Who is the most memorable protagonist of a book that you ever read?

Submitted by Triumphant-Smile t3_11vk34f in books

For me, it would have to be Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series by Rick Riordan. I saw a lot of myself in Percy, especially now as a mature reader looking back on the series.

Percy is memorable to me because he’s a honest funny person who just wants to have fun and cares for the people who love him, even in a crazy world of darkness and danger.

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solarmelange t1_jctdwq5 wrote

Hiro Protagonist from Snow Crash, but Charly from Flowers for Algernon is a close second.

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Sieperill15 t1_jcte0hy wrote

Jay Gatsby! He is a hopeless romantic, eagerly trying to relive his past, a true melancholic! Also he has this grand vision of himself and his life. I can relate to him so much!

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iamthedanger1985 t1_jctj8m5 wrote

Jeff Winston in Replay.

I read this book in my grandparents library like 20 years ago and reread it almost every year.

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Wooden_Grapefruit_30 t1_jctjqsy wrote

Meursault(The Stranger). Also, the Underground Man(Notes from the Underground).

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Jambonito t1_jctkcwy wrote

Martin Eden! He believed in himself from the beginning, and always stayed true to who he was!

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anne-of-green-fables t1_jctmqux wrote

Valency Stirling from The Blue Castle. The girl dngaf in a time when that was not really a thing. Love a contentious queen.

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jonmuller t1_jctoq8d wrote

Unpopular opinion (maybe?) but Holden Caufield

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DoctorGuvnor t1_jctplut wrote

What an interesting question!

After much thought I can narrow it down to three:

Huckleberry Finn, from Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. (Also from the Greg Matthews sequel, The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Ed Ricketts from Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday and The Log From the Sea of Cortez (real person, but definitely a protagonist)

Toad from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

Further thought has given me Keith Stewart from Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute (although many of his heroes are just as memorable)

and His Grace, Sir Samuel Vimes, Duke of Ankh Morpork, Blackboard Monitor and Commander of the City Watch from Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

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Esabettie t1_jctqh5v wrote

Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows and Sidney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities, and David Copperfield himself.

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JeanneTheHuey t1_jcts6uw wrote

Isobel Fairfax from "Human Croquet." She was both relatable and omniscient, a young girl and ancient narrator, really sad but fairly droll and all that.

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PeterchuMC t1_jctuecu wrote

Would The Doctor be cheating? If it were, Samuel Vimes.

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jaceliz4 t1_jcturaa wrote

Meggie and Moe from Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.

Also, I don't know if Dustfinger counts as a protagonist, but I think he might be one of my favorite characters I've ever read.

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EchoedJolts t1_jcturdb wrote

It's hard to think back on all the books I've read, but off the top of my head I'd say Ender from Ender's Game and Gideon from Gideon the Ninth

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eruannie t1_jctwn8h wrote

Same Temple, from the Gone Series. For some reasons he always stuck with me, and he was the first one that come to my mind when I read this question. This book series it’s actually one of the best series I’ve ever read. It’s so weird, sometimes the plot is all over the place, but the characters are some of the best written characters I’ve ever read. Such good books, unfortunately they are not translated in my language, so I had to read them in English and even though I’m very fluent in English I prefer to read in my language as I find it more relaxing.

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esgamex t1_jctxyjp wrote

There's a character in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Stormqueen who can foresee all possible alternative outcomes of any action he takes and it nearly causes complete inability to decide or act before he learns to control it. This gave me powerful insight into myself because i overthink things and have decision paralysis.

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Bookishgirl-6197 t1_jcty29k wrote

Eugenides from the Queen's Thief series.

Holden from The Catcher in the Rye.

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OhhhYaaa t1_jcu0fda wrote

Hiro Protagonist from Snow Crash, Corwin from The Chronicles of Amber, and Danlo from A Requiem for Homo Sapiens series.

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JerkedOffDidntWork t1_jcu5anv wrote

The serial series with the Romans as well as the Greeks was also really good

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GrimeyTimey t1_jcu5xwi wrote

Lyra Silvertongue from HDM. I loved how wild and out control she was as a child and then I loved and cried over her growing up and losing Will and her knowledge of the alethiometer.

I really want sequel to the secret commonwealth to come out so I can see what happens next. I'm still hoping that she'll find happiness for herself in the end.

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SailboatAB t1_jcu8y9u wrote

Replying to OhhhYaaa (#2,270,916)

I read the Amberbbooks waaaaay long ago, so my memory may be suspect. But I recall Corwin seeming generic, just sort if narrating events without a distinct personality. Loved the books, but didn't really get Corwin.

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OhhhYaaa t1_jcuat03 wrote

Replying to SailboatAB (#2,271,343)

I mostly remember him from the first book. When he was mostly trying to figure out the world around him and get through the political intrigues (like when he just got to his sister's house), all that while showing big love for life in all its parts (eg the thought of best way to die is live until you are old and be crushed by elephant while having sex), with kind of a careless approach sometimes, which makes sense in the whole picture. I really loved the spirit of it. But I can see why some might not find it that memorable, sure. When he is more established, he loses part of this charm, iirc. Have to re-read it, it's been a long while.

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aThiefStealingTime t1_jcujbva wrote

I think I'd have to agree. Percy always feels out of his depth, but goes for it and tries to help even at great expense to himself. I love that.

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basil_not_the_plant t1_jcujjzr wrote

Jack Shaftoe, aka the King of the Vagabonds, aka Quicksilver, aka l'Emmerdeur, aka Jack the Coiner -- the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.

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FullmoonMaple t1_jcuqnb7 wrote

Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit.

"Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I am afraid... and he gives me courage." - Gandalf

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montmarayroyal t1_jcuvin7 wrote

Sophia FitzOsborne from A Brief History of Montmaray- I saw so much of myself in her. Quiet bookish bookishness, insecurity, love for her family. Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice- she practically leaps off the page.

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bhaladmi t1_jcuzq9o wrote

Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind

Not the most likable character but memorable nonetheless.

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BernyGeek t1_jcv3vcm wrote

Kerowyn from By The Sword by Mercedes Lackey

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photoguy423 t1_jcv5po6 wrote

Thorby in Citizen of the Galaxy by Heinlein. My memory is pretty bad and I often forget the names of characters but remember their actions. Thorby sticks out in that I read the book once over a decade ago and still occasionally think about the character and what he went on to do after the book ends.

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schultzter t1_jcvea7q wrote

Death, from On a Pale Horse.

Every time he deals with the bureaucracy I feel more and more sympathy.

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KoeiNL t1_jcvgex4 wrote

Charlie from Flowers for Algernon.

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filemonginseng t1_jcvkod3 wrote

I'm a big fan of Gully Foyle from The Stars My Destination. Gutter is a great English dialect

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QuothTheRaven713 t1_jcvl2l1 wrote

I'd probably say Charlie from Flowers for Algernon. He really didn't deserve all the crap he was put through.

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Drainbamaged224 t1_jcvo5dc wrote

Miles Vorkosigan from the Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold

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Radiant_Order_4489 t1_jcvy933 wrote

Locke Lamora. Such a genius in some ways and a huge dumbass in others. I found him to be very entertaining, and complicated as well. Definitely not a good person, but very caring. His friendship with Jean will always be my favourite.

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Minqua t1_jcw33h1 wrote

Bilbo Baggins - It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.

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RelationshipSad2300 t1_jcw42df wrote

D'Artagnan from the Three Musketeers has always held a special place in my heart.

Bumbling along in the beginning, but turning into a worthwhile human being of some honour

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kingKedSha t1_jcw6rb4 wrote

Kaz Brekker (Six of Crows)

Quinn (Hard Wired)

Simon Spier (Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda)

Patroclus (The Song of Achilles)

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Account3857 t1_jcw7k18 wrote

Valentine Michael Smith from Stranger in a Strange Land

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Infamous_Button6302 t1_jcw81ez wrote

Sam Vimes (discworld)
Eisenhorn (WH40k)
Severian (Book of the New Sun)

I feel like there may be a thread of commonality there, but it is beyond me to articulate.

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dynamic_argon t1_jcw84oq wrote

David Wong from the series John dies at the end. He is unabashedly human. With many flaws that go deep. He is very self ware of his problems and of those around him but I'd also poignantly funny and has pretty realistic reactions to the craziness of his life around him. Reading things from his perspective throughout the books always makes me laugh or smile

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JeanneTheHuey t1_jcwbq8j wrote

Replying to solarmelange (#2,271,642)

Somewhat true. He could also be lumped in with other annoying teenagers found in literature though, thus diminishing how memorable he is. But I think the best answer would come from the original commenter ha ha

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uncr34t1v3n4m3 t1_jcwfg3r wrote

Definitely John Wayne Cleaver. He was always only a small misstep away from being the villain and always knew it

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blocky1328 t1_jcwmpk6 wrote

SPOILERS!!!! For me it'd have to be Jason Grace from the spin-off of the Percy Jackson series, "Heroes of Olympus" and "The Trials of Apollo". Jason pulled off incredible feats and in The Trials of Apollo he knew if he went back into the maze he'd die but he went un anyway, fighting till the end and unfortunately getting stabbed through the back by Emperor Caligula.

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mikarala t1_jcws7ln wrote

Edmond Dantes is pretty iconic.

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mikarala t1_jcwsg29 wrote

Replying to Wooden_Grapefruit_30 (#2,269,825)

It's kind of interesting how popular the series is while Harry himself has always been a fairly polarizing character. I know a lot of people that found him really annoying, but I always quite liked him. Actually, I liked him more when he was at his worst, lol. It felt realistic considering the attention and pressure and how out of his depth he was.

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CACavatica t1_jcwvnxu wrote

I don't know but Lizbeth Salander was interesting . . .

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INBlackwoods t1_jcx7orq wrote

Any protagonist who is only debatably a "protagonist," like Jack Seward from Dracula or Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. Both are not your typical "good guys," Heathcliff being more of a villain, but Jack tells a majority of the story and Heathcliff is the main character of his story. Since protagonist technically just means leading character, the character doesn't have to be a hero, though there's usually an implication that they aren't bad. Memorable protagonists to me are very human with all the flaws and messiness associated.

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Jari-chan t1_jcxe726 wrote

Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

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Major_Attention5548 t1_jcxgcr0 wrote

Kvothe from kingkiller chronicles. I never found another character so eccentric.

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reductoabsurdum t1_jcxkfqc wrote

Quentin Compson of The sound and the fury

Cathy of East of Eden

Bazarov of Fathers and sons

Holden Caulfield

Raskolnikov of Crime and punishment

Atticus of To kill a mockingbird

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ItzMeSlaycer t1_jcxn7h1 wrote

Marvin from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

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jls_93 t1_jcxrsxt wrote

Gus McCrae from Lonesome Dove 👌

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The__Imp t1_jcyc4mc wrote

Jean Valjean from Les Mis. There is just so much to his story. Jean Valjean’s transformation from the misanthropic convict who is (perhaps justifiably) angry at the world to a caring father and genuinely good man is beautiful in more ways than I can rightly express in a Reddit post.

The book is by no means an easy read, but few stories have caused me to return again and again to the characters, their lives and motivations like this one.

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GroundbreakingYou641 t1_jcyf7n3 wrote

Nick from Gone Girl, i haver never meet such a annoying and asshole of a protagonist that made me cheer for him to get fucked

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AutumnSunrise7 t1_jcyxlkw wrote

One of them would be this character named, Katsa, from the book Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I’ve read it awhile back but can still admire that character.

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runningoutoft1me t1_jd0dnsy wrote

Ove from a man called ove. Something about him just brings me so much comfort and joy

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Hefty-Emu1068 t1_jd17u47 wrote

Bilbo Baggins, Haratio Hornblower and Arthur Dent.

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