Making of a protagonist

I find myself looking back at friendships over the years and dissecting the stories of the ones who have taken a darker path. All future states are shaped by an event, interaction, or response that came to define the rest of the narrative. It is a fascinating study to look at the protagonist in each story and try to understand what separates the villain’s path from that of the hero. Often, the two characters grow up in the same town, study at the same school and suffer similar hardships in their development. One theory is that the response to trauma is to become angry and vengeful or to use it for learning and personal development. Our antagonist, who carries the pain, often seeks a path to unload it to others; to pass the very anguish they feel on to the world. Our hero has learned from the effect of such distress and vows to protect others from having the same experience: same pain.. different response.

It creates a guiding principle that we should all remember as we traverse the difficult cycles in life. That which does not kill you can empower your inner hero if knowledge (rather than emotional scarring) is the end result.