The Protagonist Essay Example for Free

The Protagonist Essay Have you ever picked up a book and within minutes you couldn’t put it down? Have you felt a deep connection with a character, yet at the same time; not understood why the characters do the things they do? The way we connect with our favorite characters is no accident. The author’s resolve when writing is for the reader to connect with the protagonist of their stories. I know that The author of â€Å"Circumcision† Pramoedya (Prah-MOO-dia) Ananta Toer exploits his â€Å"narrator† as his protagonist because: he is the most central character in the story, the author uses him to evoke the reader’s emotions and feelings, and the narrator goes through trials and tribulations, and creates a change in his character and transforms him in the story. I could easily tell that the narrator was the most central character in the short story â€Å"Circumcision†. With the opening of the first sentence, â€Å"I spent my evenings at the local prayer house learning to recite the Quran.† The narrator starts to speak in the first person point of view. Although this is not a clear indication of him being the central character, it does have the reader wondering. Throughout the story the author keeps repeating the words â€Å"my† and â€Å"I†, and once again that really puts emphasis on what the main character is doing and the connection with the narrator. As the author develops the narrator’s character he defines him as a young Muslim kid who seems to be between the ages of eight and thirteen. Most of the following pages of the story are all about how the narrator is going to be circumcised. The author uses the narrator to tell his story and employs the sequences of events in his plot. As the main character of the story, the narrator is built up through the craft of his author. The author uses his narrator to grab the attention of the audience and gradually build commonality with the reader. When the author makes his narrator more universal the reader can relate with the authors fictional character, and gain access to more heartfelt feelings from the reader. The author knows the character of his narrator is important, so he uses his character’s abilities to engage the reader. If the author can hook his readers, then he truly has all their emotions and they will feel the sequence of events as his character does. The protagonist according to Deblanco and Cheuse â€Å"will have desires or objectives† (84), and it is these desires and objectives in the story that engages me as I am reading. In the story, the narrator has to struggle with decisions that could impact his whole adult life and whether or not he is going to be, in his eyes, a â€Å"good Muslim†. The author has me wanting to continue reading the story to see if the narrator will go through with the circumcision. He engages me and brings me in to his scene and I feel the narrator’s pain and rejoice in his celebrations. The narrator is the author’s protagonist because a protagonist mostly overcomes adversity and grows from his situation. The narrator in the story is struggling with the choice to be circumcised or not. In the early part of the story, the narrator says â€Å"If I haven’t been circumcised was I really a good Muslim†. In order for the protagonist of a story to grow up, or transform, he must have motive and purpose. The author gives the narrator purpose and motivation when the young boy is told of all the wonderful things he will receive when he is circumcised. As the narrator is sitting in the chair, waiting for his turn at the knife, the suspense is building inside his head. He says â€Å"I was incredibly scared. I wanted to be a good Muslim, but that wasn’t enough to still my terror.† Pramoedya (Prah-MOO-dia) Ananta Toer (98). The author uses this point in his story to build up his rising action. At this point in the story the narrator is challenged with adversity and we are waiting to see what the authors’ resolution will be. As a result of the narrator undergoing the procedure, he transforms from a young boy to a young Muslim man. In conclusion, the protagonist of the short story â€Å"Circumcision† is the narrator. He is the most central character in the story. He is used to strike commonality and evoke the reader’s emotions and feelings, and the narrator grows through trials and tribulation. I hope that after reading the story and this analysis that most readers will agree.