Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

David Small

This book's a memoir, which means we're reading the story of the author's life, so it's easy to identify the protagonist. This is the story of David's life from age six to age thirty, pivoting around the cancer he survives in childhood. We see where his cancer comes from, how it progresses, what happens when he has surgery to remove it, and the aftermath of said surgery. In this case, the protagonist has two main obstacles—his cancer and his family—and both are major forces to be reckoned with.