Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Annie Dillard

This one's easy: When you've got a book with only one character, you know that character's the protagonist. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is Dillard's memoir of a year spent looking at stuff in the woods, and the stuff she sees is the stuff we see. We're inside her head for the entire book, and we're dependent on her senses to experience the creek. When she sees a tree, we see a tree; when she stalks a muskrat, we stalk a muskrat; when she pets a puppy, we pet a puppy; when she collects mantis egg cases and puts them in her pockets—well, then she's on her own. Call us crazy, but we prefer our pants bug-free.