Who is the Hero of Megillat Ruth?

Who is the hero of Megillat Ruth? Through a close reading of the megillah, we notice that many of the characters qualify as the central figure of the story. This lecture analyzes the characters and illustrates the various ways of determining the protagonist in different types of literary compositions through a series of textual indicators. We then apply these criteria to Megillat Ruth in an attempt to understand who the hero of the megillah is.