Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Childan

Clearly Childan's the protagonist here, since he faces one of the most momentous decisions: whether or not to exploit the EdFrank Jewelry as silly trinkets or to honor this work as authentic American art.

Frank Frink

No, wait, we take it back: Frank Frink is clearly the protagonist, since he's got the most to lose. Not only does he run the risk of losing his whole business if his jewelry doesn't sell, but he runs the risk of losing his life if the Germans find out that he's Jewish.

Tagomi

Wait, what about Tagomi? Clearly he's a protagonist. First, he faces one of the biggest awakenings of the book when he learns that there are other timelines out there, including timelines where the Axis didn't win. Second, he ties together most of the book: he buys from Childan, he appreciates Frink's jewelry, and he helps Baynes with his spy work.

Juliana Frink

OK, now you're just adding protagonists to make our life difficult, aren't you, Philip K. Dick? Yes, Juliana Frink is the protagonist of her own story. Yes, she faces a danger that's almost as bad as Frank's danger and she comes to understand as much about the world as Tagomi.

Baynes… ?

Actually, Baynes isn't very much of a protagonist. Sure, he's the one who drives forward the spy plot, but his character doesn't change much. He doesn't really face any momentous decisions. And he's in some danger, but no more than Tagomi or the Frinks. So we give him one star out of four on our protagonist scale.