I have looked up these words and I am now trying ot understand the difference between An Main Character A Protagonist an Antagonist a Deutragonist a Tritagonist The questions is Is an antagonist called an antagonist because he dies or is it because he reappears again in with a different look in another conflict like the sequel The Terminator? and should a Main Character be called an MC if he or she is om minute surviving a story or another minute dying at the end like in the Titanic Film or Gladiators. What I am trying to say shouldn't a title be given distinctively to various characters because they consistantly do one thing and one thing only. What I am trying to say only call someone an MC they will always expect to live. and call an MC something else if they are going to die. It helps make a distinction and keep consistancy with titles. MY next point: Aren't they all in the end lead characters or MCs of their own right only with different titles. It is like saying a queen/a king/a prince/a princess. They are all royals just calling themselves different titles. Although I am not getting the difference between and Antan and a Prota.
Okay: Main character = The character or characters who feature most prominently in your story. Typically, this will be your protagonist. Protagonist = The hero of your tale. Basically, your good guy. Antagonist = The bad guy in your tale. He/She/They is the one your Protagonist contests with. Deutragonist and Tritagonist = These are, in my opinion just semantics. They're other primary characters. Now to your questions: The antagonist is called the antagonist because he provides conflict for your protagonist. (He antagonises them.) There's no deeper meaning to it. They can die or not, they can change or not. The main character is literally just the MAIN character of your story. Doesn't matter what happens to them, if they're the focus of your story, they're the main character. Romeo and Juliet are both main characters and as I understand it, they both kick the bucket. And yes, they're all words for important characters in your story. To summarise, the difference between the protagonist and the antagonist is their moral side in the story. It's essentially good vs evil.
Jetshroom pretty much covered all the bases, but I must disagree with this part. The protagonist and antagonist are not dictated by good and evil. Morality has nothing to do with it. They can both be morally aligned, yet have one or two differences where the conflict arises. I prefer to think of it like a sporting event: the protagonist is the player you cheer for, the antagonist is the opposing player. The way the story is written can change our perception of which is which. Also, the antagonist doesn't have to be a person (nor does the protagonist). A story about a man trying to survive after crashing his airplane in the arctic may not have a living, breathing antagonist --nature itself would be the antagonist. Blinding snow and freezing temperatures aren't morally "evil;" it's just nature doing as nature does. Main character: Anyone who plays a prominent role in the story. There can be more than one. Protagonist: The one readers want to see "succeed." There can be more than one. Antagonist: The one trying to stop the protag from succeeding. Again, there can be more than one. Deuteragonist:* A secondary protagonist -- a "sidekick." Think of Robin in the Batman films. Tritagonist:* A tertiary (third) protagonist. Think of Alfred in the Batman films. *(Like Jetshroom said, these are all sematics. You could just as well call them all protagonists... and probably should, IMO.)
Hey thank you Jetshroom and AnonyMouse. This is a great illustration of a fact of life and antagonist at the same time.
