A protagonist in a story is usually the main character. They interact in most parts of the story and are a big part of what you read. There can be other characters in the story that can conflict with the main character but you can tell which one is the more important. In the short creation

myth, “The world on the Turtle’s Back”, and the two coyote stories, “Coyote and the Buffalo” and “Fox, Coyote, and Whale,” there are many characters to compare and contrast to see the similarities or differences in their actions.

The most compatible characters from these stories would have to be the Coyote and the Left-handed twin. They are obviously very deceitful and sneaky in their own ways. For example, the Left-handed twin is always in competition with his Right-handed twin brother. Whenever his brother would work hard to make good, he would work even harder to make evil prevail. He always though of things to work against what his brother believed was right. The Coyote is the same way. He is very conniving and doesn’t really pay much attention to those around him. He would rather do things his way without thinking of the consequences to come after.

These two characters also are the shadows or “helpers” to other main characters. For instance, the Left-handed twin would make no action until his brother would do something. Similarly, for the Coyote, in the “Fox, Coyote, and Whale” story, he would always support his friend, the Fox. He followed him to the places he went to look for his wife and encouraged him to never stop looking. They were both in a sense, shadows, of other characters.

The twin brothers would be an example of different qualities. They have nothing in common except from being born of the same mother. They disagree on everything and are very aggressive with each other when it comes to who creates the finest things. The Left-handed twin is very stubborn and doesn’t stop and listen to anyone he believes is wrong, while on the other hand, the Right-handed twin is respectable and very truthful. He believes in what is right for the Earth and believes that lying is a sin. Although these two characters are very opposite, they can balance out the story in a good way because it would be too boring to just read one side. It’s always good to hear both sides of the story.

In conclusion, the protagonist in each story plays a great part in understanding the meaning of the stories and getting the general ideas of the events that take place in the story. It’s not always good to focus all your attention on one characters’ view because you want to get the all-around opinions of each character even if it’s not the main character. The Coyote really related to the Left-handed twin just because of his reputation of their reputation of being bad. The right handed twin related most to the Buffalo because the Buffalo was forgiving and also giving enough to give the Coyote his youngest cow. All these stories have great characters and even greater character point of views.