MC vs PoV

[Svrtnsse]

IS the PoV character always the main character of the story? What if the PoV character starts out as the MC and then someone else shows up, takes over the role of MC, but not the PoV?

It feels like a very real chance that this might happen in the novel I'm in the planning stages of at the moment.

Has anyone here tried this, and how did it work out? Have you read any stories where this happened, and how did you feel about those? What are the pitfalls and dangers and risks involved?

 

[Ireth]

I think this has happened before, mainly in classical literature like Moby Dick. As far as I'm aware (having never actually read the book) the POV character in Moby Dick is Ishmael, but the MC is Captain Ahab. I don't know if Ishmael ever had a role beyond "the guy who tells the story" though.

I've definitely had a character break out of his minor role and take over the whole story as the MC, but said character was a POV character alongside the intended MCs. I love the way that story turned out, especially since the character in question was meant to be a villain. He decided to do the heroic thing instead, and it all snowballed from there.

 

[Incanus]

For Moby Dick, I'd say that the MC and POV are Ishmael, but the protagonist is Ahab. I could be wrong though.

I'm not sure I've seen an instance of these roles changing over the course of a story. Sometimes I see the MC and protagonist set up as two different characters (like Moby Dick and To Kill a Mockingbird). Or you have the POV separate from the MC and protag.--as in Sherlock Holmes.

I'm not sure passing the role of MC from one character to another is a great idea. I'll try to think if I've ever seen this before...

 

[BronzeOracle]

What about Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco? Would young Adso be the POV narrator and Brother William the protagonist. Its Brother William who is doing all the investigating, finds the truth, outwits the antagonist.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

IS the PoV character always the main character of the story?

No. Dr. Watson was always the POV for the MC Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle used Watson as the POV because he felt Sherlock wasn't human enough. Watson brought more feeling to the stories than Sherlock could alone.

What if the PoV character starts out as the MC and then someone else shows up, takes over the role of MC, but not the PoV?

You can certainly do this. I can think of good examples off-hand, but I'm sure it's been done.

 

[buyjupiter]

The Great Gatsby, is one example of the POV and MC being the same at first (the narrator Nick) before the MC switches to Gatsby. Not sure I'd call Gatsby the protagonist, though.

 

[Devor]

What happens in a lot of literature is that the MC/POV is a character that acts as the audience surrogate for the story, which is really about the harder-to-relate to character. Sherlock Holmes and Moby Dick are great examples of this. So is the Great Gatsby. It makes the story more relatable. It gives the character a sense of mystery.

But that's usually part of the design from the beginning. I think it would be strange if the shift felt abrupt, especially if it happened too late in the story.

Usually you want the action to be focused on the main POV character. Ishmael and Watson spend a lot of their POV commenting on the fascinating figures they're paired with, and it's their fascination that's the crux that makes it work. If your POV character is just kind of there, and somebody else is doing the action, and he can't offer that great commentary on it, I think you have a pretty big problem.

Ninja'ed on Gatsby!

 

[Panda]

What's the difference between a MC and a protagonist?

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

What's the difference between a MC and a protagonist?

They can be the same, but don't have to be.

Take The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King. The protagonist is Andy, but the MC is Red.

The protagonist drives the story forward forward by seeking a goal. With Andy, that is his escape from prison and retribution on the crooked warden and captain.

The Main Character is the one who we experience the story through...The POV. In this case, Red relays the story because if we knew Andy's plan, & how he chose to achieve his goal, the story wouldn't work.

The POV must be honest to the reader. If they know, the reader knows. Red is as in the dark to Andy's escape as the reader,

 

[Panda]

But then what's the difference between MC and POV?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

But then what's the difference between MC and POV?

The main character's story could be told through someone's else's point-of-view. As mentioned before, Sherlock Holmes is the MC, but his story's told from Watson' POV.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

But then what's the difference between MC and POV?

As above, they can be the same.

However, as mentioned with Doyle's characters Watson and Holmes, Watson is the POV that relates the story. But, the story is about the MC, Sherlock.

Who the protagonist, main character, & POV is depends on the story. The definition then, isn't a straight-forward and stagnant thing. They could be all wrapped into one person or be separate characters.

Bah! Ninja'd! I never get ninja'd.

 

[Penpilot]

Another novel that separates the MC from the POV is To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout is the POV and Atticus Finch is the MC.

As with Watson, Scout is a surrogate for the audience, but she also has a character arc that heavily contributes to the overall story.

 

[Panda]

The main character's story could be told through someone's else's point-of-view. As mentioned before, Sherlock Holmes is the MC, but his story's told from Watson' POV.

The Main Character is the one who we experience the story through...The POV. In this case, Red relays the story because if we knew Andy's plan, & how he chose to achieve his goal, the story wouldn't work.

By T.Allen.Smith's definition, shouldn't Watson be the MC, while Sherlock is the protagonist?

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I see your point.

Perhaps it's more accurate to say the Main character is the POV, but that doesn't have to be the protagonist. That certainly holds true for both The Shawshank Redemption and the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Are there stories where the MC/POV aren't the same person? Maybe that would be true in a story with a distant narrator? I don't know.

 

[Caged Maiden]

I think there are "typical" stories, ones in which we experience the story from the POV character, who also happens to be a MC and protagonist, and there are stories that blur those lines. I think Watson is a MC, rather than calling him secondary, but he isn't a lone MC. Sherlock is also a MC. When I write, I use several MCs and perhaps only one as the POV. Right? So In Shawshank Redemption, Red is the POV because you can't use Andy and retain the mystery. That's a perfect example of where Red, also a MC, isn't the protagonist. His motivations are rather irrelevant to the story, because it's Andy's story. But Red is the POV because without him, we could have no smoke and mirrors. His reaction and the experiences he had with Andy are equally important, though he isn't a plot-driving protagonist (to my recollection).

I'll try to be brief if I can:

Protagonist might be a difficult word to define in the context of certain books. It's the character who has a motivation to do something and experiences the "change" that comes with telling a story about a character.

MC is any character who we get to know deeply (again, maybe, or maybe not in some cases), who serves plot purposes, and for lack of a better way of putting it, the book wouldn't be the same without. I know, that's a really rough definition, but I think it gets the job done. One could tell a story about a person the reader never sees. I'm trying to recall one now. Is Pulp Fiction an example? Anyways, typically a MC is one of a few characters who the story is centered around. The kids in the Narnia stories, for example. They all are main characters.

POV is the lens through which the reader experiences the story. It need not be a character at all. In LOTR it's a narrator. I think most omniscient writing makes use of a POV of some sort, so POV characters are one thing, but even a narrator is a POV.

Secondary characters are characters who serve smaller purposes to the story and though they may be critical to the plot, we don't usually see the world through them and we don't probably get to know them as well. I just read a book that really divided all characters as secondary, from the MC/ POV character.

 

[BronzeOracle]

Hmmm, I'm not sure if an MC in of itself exists. A main character can convey a POV and/or they can drive the story - ie the protagonist - but if they don't do either of these things then how can they be a/the main character? Apart from the protagonist whose arc drives the story, or the narrator who witnesses this arc, all other characters are secondary I think (though they can be complex - eg antagonist, guide, nemesis). I'm wracking my brains to try and find a contrary example - all of the ones described above fit into POV and/or protagonist. In the case of romance there are often two protagonists.

 

[Penpilot]

From my understanding, there's the POV character and the Main Character/Protagonist.

I think this wiki article explains things pretty well. It mentions false protagonists, multiple protagonists and antagonists, and it also adds a different name for the POV character. They call it a focal character.

Protagonist - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One of the stories mentioned in the article is Psycho, where the movie introduces a false protagonist, who is replaced after her death.

I guess some of the pitfalls and dangers might be as follows. The reader may reject protagonist that shows up later if they're perceived to be pushing the POV character to the way side. Remember the reader will already be rooting for the POV character so be careful to make the protagonist likeable too if that's what you want.

Be clear in your head as to what roles each character is playing. Try not to muddy the waters between the POV character and the Protagonist. It may cause some WTF moments for the reader. This is probably more of a general thing to keep in mind, because I'm sure its possible to muddy the waters and still tell a good story.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

When I think POV character, I tend to make my MC the POV. However, I will give other characters a brief POV role to narrate when the MC does not experience if I feel that knowledge is important to the reader.

I did that in my most recent first-person present story. I started each chapter with an omnipotent narrator setting the scene and placement of characters, then jumped into someone's head.

I that's worth noting: POV in the sense of 1st-/2nd-/3rd-person past/present should affect how you narrate the story, including POV in the sense of character.

If I narrated in first-person past, I'd have had the narrator/MC speak as if telling her story, and in that case, an additional character's POV would be "cheating." (That same "rule" can apply to first-person present.)

If I told the same story in third-person, I'm sure I'd also make different choices, such as ditching the omnipotent narrator.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Thanks for your contributions everyone (I'm running low on thumbs-up, so those of you who already have loads don't get any). It's good to have some examples of stories where this happens - and I've even read a few of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

I'm still not entirely sure that this is how it's going to end up, but it wouldn't surprise me. I've got a few different ideas on how to handle it if it does though. Just bouncing the idea around here helped a bit.

One thing I considered was splitting the novel up into two stories, but in one volume. First the MC and the PoV is the same and his story plays out as normal. Then as his story ends the new MC enters and her story begins - but the PoV stays where it's been all the time.
I've got a feeling this may not be such a good idea though. It kind of feels as if when the story ends the book should end - it shouldn't begin a new different story. Any thoughts on this?