Dune -The Protagonist

Here is a masterpiece in world building. Written in 1965, and still read and filmed. Frank Herbert has done it right. And the first thing this book sells is the protagonist.

His hero is epic.

This is not just a 15-year-old tossed around by changes in his father's fortunes. If this was the case, the entire plot could be classed as a Young Adult novel and disappear into obscurity.

However, Paul Atrides is somebody important. Mythical. Somebody about whom books have been written. The first paragraph of Dune is a quote about him from 'Manual of Muad'Dib' by the Princess Irulan. Even the book's author is important.

He has other titles apart from Muad'Dib. He is a Duke's son and heir. He is descended from one of the Bene Gesserit, who are women of vast power and secret abilities. His mother's lineage is unknown at first, but appears important, and we are left to wonder.

He is told he might be Kwisatz Haderach, who can look into both feminine and masculine paths, and it does not stop the reader believing this when he is told that he is unlikely to be so, and that those who tried all died.

He is told that with the right training, he could be a mentat - a highly trained human computer. He has  received early training, and all he needs to do is continue to learn.

He can tell if somebody is telling the truth. There is very little explanation for that, apart from the curious powers of Bene Gesserit and possibly the influence of the bloodlines.

When he arrives at Dune, he is hailed as Mahdi and Lisan al-Gaib. The full meaning of these titles isn't entirely clear, though I recall Arabs calling their prophets Mahdi. He fits the legends. Legends that have been planted by Bene Gesserit as protective measures. That is rational. But he fits the myths too well, and the story shifts into a myth itself. Subtly enough not to annoy the rational. Significantly enough to satisfy our hunger for depth.


All of this in the first 120 pages of a 550 page book. One would think that Herbert spreads it rather thick.

And yet, as a reader, I swallowed all this specialness of Paul and I want more.

And yet, the15 year so far only watched and stood still in the face of pain. No proactive action yet in the first 120 pages of the book. But he is now a monumental character in my mind. I want to find out what he will do in the future. I have been promised that he will do great things. 

 

We don't want our hero to be an ordinary Joe with an umbrella, taking his dog for a walk.

We want the legend.

 

--

The hero is special, be it by his birth (a king, a prince, a magician, of the royal bloodline), by destiny

(the chosen one, in one way or another), or by ability (the only one who can achieve the feat). 


Paul Atreides ticks all the boxes, and more than once.

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