Using a "main character throughline personal opponent" like Calpurnia to help demonstrate MC growth

writing
#1

I wrote a few stories with all 4 throughlines, but I kept feeling like I was missing something (other than, you know, talent).

I claim no expertise, but I suspect I was missing a MC TL “personal opponent” who:
A) is not the IC (or a co-IC) and
B) is not strictly an OS logistical opponent.

Basically, someone that helps to demonstrate MC growth. I’m thinking of characters like:

  1. Calpurnia - Scout’s personal “nemesis;” their interaction is neither OS nor RS; Scout views/treats her more equitably at the end of the book (not movie).
  2. Dorothy Gale’s mom - Dorothy gave her grief at the beginning, but appreciates her at the end. She’s not an IC and isn’t in the OS significantly.
  3. Michael Clayton’s estranged brother Timmy - the DUG analysis for this movie is what made me think of this concept when Chris Huntley asked, “What’s a really clear signal that Michael resolved his personal angst? He reaches out to his estranged brother.”

In each case, the MC growth was demonstrated by how the MC treated someone. Forgive me if this is mundane, but it was a joyous breakthrough for me (someone who naturally tends to think of plots more than characters & relationships).

Is such a character necessary? I suspect not. The “someone” could be himself. You could argue MC growth could be communicated solely by the MC himself with no interactions with another character at all, but I think that method is damn difficult. That’s what I’ve been trying to do without realizing it. Things like, “he was on the bottle, then struggled with it, then got off the bottle at the end.” It risks being either too subtle or too melodramatic (edit: for my amateur writing skills; other writers can probably do this well).

Also, you could argue that you don’t have to make up an additional character to show MC growth, as the MC TL opponent could be a pre-existing character with a role in the OS. But that makes it difficult to separate the MC’s role in the OS from the MC TL.

So, long story short, I’m going back to add a separate non-OS character to help me demonstrate MC growth more clearly.

PS If a term doesn’t exist, I nominate Calpurnia! Or Timmy Clayton!

#2

So there are stories that have characters that reside in the MC perspective, but aren’t what you would consider the ‘main character.’ The MC Throughline can have more than one character in it.

E.G. In The Sweet Hereafter, Mitchell the lawyer (and MC) recounts his experiences to a woman on an airplane. She’s there for him to talk through the MC Throughline, but she doesn’t participate in the Overall Story.

I don’t know that you really need another label. Just have an understanding of which throughlines your characters are participating in throughout the story.

2 Likes
#3

This reminds me of the use of symbols in stories; people (relationships), places, things, phrases that repeat and change during the story to provide deeper meaning. A good example of an object is the mockingjay in the Hunger Games; it begins as a pin, then a costume, finally an identity.

Here’s a nice post about a repeated phrase in Disney’s Moana https://thisbuildscharacter.com/2017/05/19/new-words-new-perspective/. This author is onto the same concept of repetition and change giving meaning; he calls it “Arc Words” in this case.

1 Like
#4

Here are some more examples of MC Throughline characters that are not OS characters (don’t have a role in the overall story):

  • Buffy’s mom in the early Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes (before she gets involved in the whole slayer stuff, hits Spike on the head with the axe, etc.). This is when she’s mostly just giving Buffy a hard time about typical teenager stuff, showing Buffy’s difficult Situation trying to be both Slayer and teenage girl. (I believe Buffy is MC Situation in the first season, before moving to a Be-er in future seasons.)
  • Andy’s friends in The Devil Wears Prada (as per @MWollaeger in this post)
  • Guessing here… but I think the Dursleys in most of the Harry Potter books are mainly MC throughline characters, although in the full-series storyform there is that connection to Harry’s mom that involves them in the OS.

I’m sure there are piles more examples, often family members or friends that demonstrate the MC’s perspective and issues.

2 Likes