Anthropomorphic Protagonists

While reading through my current book of Treasure Planet, I found out quite early on that our protagonist is human. Of course, that’s not at all a surprise. Aside from having him featured on the cover itself, it’s not at all uncommon to see human protagonists in anthropomorphic literature. Heck, think of the simplest examples such as Winnie the Pooh. Pooh is usually the story’s primary protagonist, of course, but Christopher Robin is still a central focus and the character that I think most children reading or seeing the stories will most easily relate to.

That thought brought me to a curiosity question, a simple question that has no other purpose than to make the mind wander and muse for a bit and maybe lead to discussion:

How necessary is a human protagonist in anthropomorphic literature?

In another book I’ve been reading, The Writer’s Digest Guide to Science Fiction & Fantasy, there is a section of the book on writing stories with alien languages and how to help your audiences understand and relate to the language. It’s truly interesting stuff! However, there seems to be an underlying idea of making your characters primarily speaking English, simply because readers respond better when they aren’t tripping over new words AND a new story.

I’ve noticed that, in many modern day science fiction books that I’ve seen with an anthropomorphic element, the main character is human, serving as someone for us to relate to as we take in all this information about a new and alien place. If we look at it like the issue of language I just mentioned, then that makes perfect sense to make the story as accessible as it can be… But where does that leave anthropomorphic antagonists? Are they still perfectly fine starting points for new readers?

I remember relating quite easily to Mole in The Wind in the Willows, and all the crazy adventures his friends would take him on. I also suspect many kids who read Redwall related heavily to Mathias as he learned about the history of the abbey and came into being a hero.

Why don’t we see these protagonists more, though? Is it just coincidence, or do most readers really have trouble identifying with a character unless he’s human like them?  Do you have any favorite anthropomorphic heroes?

A classic non-human protagonist!

Have a wonderful week all, and good reading!

-Chammy

Book currently being read:

Treasure Planet by Hal Colebatch & Jessica Q. Fox

A not-so-wild Chammy Appears!

Hello there!

Do you have a favorite genre of literature? A subject that you just can’t get enough of, or a favorite book that you just can’t stop reading over and over again?

If so, welcome to the club! I’m sure we’d have t-shirts if we could just pull ourselves away from our favorite media for long enough to make them.

My name is Chammy, and I have a personsal addiction to anthropomorpic media.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, anthropomorphic means something along the lines of “giving human-like traits, often to non-human things”. Bugs Bunny is an anthropomorphic rabbit, Mater (from ‘Cars’) is an anthropomorphic truck, Ronald MacDonald is an anthropomorphic clown (they only LOOK human to fool you…), and so on. When I use it in this blog, though, I’m almost always talking about anthropomorphic animals.

I have a real passion for books and comics with animal protagonists. The Wind in the Willows, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Redwall… These are among some of my favorite books to read. I suppose it comes from a childhood spent watching Disney and Don Bluth movies, playing Sonic the Hedgehog games, and generally being surrounded by fluffy, or even scaled, media figures.

It’s because of this passion that I’ve started this blog! My goal? To read anthropomorphic fiction that I have never read before, and to muse lightly on it and see what can be learned or enjoyed. Why am I so set on doing this? Well, as I said above, this type of media is my passion. However, my other reason is that I am a writer of anthropomorphic fiction myself. If I wish to improve on my craft, I need to see other examples of it, both good and poor! Stephen King says that a writer needs to read often in order to stay on top of his craft, and I agree.

There won’t be much of a strict model to this blog, but it does take me a little while to read most books. My plan is to post some general thoughts on the subject matter, post an update of what I’m reading (and why), and then post my thoughts on the book as a whole and hopefully recommend it to any readers we gain along the way here!

I do hope that any who read this enjoy the ride and are willing to suggest new books for me to check out, as well as share their own thoughts on whatever we’re reading at the time. Think of it like a Furry Reading Group!

Best of luck to you all, and good reading!

-Chammy

Book currently being read:

Treasure Planet by Hal Colebatch & Jessica Q. Fox