagonist: Young Goodman Brown, Rip Van Winkle, A Rose for Emily, and Yellow Woman (cf. P. 117), The Horse Dealer’s Daughter (cf. P. 128) The antagonist can be somewhat more difficult to identify, especially if he is not a human being, as is the case with the marlin that challenges the courage and endurance of the old fisherman Santiago in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. In fact, as noted above, the antagonist may not be a living creature at all, but rather the hostile social and natural environment with which the protagonist is forced to