Character

In a narrative the agents of cause and effect are characters – they create and react to events and drive the narrative forward. They are complex and well developed (in a well written narrative) and may possess several traits.

Character archetypes fulfill a particular role in the narrative. They are the characters that are always there, that we are familiar with and intuitively recognize because they have been present since the earliest stories, since legends and mythologies.

So, what are these archetypes?

- Protagonists or driver characters:   Commonly known as the hero, they are the central characters that drive the action and the narrative.

- Antagonist:   “Bad guy”, they are directly opposed to the protagonist, they attempt to defeat the protagonist or stop them from achieving what it is they want to achieve. They drive the external conflict against the protagonist.

- Guardian:   Teacher or helper who aids the protagonist. They are the mentor or “wise old man/ woman” (think Gandalf or Dumbledore)

- Contagonist:   Hinders and deludes the protagonist, they are the temptation and desire. Unlike the antagonists who exist to prevent the protagonist from moving forward, the contagonist is there to hinder or delay the protagonist

- Passenger:   Sidekick, they show unfailing loyalty and support (Samwise Gamgee or Ron Weasley)

- Skeptic:   Disbeliever, doubts everything

As I was writing this, I was thinking of examples of each archetype and I found that they were easiest to identify in fantasy or science fiction. This is because these stories are normally about a protagonist who goes on a journey and encounters different characters, which may assist them or cause conflict and hinder their progress. It does sound like a generalization, but it’s an integral element to these types of narrative.

This brings me to characters that are not clearly or easily categorised because they may have facets of various archetypes. This makes them more complex and at the same time more realistic, because each of us contain these archetypes within us (to varying degrees). 

I watched the first episode of Boardwalk Empire and it’s a classic example of characters that are an amalgamation of facets of different characters. It is very much film noir in style - there is a blurring of the lines between the typical good and bad and you get a protagonist who is deeply flawed and not entirely a “good” character.  Despite this, they are likeable or generally have the support of the audience.

(Spoiler Alert!) Set during the Prohibition period in the 1920s, Boardwalk Empire focuses on Enoch ‘Nucky’ Thompson (played by Steve Buscemi and based upon Enoch L. Johnson) the corrupt Treasurer of Atlantic City and very powerful figure who deals with gangsters, politicians and government agents. He is represented as a hypocrite - supporting Prohibition in public and gaining the support from the community whilst at the same time planning deals with people illegally producing and selling alcohol in order to make himself a profit.

Margaret Schroeder, a pregnant young Irish mother turns to Nucky for assistance, which he seems to resent at the beginning. Nevertheless, he gives her money and has his driver drop her home. While this appears to be an act of kindness, he didn’t give the impression that he genuinely cared and was just doing what was expected of him. Then when Nucky discovers how badly her husband treats her and how her husband took the money and used it to gamble with, Nucky starts to show that maybe he does care about her or what his money is being used for. Finally he has Margaret’s husband killed after he beats her and causes her to lose her unborn baby – the audience see this as a positive thing and support Nucky's actions because he was doing the right thing for Margaret by getting rid of her horrible, violent husband.

Thus, Enoch Thompson is an ambiguous protagonist who is corrupt yet shows compassion and ensures that those under his control get what they deserve.