Should protagonists be killed for no reason?
- Onyabloke
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Should protagonists be killed for no reason?
It appears to be a gratuitous killing, it has not advanced the plot other than to prove that the villain could. The grief over their death similarly has done nothing to the story line.
I wondered if authors have a responsibility to keep people we have been introduced to and maybe like, alive unless there is a plot perogative to the contrary.
I remember reading a book in which a captive worked hard for her release. She concluded she had not been the first to be abducted and potentially killed she determined her food was drugged and left messages for those who may follow. After she had shown her worth as a character she was killed. Even years after reading the book (so long ago I forget the title) I still feel let down.
Should we keep worthy people alive?
- justiceuma
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Mahatma Gandhi
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My gut response would have to be yes, definitely kill protagonists suddenly, however, there has to be context around the kill. If the protagonist is an office worker in New York, it's unlikely that he'll ever get killed by a venomous snake.
What I mean is, as you said, the death of the character should provide for a thrilling and unexpected turn of events.. It shouldn't just come up as a random thing that happened in the book.
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I think that major events in a story need to have more than one reason and especially so with something as important as death. That being said, I don't think the author has any responsibility to write what people might want. They can't really guess what people want, so they'd have to take a poll, and not everyone would be happy with it anyway. Authors need to write the story they want to tell, if only because the story usually makes more sense that way. When an author tries to engineer something to happen for affect rather than as part of the story, it usually feels jarring to me and throws me out of the story.
It seems to me the story you read before did exactly what the author probably intended. You cared about the character and thought well of her. Even years later, you are affected by her fate. This brings up another interesting point, though. What merits would an author need to deem somebody worthy of life? How would an author then determine who, if anyone, should die?
I don't like to read stories in which main characters or prominent secondary characters die. When I reach for a book, most of the time I'm looking for an escape from reality. The exceptions are when I'm trying to learn something. So while I know random unexplainable deaths are a tragic part of life, I don't really want them happening in my books. I don't think it is an author's responsibility to provide me with that, though. I just need to find the books that have the stories I want to read.
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