Setting as Antagonist.

 Dear Reader,

Here's a concept that may sound a little weird. Your protagonist is battling against the setting to accomplish their goal. Think of the dangers of extreme weather. An ice storm, for example, is a setting/event that creates dramatic tension, especially when at night. Your protagonist is left questioning if they have sufficient supplies to weather being cut off from civilization. They are wondering if tree limbs are going to fall on their shelter and if they're going to be without heat or power. Nothing is quite like the ominous noise of freezing rain pelting a window in dead quiet after the power goes out. Time ceases to have meaning in that moment until your protagonist has a source of light and, hopefully, a clock.

A hostile environment that the protagonist has to navigate has lead to some pretty interesting narratives. If one considers the movie Cast Away (featuring Tom Hanks and a volley ball), the entire narrative is heavily influenced by the environment. The interplay between Hanks's character and the environment is emotionally charged, which is projected into the character's interactions with the volley ball. The environment as the antagonist isn't just the thing of fiction, for in reading On Walden Pond, we find that the environment is fickle and even Henry D. Thoreau isn't immune to the challenges.

Many historical narratives of catastrophic environmental events are riveting because we see humanity pitting all of their skill and wit against the most merciless opponent, nature itself. We can follow the examples that we have from historical record and put our characters into positions where they are struggling to survive with nothing but the goods in their hands, the clothes on their backs, and their wits. Such stories can be triumphant or tragic, depending on how the author chooses to write the narrative.