Vladimir Propp - Narrative Theories

Propp's Theory - 

Spheres of action is a main thing that Propp said and he also said that their is seven main characters to make up this narrative. 

1. The Hero - This is normally the central character of the text. Also they are the character that saves normally the girl who is in trouble. For example a hero would be like Spider-man because he saves everyone in the movie 'Spider-man' compared to just leaving them to suffer. 

2. The Villain - The character is normally an evil and some how damaged character that is trying to ruin anything the hero is saving etc. They normally kidnap's a character the hero normally loves or wants to save. For example a villain would be like Voldemort in Harry Potter who just wants to hurt and destroy Harry. 

3. The Donor - The donor gives the hero sometime to aid them on their journey to ‘save the day’ and restore justice. It may be physical like a weapon or could be something like a magical power. For example in The Hunger Games Haymitch gives Katniss weapons and so he’s giving her something physical to help her complete the hunger games and start the revolution.

4. The Helper - This is normally the character that aids the hero on their journey and is usually the comic of the whole performance. For example buttons in Cinderella because he is there throughout the play and he always helps Cinderella but he isn't the main main character. 

5. The Princess - The princess is normally female and is the prime victim of the villain and has to be saved at the climax of the film. This creates the ‘damsel in distress’ situations seen in many films. A really stereotypical example is Princess Fiona in Shrek as she needs to be saved by the Hero and in this story it is ‘Shrek’ from the Villain ‘Lord Farquad’.

6. The Dispatcher - This character is the one who is normally wise and clever and decides where and when the hero should go for their mission. For example Gandalf in The Lord of The Rings trilogy as he sends Frodo Baggins on his mission.

7. The False Hero - The false hero is a character that everyone in the audience believes to be good when matter of fact he is secretly evil. An example of this the prince in Frozen everyone believes he is very nice and a good prince when he actually turns out to be evil. The opposite of this is Snape's character in Harry Potter everyone believes that he is evil when really he actually turns out to be good and a hero all along.