: Re: What kind of protagonist or writing style is Jack Sparrow? I want to ask about a certain style on how to present a character. I know Jack Sparrow is from a movie (and I've only watched the

@Ann1701686

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I really liked what @Galastel said, namely:

they are extreme in some way, compared to the more balanced protagonist. They are not bound by rules that most characters in the same story consider binding.
Such characters are "too much" for the focus of the story - they are too big, too outrageous.

However I would like to disagree a little as well.

As I see it, the main characteristic Bwrites is focusing on is "being protagonist behind the scenes" and one does not have to be charismatic or a trickster for that. They just need to have a big influence on the plot. Their actions may not be directly tied to plot development, but they influence it at every step.

Such a protagonist (or an antagonist) can not act alone, otherwise the plot will be defined entirely by their actions and they will lose that air of "uninvolvement", so there's a secondary, "main" protagonist. As that protagonist follows the plot they usually encounter obstacles and overcome them. Sometimes introducing a reasonable obstacle or a solution is hard and the way writers handle that is often what makes books good or bad.

In case of a background protagonist or antagonist, both obstacles and solutions can be introduced through them. Character falls into an unexpected trap? It wasn't actually meant for them, they are insignificant, big bad was trying to catch the background protagonist. Character miraculously avoids being chased? It was because big bad was distracted by a more significant prey. The background protagonist.

And that's why it is useful: you do not have to explain how the background protagonist gets out of these tight situations. He can escape inescapable situation and be convincingly far smarter, than the writer itself, because the writer doesn't have to explain how he does things or prove his intelect or ability.

Basically as a personification of A Wizard Did It trope. I think that is what makes him so important, despite being a background character. Gandalf plays a somewhat similar role in LOTR, he is the one behind big events, though in his case, he gets the spotlight more often and acts from backround less. But then there's Ent forest and Balrog and all the negotiations and stuff.

As a side note about background antagonists: many cartoons (TMNT) have a scary background big bad and many little foreground baddies. Big bad's presence is always there, but the actual main antagonists change from episode to episode and are less important. Some cartoons don't do that (Spiderman probably).

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