A story is only as good as its villain, and in the case of the historical fiction novels, The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo and The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, the antagonists drive the actions of the heroes, and move the story along. In turn, the antagonist also teaches the characters lessons necessary for them to reach their ultimate goal. Although an antagonist is traditionally seen as another character, the antagonists that these authors use are almost never human. The primary antagonists in these two novels include the setting, and society, as well as the secondary antagonist of the protagonists own mind. The author uses these as means to deter the hero from his or her ultimate goal. The most apparent antagonist within The Alchemist is the…show more content… The Alchemist and the Joy luck Club both feature another nontraditional antagonist: the protagonist’s own psyche. In the Alchemist, this antagonist manifests itself in the inner conflict that Santiago experiences. The quote, “Her I am, between my flock and my treasure, the boy thought. He had to choose between something he had become accustomed to and something he wanted.” The antagonist present in this quote is his inner doubt about his ability to face new lands, such as the desert. Coehlo describes Santiago’s choice between the unknown and the comfortable. The struggle to continue on his way towards his personal legend is the main antagonist he faces within this quote. The importance of this internal struggle is to illustrate that this internal antagonist exists within all people. The Joy Luck Club also utilizes the protagonist’s own mind as an antagonist. Tan uses this when Rose is bending to her husband’s wishes while refusing to offer her opinion which reflects the Chinese culture of flowing with the Dao, and not making ripples. This takes all her power away, and causes her to be very submissive and weak. After her husband leaves her, she reaches the final point which forces her to take control and break the cultural habits that she grows up with. When she does this she states, “I saw what I wanted: his eyes, confused, then scared. He was hulihudu. The power of my words was that strong.” When Rose realizes that her words have power, she becomes empowered and has finally overcome the antagonist that was her submissive and timid nature. Tan presents this antagonist to drive her to overcome her self doubt about challenging social norms. This is the reason that Tan uses Rose’s own mind as an antagonist, to describe how one must deal with the inner conflicts within all
