Many writers believe that the protagonist should fail in three major ways throughout the story. The First, Second, and Third Act all compose, they say, of different types of failure, be it a flaw in their personality, a complicated relationship, or from a physical source. This isn’t, however, what I want to talk about: To have a character fail allows the reader to do more than understand the risks involved. It lets them feel what’s at stake. If the protagonist is harmed by one of his mistakes, we know that the danger is there instead of lurking off somewhere in the background. Furthermore, failure should bring about the best and worst your character has to offer, which is exactly what the audience paid to see.
I’ll use Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a brief example. The other character’s failure is evident throughout the film, as they’re picked off one by one by their own selfish habits. Charlie and his grandpa are nearly killed by their mistake by drinking the potion, and at the very end, we see their decision has carried further consequences when Mr. Wonka refuses to award them their prize. Of course, this lasts only for a small time, but in it we see both the despair in Charlie and the justifiable anger in Mr. Wonka. It makes their scene in the flying elevator that much more sweeter.
