# Let's name & discuss stories in which the title character is not the protagonist. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924 "2010-03-18T19:25:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/41 "2010-03-18T23:01:02Z")
Raising Arizona. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/42 "2010-03-18T23:03:00Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’d not count that myself. If I recall aright, there is no character named Alice B. Toklas in that film. > > To reiterate: I’m looking for stories in which one of the characters’ is mentioned by name in the title, yet that character is not the main character. Stories in which a proper name is part of the title, but no one of that name figures in the story, are not what I seek. My bad - I thought for sure there was a character in that movie that was suppsoed to be Alice B Toklas. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/43 "2010-03-18T23:03:35Z")
Philip K. Dick’s _The Man in the High Castle._ The character described by the title doesn’t appear until the very end. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/44 "2010-03-18T23:04:13Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > My bad - I thought for sure there was a character in that movie that was suppsoed to be Alice B Toklas. Fear not. Rhymers are easy-going and not given to ranting. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/45 "2010-03-18T23:05:50Z")
I’ve got one, it just so happens to be my favorite movie of all time: _Dr. Strangelove or; How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb_. The titular Dr. Strangelove actually has a relatively minor roll in the story, albeit a hilarious one. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/46 "2010-03-18T23:12:26Z")
_Waiting For Godot_ ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/47 "2010-03-18T23:14:43Z")
And, it just occurred to me, _The Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Luke The Gopel of John_ ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/48 "2010-03-18T23:18:01Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > And, it just occurred to me, > > _The Gospel of Matthew > The Gospel of Mark > The Gospel of Luke > The Gopel of John_ I thought of those when I opened the thread. They’re odd cases, though, as I seriously doubt their authors thought of them by those names (even in Greek or Hebrew). ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/49 "2010-03-18T23:51:22Z")
Does Charlie’s Angels count? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/50 "2010-03-18T23:54:31Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > Does Charlie’s Angels count? I wouldn’t think so. Charlie’s Angels are the stars of the show. ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/51 "2010-03-19T00:16:24Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I wouldn’t think so. Charlie’s Angels are the stars of the show. But Charlie is not. I wasn’t which way that would go. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/52 "2010-03-19T00:32:02Z")
Alien Jaws King Kong Saving Private Ryan Jesus Christ, Superstar (I think the main character was Judas) Amadeus Twelve Monkeys Rosemary’s baby Sleuth (I presume the title refers to the character played by Alec Cawthorne) The Lady Vanishes ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/53 "2010-03-19T00:34:50Z")
There was a recent thread here about the Nabokov novel _Lolita_, whose protagonist (and narrator) is, of course, not Lolita herself but Humbert Humbert. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/54 "2010-03-19T00:38:13Z")
I dunno, it seems to me that Jaws and King Kong were the main characters. If I were to give the one-sentence summary of either of those movies, I’d surely mention the big animal, but not necessarily any particular human. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/55 "2010-03-19T00:38:15Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Alien > Jaws > King Kong > Saving Private Ryan > Jesus Christ, Superstar (I think the main character was Judas) > Amadeus > Twelve Monkeys > Rosemary’s baby > Sleuth (I presume the title refers to the character played by Alec Cawthorne) > The Lady Vanishes I don’t think “twelve monkeys” is the name of a character in the movie. JCS I’m ambivalent about. I can go either way on whether Jesus or Judas is the protagonist, but there’s an argument to make either way. With King Kong I’d say you’re just plain wrong. It’s Kong we’re meant to identify with just as much as Ann Darrow. Certainly it’s not the filmmaker. Since there is no character named “Sleuth” or “Lady” in the last two movies, I’d count those out as well. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/56 "2010-03-19T00:50:33Z")
I thought that post would get you ranting for sure. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/57 "2010-03-19T00:52:29Z")
_Moby-Dick_ (the protagonist is Ishmael) ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/58 "2010-03-19T01:00:40Z")
The novel _The Lightning Thief_. Percy Jackson is the main character and is accused of being the titular thief but the actual thief is a minor character whose identity isn’t even revealed until the last chapter. The movie adaptation, on the other hand, doesn’t count, as it was released with the unwieldy title _Percy Jackson and the Olympians:The Lightning Thief:A Quinn Martin Production_ or something like that. _Terror of Mechagodzilla_ - Nobody but the big G is the protagonist of any of those flicks. Sure, there’s a bunch of ineffectual scientists and military guys wasting most of the screen time, but Godzilla is the star. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/59 "2010-03-19T01:34:58Z")
**Being John Malkovich**. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924/60 "2010-03-19T01:58:16Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Since there is no character named “Sleuth” or “Lady” in the last two movies, I’d count those out as well. They are descriptions. And there are plenty of other descriptions in this thread that you didn’t object to, e.g. The Merchant Of Venice, The Thin Man, The Third Man, and so on. I’d say that Sleuth and Lady are as valid as they are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-discuss-stories-in-which-the-title-character-is-not-the-protagonist/532924.md?page=4)