That's an interesting topic. Sometimes the villain can be more important than the protagonist because they can be the ones to get the ball rolling, they make things happen. It's especially tricky when the villain is the main character, because even though you're not meant to like him at first you don't want to turn off your readers.
It's something I've been thinking about lately because I'm writing a story where the main character is the villain in a way. He's not evil, but he's not meant to be a likeable character at first, because of the things he believes in and collaborates with (he's the son of a major Nazi commandant in a WW2 concentration camp and a soldier himself). The story revolves around his best friend's family being arrested for treason and taken away, and a few years later he's working at a concentration camp under his father's command with no questions or qualms about it when he meets his friend again who's just been shipped to said camp, still a prisoner and sans-family. He essentially ends up keeping his friend alive (he's not a Jew, just a political prisoner) and ultimately the favour is returned in the Nuremberg trials. That's like a super basic outline, lol.
It's a difficult character to write because I want him to be a realistic figure of a young adult who grew up in Nazi Germany and has a father in such a high position (this family has had Hitler over for a personal dinner) and as such not only holds but completely believes all of the rhetoric and prejudice. So in that respect he is the villain - he's committing all these horrible acts and seeing into his head isn't necessarily pretty. But besides the relationship that develops between the two men and the trials they face in such awful circumstances, the story is more about his growth as a person, his relationship with his father, and a very slow change of heart per se and the crushing guilt that comes with it.
WW2 stuff can be really touchy and the idea of having a full fledged Nazi as a protagonist could turn a lot of people off or even anger them, because everyone wants to read about the war hero who 'didn't really believe in it to start with', you know? This guy isn't a hero, at all, so I'm really struggling to write him. :/ I guess the real baddie is the father, but even he has redeeming qualities because he's still family.
Wow that was long, sorry hahah. I just felt like talking about that since it's fitting. Let me know if you have any suggestions :P
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-07-25 01:46 am (UTC)It's something I've been thinking about lately because I'm writing a story where the main character is the villain in a way. He's not evil, but he's not meant to be a likeable character at first, because of the things he believes in and collaborates with (he's the son of a major Nazi commandant in a WW2 concentration camp and a soldier himself). The story revolves around his best friend's family being arrested for treason and taken away, and a few years later he's working at a concentration camp under his father's command with no questions or qualms about it when he meets his friend again who's just been shipped to said camp, still a prisoner and sans-family. He essentially ends up keeping his friend alive (he's not a Jew, just a political prisoner) and ultimately the favour is returned in the Nuremberg trials. That's like a super basic outline, lol.
It's a difficult character to write because I want him to be a realistic figure of a young adult who grew up in Nazi Germany and has a father in such a high position (this family has had Hitler over for a personal dinner) and as such not only holds but completely believes all of the rhetoric and prejudice. So in that respect he is the villain - he's committing all these horrible acts and seeing into his head isn't necessarily pretty. But besides the relationship that develops between the two men and the trials they face in such awful circumstances, the story is more about his growth as a person, his relationship with his father, and a very slow change of heart per se and the crushing guilt that comes with it.
WW2 stuff can be really touchy and the idea of having a full fledged Nazi as a protagonist could turn a lot of people off or even anger them, because everyone wants to read about the war hero who 'didn't really believe in it to start with', you know? This guy isn't a hero, at all, so I'm really struggling to write him. :/ I guess the real baddie is the father, but even he has redeeming qualities because he's still family.
Wow that was long, sorry hahah. I just felt like talking about that since it's fitting. Let me know if you have any suggestions :P