I wanted to participate in E.R King's challenge about the killers characters protagonists, I did.
I went back and forth 4 times on her blog while the challenge was open: reading people's comments, searching from within for that protagonist in me and out there.
Who's my protagonist? My super-hero? My role model? Who did I want to be when I was younger? And now even? No matter how hard I tried to find that answer, I couldn't and I missed my window.
And I was upset.
Why could I not find that protagonist? That true hero, the one that I could identify with?
Well I thought about it and am still thinking about it and you won't like the answer because I have no answer to this.
I will try though.
I always love fantasy and as much as I wanted to fly like Mary Poppins with an umbrella for example, I didn't want to be Mary Poppins. As much as I find Peter Pan cool for being able to run away from his parents, I knew I could never be Peter Pan.
The truth is this is all Fantasy and as much as I like Fantasy, I think deep down I craved and looked for a real hero, a hero who really lived all the dangers and really felt fear and doubt and overcome it all.
And that's why in the end, I could not find my protagonist.
The search for my protagonist for me lies elsewhere. It lies in reality.
A hero with personal challenges:
A black person who has to live in a white environment, a scientist raised in a religious background, an athlete who's disabled, a painter or musician who had no artistic support, a blind person who lives in the city, those people are my true heroes.
Heroes do not need to conquer the world.
Heroes start by conquering themselves.
Wow. Very inspirational post. And I thought my heroes were a good choice! But the real life heroes are the best to follow :)
ReplyDeleteI agree. Although I love watching the superheroes, they rarely touch me the way a real person struggling with real hardships does.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely lovely! I'm so glad the blogfest got you thinking. Yes, there are heroes all around us. I'm married to one. I'm a very lucky woman. Thanks for telling me about this! I'm grateful I didn't miss it.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully put! I think it's time you write a book about this kind of protagonist :)
ReplyDeletethis gave me goosebumps. very very good piece, its very short but very powerful. one of the reasons i like coming here (to your blog) so much.
ReplyDeleteWow! thank you Jess, J.A, Sweet Pea, Emily and Gail! What a boost for my ego! I Don't think my ego could take much more of these positive feedbacks, wait, oh yes, I can! ;-)
ReplyDeleteFantastic post.
ReplyDeleteI myself am more attracted to realism than fantasy. Also, I look up to people who struggle with and conquer adversity.