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Cinderella And Sleeping Beauty Critical Lens Essay

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Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are only some that can come to mind when thinking of characters who only do good in the stories they are in. Many classic protagonists are portrayed as the embodiment of pure good. They always do the right thing and are successful in the end. The exceptions to this archetype can always produce great stories with developed characters that interest readers. It is a universal fact that no one in stories is perfect, but authors can make a bold choice when they decide to have the main character less perfect, or even villainous. When flaws are present in a protagonist, readers are drawn to the story, given a new point of view, bringing new concepts and ideas to the audience that they may not have thought of before. ***Flawed protagonists can differ from how imperfect …show more content…

In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the protagonist tries to help his disabled brother, Doodle, learn to walk and run. It is explained, “When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn’t walk, so I set out to teach him” (Hurst 418). Doodle’s brother helps slightly for personal gain, but has a good heart trying to help his brother learn to walk. After Doodle has begun to walk, his brother tries to get him to do more. The two get caught in the rain one afternoon and trying to get home, the narrator explains that “the faster I walked, the faster he walked, so I began to run...I heard Doodle, who had fallen behind, cry out, ‘Brother, Brother, don’t leave me!’...He didn’t answer so I placed my hand on his forehead and lifted his head. Limply, he fell backward onto the earth” (Hurst 426). The narrator has good intentions, trying to help his brother learn to more dependent, but he pushes Doodle too far, resulting in Doodle’s death. Both Doodle’s brother and Montresor are flawed and have their own problems that wouldn’t be present in the stories of characters like

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