Protagonists In Love Medicine

Every protagonist needs an antagonist in a novel, poem, movie, play, or other type of art and literature. The antagonist in a story creates conflict for the main character, or protagonist, of the story. When looking at a protagonist and antagonist through binaries, it is easy to see that the protagonist is considered the “good” character while the antagonist is considered the “bad” character. By using the deconstruction lens, the original antagonist could be considered the protagonist, and the original protagonist could be considered the antagonist. Many characters or intangible items could cause the protagonist a lot of conflict, so there could be more than one antagonist. In the novel Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, Marie Kashpaw, Lulu Lamartine, …show more content…
For instance, Nector, her husband, has an affair with Lulu. In this sense, both of them are the antagonist because they work together to cause this conflict, as stated in the novel, “Dear Marie, Can’t see going on with this when every day I’m going down even worse. Sure I [Nector] loved you once, but all this time I am seeing Lulu also. Now she pressured me and the day has come I must get up and go…” (156). Both Nector and Lulu agree to have this affair behind Marie’s back, which causes Marie emotional conflict. If Marie was left by her husband, she would have to raise the children by herself, get a job, and worry about people talking about her. As Nector and Lulu both contribute to this conflict, they both are considered antagonists because they go against the protagonist, Marie. And, Nector goes out and drinks a lot, which causes Marie, as a mother and wife, a lot of conflict. Pages 90 and 93 state, “If I [Marie] wasn’t feeding children, I was chasing Nector down… [Nector] was red-eyed, gaunt, and he was drunk.” Because Marie had many duties around the house and raising children, she did not have the time to waste chasing after Nector while he was out drinking. As an antagonist, Nector causes Marie the conflict of having to wonder where he is and if he is safe while he is out drinking all of the time. In addition to this, all of the …show more content…
For example, Lulu, like protagonists should be, is a round character. The novel states, “...Lulu Lamartine was like a cat, loving no one, only purring to get what she wanted...don’t ever forget this: I loved what I saw” (272, 273). Lulu, although very promiscuous and sneaky, was also very loving and kind-hearted. She has multiple personalities, which makes her a round character. Additionally, another characteristic of protagonists is being a dynamic character, which Lulu is. The quotes that show this are: “If [Marie and I] could have snapped our fingers to get rid of each other, we would have done that…For the first time I saw exactly how [Marie] felt, and it gave me deep comfort, surprising. It gave me the knowledge that whatever had happened the night before, and in the past, would finally be over…” (288, 294). When Lulu and Nector start their affair, Lulu is very jealous of Marie and wished she was not around, but after Nector dies, Lulu feels very sympathetic and caring toward Marie. This shows how Lulu has grown internally throughout the novel. Lulu also helps cause the climax of the story by revealing the greatest secret in the novel to Lipsha, as stated in the novel on pages 300 and 301: “And when [Lulu] said, ‘Not your [Lipsha’s] stepmother, not Marie, but your mother in the flesh.’....So she up and spilled the beans.” The protagonist in a story is

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