Fiction Writers: Use Your Antagonist to Argue Your Theme
The relationship between your protagonist and antagonist is a valuable instrument with which to demonstrate the philosophical argument inherent in your fiction. In fact, the primary purpose of your protagonist and antagonist, and how they interact, is to embody the thematic point of your work.
(You… you do have a thematic point to your fiction… right? If not… perhaps that’s a topic for another article…)
How does this work? How can an intentional writer use their protagonist and antagonist as messengers of theme without being preachy or heavy-handed in the act?
Let’s look at a readily available example from popular storytelling to see how this can be done and done right: The Dark Knight, the second in the Christopher Nolan-led The Dark Knight film trilogy.
Spoilers for a movie released in 2008 are directly ahead…
How the Joker Serves as a Philosophical Instrument in “The Dark Knight”
The Dark Knight is the middle installment of a trilogy, so it’s required that the protagonist be brought down at the peak of their power in order for the third act (the on-the-nose titled The Dark Knight Rises) to offer what is usually (but not always) positive character growth.
