Revenge is a common plot in stories. It usually takes the form of the villain wrongs the protagonist, which causes the protagonist to want revenge on the villain. Usually, the villain will take something or kill the protagonist’s loved one. Distraught, the hero will then hone their skills, before setting out to defeat the villain once and for all, thus getting their revenge.
I’ve always found this plot to be rather destructive. The hero isn’t saving the day because it’s the right thing to do, but simply because they want revenge. It’s common for these protagonists to be portrayed as single-minded and willing to ignore others’ plights, just to get want they want.
So, why would anyone write a protagonist like that? One word: conflict. Conflict is what makes a story. Without it, what’s the point? My favorite example is “Mary walked to the store, bought some milk, and walked home.” Not a very interesting story. But, if I changed it to, “Mary walked to the store, bought some milk, and was abducted by aliens on her way home,” then suddenly the reader will be interested. How did Mary wind up on the spaceship? What will the aliens do to her? Will she ever get home? Add in revenge and now it’s a tense story of Mary trying to get revenge on the aliens for kidnapping her, while also trying to escape back home.
Revenge is not my favorite way of adding conflict, especially for a main character, but I think it’s fine for a side character. Why? Because if you give it to a main character, they’ll be obsessed with it for the whole story. I’ve seen it happen in plenty of books. But for a side character, you don’t have to worry about revenge for the whole story. Sure it’s there, but it’s usually mentioned less frequently for a side character.
On a positive note for a revenge plot, it does give the author a built in character arc. If their goal is to help the protagonist learn that there are more important things then revenge, the author can have them help others. Let’s say Steve wants revenge on Bob for murdering his wife. During the story, Steve can encounter a widow, who’s at the mercy of some lesser bad guys, who are trying to mug her. Feeling compassion toward the widow because she reminds him of his late wife, Steve can step in and defend her, thus opening him up to character development that isn’t all about revenge. Sprinkle in moments like these, so Steve becomes a better person by the end, and you have the makings of a great revenge-style story.
Revenge is one of the most common plots. It’s in Eragon, Star Wars, and even Harry Potter. Eragon wants revenge against his uncle’s killers, Luke wants revenge against his aunt and uncle’s killers, and Sirius wants revenge against Peter Pettigrew for James and Lily’s murders. Eragon, Luke, and Sirius all want revenge against their loved ones’ murderers, but all three learn that there’s more to life than revenge. They all grew and changed into better characters and people by the end. Exactly what I love to see in my heroes by the end of their stories.