Protagonist in The Life Changer by Khadija Abubakar Jalli – JAMB
Who is the protagonist in The Life Changer by Khadija Abubakar Jalli? The protagonist or the main character in the new JAMB novel, the Life Changer by Khadija Abubakar Jalli is Salma.
Most webpages will tell you that Ummi Ahmed is the protagonist but that is not true. The reason behind this is that Ummi is just a narrator and the story does not revolve around her. She can only be classified as one of the major characters who played a major role in the book but that does not make her the protagonist.
Are you still confused about who the main character or protagonist is? Now let us clear it up.
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Who is a protagonist in a book?
In simple terms, a protagonist is the main character or one of the major characters in a book. His actions gives rise to another action which keeps the plot (storyline) unfolding.
According to Wikipedia, “the protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles“.
Salma and Ummi Ahmed are both major characters but whose decisions affected the plot mostly? Let us treat this question by examining some of their decisions in the novel. Before we proceed, answer this question: whose life does the the Life Changer story revolve around?
Who is the Protagonist in the Life Changer by Khadija Abubakar Jalli?
Ummi Ahmed is the narrator who narrated the whole event to his children. She first met Salma during their registration where she (Ummi Ahmed) described Salma as a fair complexioned and sophisticated girl. At the same point, Salma was having a conversation with one of the admission officers who she didn’t have any knowledge about. She was seen using various unfriendly words to describe lecturers.
The whole story which Ummi Ahmed told cut across Salma’s life in school ranging from registration period to her admission into a hostel where she met her three friends (Tomiwa, Ada and Ngozi), how she met Habib and Lawal, how she was caught in examination hall engaging in malpractice, how she went to sort her way back to school, how she was robbed and how her life changed for good. In some of these places, Ummi was involved.
As one of the major characters and narrator of the novel, she narrated what she knew about, and in one way or the other involved. Her decisions also affected the plot but not as Salma’s decisions did. So, both are the class of major characters but not protagonist.
Now that you have seen all these things, who is the protagonist in The Life Changer story book?
Salma is the protagonist because her decisions affected the plot majorly. Salma’s life also portrayed the name of the novel (The Life Changer). This is in Salma’s school life and how she changed for good after suffering misfortunes as a result of her bad character.
The whole story was prompted by one statement which Ummi made to her son that University is a Life Changer. So, Ummi, while trying to prove how true that statement is, she starts to narrate the whole story.
Since Salma is the protagonist, who is Ummi Ahmed?
Ummi is the narrator of the story and one of the major characters in the book. Her full name is Ummi Ahmed. Her decision also affected the storyline greatly. She can also he seen to narrate the story from the omniscient point of view who knows everything about the protagonist and can narrate everything related to him/her. Don’t forget that these things do not make her a protagonist.
I hope this article clears up your doubts concerning The Life Changer protagonist or narrator. If you have any contribution or questions, do well to drop them in the comment section.