Is Grant a good protagonist

Use this forum to discuss the July 2020 Book of the month, "Zona: The Forbidden Land" by Fred G. Baker.
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Agneeta ode
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Re: Is Grant a good protagonist

Post by Agneeta ode »

Grant is a good protagonist because he is goal driven,dedicated,brave ,and likeable.His weakness as a flirt makes him human and made the story more compelling.
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m3j3s3
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Post by m3j3s3 »

Grant reminds me of a lifelong friend, therefore I like him.

I do question some of his decisions, especially his relationships with women; just as I do with my friend. Based on the voice of the character, I will be recommending this book to him and hope to have a discussion with him about the character. I look forward to his perspective.
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Post by gatuguta2030 »

Leen282 wrote: 01 Jul 2020, 13:17 I think he's a good protagonist. He's human, with good sides and flaws like any person.
I agree with you.He is a good proponent.He is a true reflection of human nature.That is potraying his good side as well as his shortcomings.
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Post by Josep22 »

I agree. The author didn't do a good job of meeting our expectations for a protagonist in a story. I think Grant was more flawed than necessary.
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Post by houligan19 »

Grant is a paleogeologist who is a part-time professor. A scientific expedition into Northern Siberia seems like you would need to be an experienced explorer in order to make such a journey. Not to mention the extra special circumstances. I really enjoyed the story, but I feel like Grant should do more than office work if he would even dream of going on an expedition such as Zona..
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Post by gatuguta2030 »

m3j3s3 wrote: 19 Jul 2020, 17:41 Grant reminds me of a lifelong friend, therefore I like him.

I do question some of his decisions, especially his relationships with women; just as I do with my friend. Based on the voice of the character, I will be recommending this book to him and hope to have a discussion with him about the character. I look forward to his perspective.
Thats a funny one.It is very cool to relate the character with real life experiences.
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Post by Kemmy11 »

Anna Dougherty wrote: 01 Jul 2020, 12:25 I think that the protagonist of the story does not have to be an exceptionally good person to be the main character in a book. I believe that his character flaws are important to the plot.
I agree with you.
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Post by gatuguta2030 »

Kemmy11 wrote: 21 Jul 2020, 11:11
Anna Dougherty wrote: 01 Jul 2020, 12:25 I think that the protagonist of the story does not have to be an exceptionally good person to be the main character in a book. I believe that his character flaws are important to the plot.
I agree with you.
Precisely.The character flaws are vital to the plot.This makes it an interesting read.
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Post by Sjtoy »

I thought Grant was a good protagonist for the story. He did have some flaws (like his promiscuity) but overall he seemed to try to do what was right by all of the explorers on his team. Although he kept secrets from Irina, I feel this did not affect his character as he had a right not to trust her.
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Post by Anngladys »

The_Vivian wrote: 01 Jul 2020, 16:03 I think he is a good person who had flaws. But that's what shows the humanity in him because at the end of the day as humans we all have our weaknesses but they do not define us. His character was captivating till the end.
Indeed! A perfect protagonist would be unrealistic and hard to relate to. It's alright for the protagonist to have flaws.
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Post by Anngladys »

diana lowery wrote: 01 Jul 2020, 13:48 He is a "good" protagonist in that he is what drives the story; however, he is a weak character who gets even weaker as the story progresses.
His job is to drive the story, and if he does that, he's fulfilled his role pretty well!
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Post by Anngladys »

gatuguta2030 wrote: 21 Jul 2020, 07:59
m3j3s3 wrote: 19 Jul 2020, 17:41 Grant reminds me of a lifelong friend, therefore I like him.

I do question some of his decisions, especially his relationships with women; just as I do with my friend. Based on the voice of the character, I will be recommending this book to him and hope to have a discussion with him about the character. I look forward to his perspective.
Thats a funny one.It is very cool to relate the character with real life experiences.
Yes!! It's much easier to relate to characters who seem natural. Perfect ones are quite unbelievable, as are grossly imperfect ones!
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Post by Joan64 »

Personally I think he is a good protagonist. The protagonist doesn't have to be perfect.
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Post by kdstrack »

I thought the author did a good job of developing Grant. At first, you respect him and understand his motivation to search for his uncle. Your opinion begins to change when you become aware of his relationship with the women on the expedition. The author gave credible explanations for his behavioral changes, so you are ready to accept it and blame it on the surrounding circumstances. I found myself believing the author's explanations, even though I wished Grant would have manifested a stronger willpower!
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Post by Sally_Heart »

Having flaws is normal and that shouldn't really affect the protagonist so far as it matches with his or her profile and that there is development in the character. I find it disturbing though when a very good protagonist fails to match his potential and deteroriates as he progresses.
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