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Greetings, friends! From the realm of... *fishes around for the topic I had picked and nabs it triumphantly* The Sidekick!
We all know 'em. From Olaf the magical snowman of Frozen, to Sherlock Holmes' Dr. John Watson, to the iconic Little John from Robin Hood, sidekicks seem to be an indispensable part of literary culture. They don't just stay on the protagonist's side, either. In fact, villain sidekicks may be even more prevalent and more stereotyped than their "good-guy" counterparts.
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Sidekicks are the protagonist's constant or near-constant companion. They act as a mainstay or a cheerleader when he's down in the dumps. They are the supportive, quietly optimistic character who's often delegated with comic relief.
Now while this trope can be messed up, or "done straight" (i.e. done in the most typical way) to the point of pure dullness, it's one of the best out there. Without it, we'd have a truckload of unimaginably lonesome protagonists dragging around and moodily saving the world, only to wonder why they even bothered, since what've they got to live for? The fact is, most of us have friends, of one stripe or another. And if we don't, we're pretty sunk. It's no wonder that main characters want their share of best friends, too!
This trope blocks off into a couple main types. They can be combined or meshed, but for simplicity's sake we'll just look at these three.
> The first one is the Mossgatherer type. The guy is perfectly content where he is. He's a homebody, often in contrast to the main character, who's off being things and accomplishing things. More often than not, he just doesn't seem to know what to do with his life. Even if he has a job of some kind, you get the sense that he waits for life to come to him rather than reaching out and grabbing it by the nose.
> Then we have the Cheery type. This buddy is a ray of sunshine. He's unfailingly (and sometimes irksomely) optimistic, fans the enthusiasm when all hope seems lost, and is remembered for his comedic lines and funny banter.
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