Protagonists

I have been thinking about who qualifies as the Protagonist in my most recent novel, The Bicycle Wheel Genius.  I have to ponder this because the title character, the inventor Orben Wallace, doesn’t actually seem to be the center of his own story.  Instead, it is the boy who lives next door that is learning about life, adventure, girls, and imagination.  In the novel, the inventor has taken a vow to never use electronic devices if he didn’t have to because it was an electromagnetic invention that went awry in his laboratory and started the house fire that killed his wife and son.  So he tries to invent things with pedal power and tries to forget the wife and son he lost.  But it happens that Tim Kellogg, the inquisitive boy next door, not only reminds him of the lost son, but he actively tries to learn about Orben and make friends with him.  Tim has a best friend, Tommy Bircher, who shares in his adventures and always stands by his side.  But Tommy’s parents are involved in an international business that moves them away from Tim.  He has to deal with the loss of his best friend.  At the same time, his new best friend, Mike Murphy, has discovered girls.  One particular girl, Blueberry Bates, is in love with him and captures his young heart.  So naturally Tim is upset, and so tries to get back at the girl who took his replacement best friend.  He has to learn to understand an appreciate the girl and her needs better.  Tim and Orben desperately need to be friends with each other, and through shared adventures, they discover that the bond between them is very powerful.  So, I have to conclude that Orben is not really the protagonist of his own story.  He is not the one who has to learn something and fundamentally change.  And Tim Kellogg begins and ends the story, just as he does in this post.