Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Danny Torrance

We'd like to say that Jack Torrance is the protagonist of this movie, but it'd be a bit weird to list the same person as protagonist and antagonist, and Jack definitely has the second of these roles all sewed up.

So now we're left with Danny, whom we spend much of the movie rooting for. On top of that, Danny makes a good protagonist because it's always cool when a main character has a superpower, and Danny has the special "shining" power that allows him to see things other people can't and to communicate using only his mind.

When he uses his skills to defeat his insane father in the hedge maze at the end of the movie, it's pretty clear that we're supposed to be happy about the whole thing. So here's to you, Danny Torrance. Here's to you.