Third Person Or First Person

[JDC_OnPaper]

So, after writing a chapter about one of my possible idea, I opened my computer and wrote chapter 1, I soon reread it, only to find that it could also be applied in third person, now, I'm in the middle of a viewpoint crisis on which of the two is perfect to use.

The Plot is a Mix of School life, something that resembles (Classroom of the Elite), and Some mystery and action (Let's say like the setting of Code Geass), that doesn't necessarily happen within school grounds, I read a few scenes and some books about the necessary requirements for my idea, but the problem is.

I want my MC to be both a protagonist and Antagonist, something like an 'Antihero', while he may be the protagonist (In the reader's eyes), he is an antagonist in the (Setting). So here is my crisis:

I don't know whether I should use First person or Third Person, I want him to narrate everything, but I also want him to display his personality and tendencies, like suddenly doing random things (So to confuse the readers) all the while not making it obvious, like "Oh, I'll do this to intimidate my opponent," Get me?

So, um, if there is any professionals, can you please give me some advice?

 

[Armored99]

do both, abuse the readers with your writing til they develop Stockholm syndrome

 

[CupcakeNinja]

So, after writing a chapter about one of my possible idea, I opened my computer and wrote chapter 1, I soon reread it, only to find that it could also be applied in third person, now, I'm in the middle of a viewpoint crisis on which of the two is perfect to use.

The Plot is a Mix of School life, something that resembles (Classroom of the Elite), and Some mystery and action (Let's say like the setting of Code Geass), that doesn't necessarily happen within school grounds, I read a few scenes and some books about the necessary requirements for my idea, but the problem is.

I want my MC to be both a protagonist and Antagonist, something like an 'Antihero', while he may be the protagonist (In the reader's eyes), he is an antagonist in the (Setting). So here is my crisis:

I don't know whether I should use First person or Third Person, I want him to narrate everything, but I also want him to display his personality and tendencies, like suddenly doing random things (So to confuse the readers) all the while not making it obvious, like "Oh, I'll do this to intimidate my opponent," Get me?

So, um, if there is any professionals, can you please give me some advice?

Third person may lead you to reveal information you dont want out yet because the narrator knows everything. And as such so will readers.

Keeping it first person means readers only know what the character knows.

If you arent experience in writing whimsical, sadistic or random characters this may be troublesome, though. Just remember that you dont need the character to explain everything to the reader. Or even anything. His actions and the reactions of others in response can let us know why he did that.

Your biggest mistake would be to assume your readers are dumb.

If your character suddenly starts stripping and jerking off during a fight, and that creates an opening to exploit as the opponent is weirded the fuck out...we'll know that was the entire reason for doing something so insane.

 

[Anon_Y_Mousse]

If you want your story to focus on the reactions of one character, do first person. If you want your story to feature how characters react to each other, do third person. Please don't do second person.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

I personally use third person because it offers more flexibility, but do what feels right to you.

 

[Echimera]

I want my MC to be both a protagonist and Antagonist, something like an 'Antihero', while he may be the protagonist (In the reader's eyes), he is an antagonist in the (Setting).

Ah, the ever growing conundrum that people, especially readers/consumers, can't differentiate between the perspective a story is told from, or the main-character(s) and their role(s) in the story.
We're so used to the protagonist being the 'hero' that the words have almost become synonymous in the eye of the uninformed.

The word you are looking for is either villain-protagonist or antihero-protagonist, depending on what your protagonist actually does.
Is he plain evil, then it's villain-protagonist, if he's ultimately good, but really really not nice and would rather do his own thing instead of saving the world (which he begrudgingly does because doing his own thing is kind of hard in an unsaved world), then it's more antihero-protagonist.

On the other side, especially if it's a villain-protagonist, you'd have a hero-antagonist (or more).

To the main question:
First person lends itself to following the thought process of your protagonist, but you're not forced to do that. You can still use first person and keep it to the actions that your protagonist does without having the thoughts behind them presented to the readers.
You could use some in-universe framing and have the narration also be the personal log of your protagonist, which he leaves vague in case it gets in the wrong (from his perspective) hands to explain inconsistencies.

Third person would make it easier to switch between POV characters, but it doesn't sound like it's something you have planned.

But, here me out, have you considered second person?
Probably not a good fit for what you have in mind, but it can hit really hard if done right.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

I want my MC to be both a protagonist and Antagonist, something like an 'Antihero', while he may be the protagonist (In the reader's eyes), he is an antagonist in the (Setting). So here is my crisis:

I don't know whether I should use First person or Third Person, I want him to narrate everything, but I also want him to display his personality and tendencies, like suddenly doing random things (So to confuse the readers) all the while not making it obvious, like "Oh, I'll do this to intimidate my opponent," Get me?

So, um, if there is any professionals, can you please give me some advice?

Not a professional.

If you want him to narrate everything, you could try first person. And develop his dialogue/actions/descriptions he has about or with other characters to show his personality coming through. Tendencies can also be displayed by how other characters have come to view him as when interacting with the mc.

Protagonist and an antagonist...an antihero....my mind instantly deviates to deadpool.

You could also have an unreliable narrator. Like for example, the protagonist in the Catcher in the Rye. Really depends how you play with your story.

 

[BlackKnightX]

So, after writing a chapter about one of my possible idea, I opened my computer and wrote chapter 1, I soon reread it, only to find that it could also be applied in third person, now, I'm in the middle of a viewpoint crisis on which of the two is perfect to use.

The Plot is a Mix of School life, something that resembles (Classroom of the Elite), and Some mystery and action (Let's say like the setting of Code Geass), that doesn't necessarily happen within school grounds, I read a few scenes and some books about the necessary requirements for my idea, but the problem is.

I want my MC to be both a protagonist and Antagonist, something like an 'Antihero', while he may be the protagonist (In the reader's eyes), he is an antagonist in the (Setting). So here is my crisis:

I don't know whether I should use First person or Third Person, I want him to narrate everything, but I also want him to display his personality and tendencies, like suddenly doing random things (So to confuse the readers) all the while not making it obvious, like "Oh, I'll do this to intimidate my opponent," Get me?

So, um, if there is any professionals, can you please give me some advice?

I’m not a professional, but I’m gonna voice my opinion anyway~ ?

1st person POV:
- Intimate
- Feel like playing a game

3rd person POV:
- Can show how cool and badass your mc is!
- Feel like watching a movie