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Why chart the emotions of the protagonist to evaluate the story? The value of a story is not in how happy or sad the protagonist was - but how it makes you feel

Why chart the emotions of the protagonist to evaluate the story? The value of a story is not in how happy or sad the protagonist was - but how it makes you feel. It's a rather good starting point for analyzing stories. Most of the stories he mentioned (with Kafka being a notable exception) aimed to make the reader identify with the protagonist. Therefore, it's the protagonist's situation that matters the most. Also, bear in mind that he wasn't charting the emotions of the protagonist, but the protagonist's fortune.

almost 17y ago
Why do you mention Kafka as an exception? I've always felt his characters were very easy to identify with. They're the confused part of you, constantly buffeted by processes you don't understand. Surely everyone feels a little like that at times?
- CodeMage 17y ago
  Honestly, I find it impossible for myself to identify with the young man who found himself transformed into a bug ;) I know it's supposed to be a metaphor, but it kind of kills my personal identification with the poor sod.
  - aasarava 17y ago
    You've never once in your life felt like a complete alien, unable to communicate with those who should be closest to you? Now that's good fortune.
    - CodeMage 17y ago
      That's not really what I said, is it? I said that the metaphor stands in the way of my identification, not that I can't understand the metaphor or that I've never been in situations that the metaphor tries to describe.
ankeshk 17y ago
Thanks CodeMage. >Also, bear in mind that he wasn't charting the emotions of the protagonist, but the protagonist's fortune. Taken from the article: "Is she even sadder now? No, she’s already a broken-hearted little girl." "and she becomes off-scale happy" [draws line upward and then infinity symbol] So I don't think Vonnegut differentiated much between fortunes and emotions of the protagonist. He exchanged the terms for one another freely.
- TrevorBramble 17y ago
  As he said, "what's the good news and what's the bad news?" The reason that fortune and emotion are being conflated in the discussion is because whether an event is considered good or ill fortune depends on the perspective of the protagonist. If the protagonist is happy with the outcome, the line charts North, and vice versa.

almost 17y ago

Why do you mention Kafka as an exception? I've always felt his characters were very easy to identify with. They're the confused part of you, constantly buffeted by processes you don't understand. Surely everyone feels a little like that at times?

CodeMage 17y ago
Honestly, I find it impossible for myself to identify with the young man who found himself transformed into a bug ;) I know it's supposed to be a metaphor, but it kind of kills my personal identification with the poor sod.
- aasarava 17y ago
  You've never once in your life felt like a complete alien, unable to communicate with those who should be closest to you? Now that's good fortune.
  - CodeMage 17y ago
    That's not really what I said, is it? I said that the metaphor stands in the way of my identification, not that I can't understand the metaphor or that I've never been in situations that the metaphor tries to describe.

ankeshk 17y ago

Thanks CodeMage. >Also, bear in mind that he wasn't charting the emotions of the protagonist, but the protagonist's fortune. Taken from the article: "Is she even sadder now? No, she’s already a broken-hearted little girl." "and she becomes off-scale happy" [draws line upward and then infinity symbol] So I don't think Vonnegut differentiated much between fortunes and emotions of the protagonist. He exchanged the terms for one another freely.

TrevorBramble 17y ago
As he said, "what's the good news and what's the bad news?" The reason that fortune and emotion are being conflated in the discussion is because whether an event is considered good or ill fortune depends on the perspective of the protagonist. If the protagonist is happy with the outcome, the line charts North, and vice versa.