Protagonists as “Difficult Men and Women”: Part One
The approach of creating characters and protagonists that could be seen as too perfect and too good has slowly started to be pushed away by the approach of creating characters that feel more natural and more believable. Morally gray characters are on the rise, and for good reason: they are fun to write for the author, and they are also fun to read about for the audience.
Morally gray characters appear more and more. This means that morally gray protagonists also appear more. If you think about the last book you read or the last TV show you watched, the possibility is high that the protagonist could have been a “difficult man“ or “difficult woman“ with morals that do not match yours or behavior that you would normally condemn. But how did the author manage to still write them in such a way that you continued to read the book or watch the TV show? What methods can you use yourself when you write about a protagonist who engages in activities that do not follow the morals of your audience or yourself? Continue reading to find out!
“Difficult Men“ and “Difficult Women“
When I was visiting a class about contemporary TV shows in university, we talked about “difficult men“ and “difficult women“ in TV shows. These are protagonists who follow difficult morals that normally the audience wouldn’t necessarily agree with. However, for some reason, these shows with these kinds of protagonists are still pretty successful. How do you achieve this?
I recently rewatched the movie The Equalizer with a friend who hadn’t watched the movie before. The protagonist, Robert McCall, basically kills off a lot of men just to help a young woman. At no point in the movie do you question this character, even though he kills people. Why? Because he uses his skills to help someone who can’t help themselves. Also, he gives all the bad guys a chance to do the right thing:
“The men I killed, your men…I gave them a chance, they made their decision…now I’m giving you the opportunity to make yours.”
So even though he does things that most people would condemn, as the audience, you are still rooting for him. This post will show you what strategies you can use as an author to achieve exactly that: your audience rooting for your protagonist, even though they could be perceived as "difficult.“
Justify their Actions
I will use the character Robert McCall as a case study in this post for some of the strategies you can implement. The first one is simple: justify their actions. Your audience should understand exactly why your protagonist handles things the way they do.
In Robert’s case, the movie shows the audience that he helps everyone around him. When he meets Alina (or Teri) at the small dinner in the middle of the night, they talk, and he gives her words of advice when she needs them. He also helps Ralphie, a young man who he works with, on several occasions.
He also seems to have a sense of justice, which drives him to use his skills to protect others.
When Robert later hears that Alina was beaten up so badly she had to go to the hospital, he makes the decision to help her escape her previous life (she was a sex worker who was trafficked).
However, Robert doesn’t immediately jump to killing the men involved, but rather tries to buy Alina’s freedom. When this doesn’t work, he does the only thing he thinks can save her.
As you can see, Robert tries a lot before he decides to kill the men involved. He first gives Alina advice. Then she acts on it and gets beaten up for it. Robert tries to buy her freedom. When this doesn’t work, he kills the men.
His actions seem justified to the audience. We see a woman being forced to live a horrible life, and we have a character who has the skills to help her. Him being established as a character who tends to help others also makes it believable that he steps in when she needs him. He also doesn’t immediately jump into killing the men but rather tries to make a deal with them. When this doesn't work, he doesn't have another option to protect her.
So, the first strategy that you can use is to justify your character’s actions. Make them try other, non-violent approaches first. Or maybe they are forced into a situation where they do not have any other option but to do a morally gray thing.
2. Fascination
Another strategy to keep your audience interested in your protagonist is fascination. Give your protagonist skills and knowledge that fascinate the audience.
In Robert’s case, he is obviously really skilled in fighting, and watching him take down a room full of Russian mobsters in 19 seconds is kind of satisfying, especially after they denied his attempt to make a deal with them and called him grandpa multiple times. But I would argue that his calculated plans, his attention to details, his calmness in high-stress situations, and his strategies are even more fascinating to watch.
He also is plainly said a badass. He knows his skills. He knows what he can do, and he isn’t intimidated by anyone:
“I’ve done some bad things in my life, Nicolai... Things I’m not proud of. I promised someone I love very much that I would never go back to being that person... But for you, I’ll make an exception.”
Naturally, you, as the audience, can’t help but be fascinated by him. Paired with the fact that he helps people who cannot help themselves while also being really polite and kind with everyone in his life, it literally forces you to want him to win, even though he does kill people.
3. Relative Morality
Another strategy is to simply make everyone around your character appear worse than your character. In Robert’s case, he kills people, but the people he kills actually make the lives of others a living hell. And, contrary to what the men he is killing are doing, he gives everyone of them a chance to do the right thing. If they accept, he doesn’t kill them.
Of course, there are even worse characters than Robert in other movies, books, or TV shows. Even when he does kill others, I doubt anyone feels bad for them or would even really question his actions.
However, if you want to write a character that could be seen as "difficult," it is worth knowing about this strategy: make everyone around them appear worse, which consequently could also justify your protagonist’s actions.
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Even though Robert may not be the most “difficult“ character out there, I think the movie still manages to show you some of the strategies that you can implement to make your audience root for your protagonist, no matter how morally gray they are. Maybe you can find even more strategies when you think about why you watched a show or read a book, even though the protagonist could be perceived as "difficult."
I hope this helps! Have fun writing!
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