PLOT
ending that traditionally ties everything
The plot is traditionally defined as a sequence of events,
but the key ingredient here is causality. English
novelist E.M. Forster presents a memorable illustration
of plot. His example: The king died, and then the
queen died. Forster says that this is not a plot because
it lacks causality and motivation. There is no link
between the two events. Then he introduces his
modified plot: The king died, and then the queen died
because of grief. This new example shows how effects
follow causes.
The minimum requirement of a plot is a changean
initial equilibrium is upset by some force. Without this
change, there would be no story but a sketch, a mere
description of a condition or character. This change is
also known as an initiating incident / conflict.
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
Causality distinguishes carefully plotted stories because
the actions seem to logically cause what follows.
Certain narrative structures either omit or mute
causality to produce a random effect, partly to
emphasize the apparent randomness of reality.
Narrative takes many shapes. Here are three of the
most common:
1. Chronological: most stories are chronological
in that the action follows linear time.
2. Flashback: many modern stories use this
popular film technique. This involves present-
time action which is interrupted to narrate
selected past actions.
3. Nonlinear: Some stories defy time and
continuity, using instead nonlinear action. The
television series LOST has evolved from
flashback-based narrative to non-linear
storytelling with jumps to the past and future
(and future pasts).
PLOT STRUCTURE
Traditional visualizations of the plot often present this
diagram (Freytags triangle):
Exposition - the situationer, usually
introduces the character and places the setting
Rising action - the exposition of the conflict
and events that contribute to its development
Climax - the point of greatest emotion in the
story
Falling action - the events that follow the
climax
Resolution (also called denouement) - the
together though many stories may be open-
ended and unclear, subjecting the rest of the
details to speculation
NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES
Here are some ways by which writers shape the
narrative of their stories:
Coincidence chance occurrence of two
things at the same time or place
Exposition the writer provides necessary
background information the reader needs to
understand the situation in the story
Flashback a narration of the past events
within the frame of a current action
Foreshadowing hints of what to come
without giving away the ending of the story
In medias res the story begins in the midst
of things
Epiphany according Irish writer James Joyce,
this is a revelation resulting from the climax:
an event in which the essential nature of
somethinga person, a situation, an object
was suddenly perceived; in some stories, the
protagonist, but sometimes just the reader
reaches a realization and all previous
impressions fall into place
Slice of Life this is a special variety of stories
that feature a segment of the protagonists life
depicted in an objective way. Sometimes it
even seems like a mere report of trivial
incidents. The term slice of life is a direct
translation from the French, tranche de vie.
CONFLICT
A well-plotted story also depends on the conflict
between the protagonist and the antagonist. The
antagonist or the villain is either a character or an
abstract force that restricts the action of the protagonist.
The conflict may be direct, indirect, or merely
threatened.
Conflict is the struggling forces that create tension in
the story. It can be internal (within the character) or
external (among characters and their environments). In
some sources, conflict is taken as a separate element of
fiction.
Internal conflict External conflict
Here the main character is in In contrast, this kind of
conflict with himself or herself. friction occurs between
For example, a groom may be at the central character
odds with himself not because he and either another
is impetuous or lacking in his character, society, or
love for the bride, but natural forces
subconsciously is uncertain if he including fate.
can trust himself.
Entity vs. Entity
Entity vs. Oneself Entity vs. Society
(self-perception, principles, Entity vs. Nature
etc.)
CHARACTER
Characters are essential in every story for they are the
ones who perform the action. Do they take precedence
over the plot? Aristotle believes that this is clearly not
quite so: Character gives us qualities, but it is in our
actions what we do- that we are happy or the reverse.
In a play, they do not act to portray a character; they
include the characters for the sake of action.
Action and character are almost inseparable,
comprising the heart of the story. But there are times
when action dominates attention more than the
characters do. And the opposite is also true. This is why
some narratives are distinguished as plot-driven, while
others are character-driven.
One sign of the way in which character dominates
attention in the novel is the frequency of eponymous
heroes and heroines (central figures whose names are
featured in titles. This trend goes back the beginnings
of the novel in the 17th century with works like Macbeth,
Robinson Crusoe, Tom Jones, David Copperfield, Emma,
Anna Karenina. The list goes on and on, and no doubt
reflects a modern fascination with the individual.
CHARACTERIZATION
Authors use five methods of bringing their characters to
life:
1. Actions by characters
2. The authors descriptions
3. What characters themselves say dramatic statements
and thoughts
4. What other characters say
5. The authors judgment about characters when
authors speak as a storyteller or observer in the
text
VERTICAL ANALYSIS: MOTIVATION
Here is a simple story. Action A (his pleading)
Action B (her headache). At this point we move from
horizontal to vertical analysis, descending to the her
complexity. Does the headache arise out of guilt? Does
she feel that she is a cold and unsympathetic woman
who should show more concern for this poor guy? Or is
she furious to see it as an attempt to manipulate her? Or
is the headache a sign of despair at her impending
doom (the marriage)?
Every character, like each human being is affected by
causes or motives. Motivation explains or justifies why
characters act, talk, feel, the way they do. Actions of a
character should be consistent in order to properly
assess motivation. These can be external or internal.
External causes are those we learn from the characters
history or setting. Young Badoys arrogance in May Day
Eve is perhaps triggered by the norms of Spanish
colonization. A man of his stature is expected to act that
way. Even his decision to call witch what he saw in
the mirror when narrating his past to his grandson was
a show of machismo. A man would not let his guard
down when talking to a younger man who looks up to
him. The text provides evidence for this.
Yet there are times when readers have to fill the gap
because the narrative falls short. This is especially true
when probing for internal motivations. We must read
closely. We must infer. At the climax when the elder
Badoy cries after the young boy asks him if it is of
seeing the devil that grandma died, readers are left on
their own to figure out why he would cry after what
seemed to be a mutual hatred. What is the internal
cause of these tears? Does he love her passionately and
do the tears come from the knowledge that he once was
a burden for his dear Agueda?
THE QUEST FOR HAPPINESS
Most protagonists are men and women on a mission. If
they have no mission, they are likely to have a strong
sense of vision. They know who they are and what they
want. An assessment of each character (and persons)
mission and vision, as well as their approach to
achieving them, provides great insight. This is key to
understanding internal motivations.
CHARACTER AND PSYCHOLOGY
Characters can be so complex that they are termed
round or psychologically developed. Round characters
have a depth that makes it difficult for readers to judge
whether they are in the side of good or evil. In contrast,
flat characters have no hidden complexity. Flat
characters are limited to a predictable set of behaviors.
For instance, comic book characters like the Punisher is
round compared to the flat Popeye.
Some characters, such as Newt in Long Walk to Forever,
are static: they do not change. Others, such as Miss
Mijares in the Virgin, are dynamic: they change because
of what happens in the plot.
The protagonist is the central character in the narrative.
He is also often the most psychologically developed.
The protagonists opponent is often the villain or
antagonist. These two often comprise the major forces
in the story.
There is a type of protagonist who is called the antihero
for he lacks qualities that are found in traditional
heroes. Sam Witwicky in the Transformers movie is an
antihero because he embodies the male loser. He is a
pathetic and wall-eyed dork whose dazed stares are
glorified by several close-up scenes, the loyalty of ultra-
cool robots repeating that he is the most important
person in the universe, and the love of the FHMs
sexiest woman in the world.
There is also the confidant the person in whom the
protagonist confides. Conversations between the protagonist
and the confidant enable the readers to discover what the
protagonist is thinking or planning.
The foil often contrasts physically and psychologically with
the main character. Laertes was a foil to Hamlet as was Hector
to Achilles.
A stereotyped or stock character represents a category of
people. The word stereotype comes from printing and refers to
the metal mold used to mass produce duplicates of printing
type. Stereotyped characters are the dumb athlete, the nagging
wife, the absent-minded professor, the good Samaritan, the
flirt, the evil child, etc.
SETTING
In the days of King Alfred there lived a poor woman,
whose cottage was in a remote country village, many
miles from London.
Thus begins the old nursery tale, Jack and the Beanstalk.
The sentence describes the setting of the talethat is,
the time (in the days of King Alfred) and the place (a
cottage in a remote country village far from London).
From the earliest times, storytellers have opened their
narratives by telling of the setting, and generations of
children have grown up intrigued by stories that begin
with long ago in a faraway kingdom or one fine day room from the Acutes are the culls of the Combines product,
in a hut by the sea.
Setting concerns the when and where of the story. Time
and space would probably the simplest way to define
this. However, you should always take a look both at
the larger and smaller scopes concerning setting.
Time period
Time of day
Geography
Specific place/space
These arent necessarily stated but can easily be
obtained as long as you pay attention to some of the
details. An understanding of these concepts would help
you, as a reader, to understand the contexts influencing
the story.
ASPECTS OF SETTING
Setting can be general (a city in Midwest in the late
nineteenth century), specific (a three-story mansion on
Pine street in Chicago in 1885), or very detailed (the
darkened parlor of that mansion at four oclock on the
first Tuesday in December).
The authors choices are important. For example,
Shirley Jackson gives virtually no clues as to where or
when her story The Lottery is set. Examination suggests
that she wants the story to be universal, not limited by
time or place.
Setting usually functions as more than a backdrop of
the story, however. It creates certain expectations in
readers. The description of the interior of a spaceship
like the Enterprise in Star Trek triggers an entirely
different set of anticipations than does a description of
an urban street corner, a palengke, a hospital room, or a
Viking settlement.
Obviously, a writer cannot violate the limitations of the
setting. Vikings must speak and act appropriately in
their environment. Characters from a historical setting
cannot talk about the 911 attack or use 20th century
teenage language such as ewww, and whatever.
Similarly, readers would find it odd to find a 17th
century doctor talking about germs.
Regional Literature
When writers focus most or all of their writing on a
specific locality or geographic region, their writing is
sometimes known as regional literature. A closely
related term is local color, which describes a late 19th
century movement characterized by a focus on setting,
as well as customs, dialects, and attitudes of a specific
region. Manuel Arguillas Midsummer is rich with local
color.
PURPOSES OF SETTING
Influencing Action
The new man stands, looking a minute, to get the set-up of
the day room. One side of the room younger patients, known
as Acutes because the doctors figure them still sick enough to
be fixed, practice arm wrestling and card tricksAcross the
the Chronics. Not in the hospital, these to get fixed, but just to
keep them from walking around the street giving the product
a bad name.
excerpt from One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey
In the example above, the setting already provides a
clue for the key conflicts in the text. In some works of
fiction, action is so closely related to the setting that the
plot is directed by it.
Defining Character
it was so quiet and lonesome out, even though it was
Saturday night. I didnt see hardly anybody on the street. Now
and then you just saw a man and a girl crossing the street with
their arms around each others waists and all, or a bunch of
hoodlumy-looking guys and their dates, all of them laughing
like hyenas at something you could bet wasnt funny. New
Yorks terrible when somebody laughs on the street very late
at night. You can hear it for miles. It makes you feel so
lonesome and depressed.
excerpt from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Setting can help in the portrayal of the character. It can
help in defining the psychological, cultural, and
economic states of the characters, as well as their social
status.
Contributing to Mood
During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the
autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in
the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a
singularly dreary tract of country.
excerpt from The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
The mood pertains to feelings communicated by the
setting that is usually established by the description.
The description above describes a lonely atmosphere,
which depresses the narrator. In other works of Edgar
Allan Poe such as The Cask of Amontillado and The
Masque of the Red Death, the settings usually create a
tension-filled mood that adds to the stories horror.
Whatever the scene, the details of setting can influence
the action, the characterizations, and the mood of the
work. Though his words have become clich, the author
who first penned, it was a dark and stormy night had
the right idea for setting the scene for a work that
would be full of suspense.
POINT OF VIEW
Another way of describing narrators is to say that they
Every story is told by a narrator, who is created by the are reliable or unreliable. The reliable narrator can be
author and usually different from the authors voice. counted on to know the truth and reveal it to the
The narrator controls the story by talking from a reader. The unreliable narrator is a character in the
particular point of view the vantage point from story who may tell the truth or not but like any other
which an author tells a story. character, is beset with limitations and personal
prejudices that color his or her values and point of
view. The narrators in Early Autumn, May Day Eve, and
First-Person Point of View In this strategy, the
The Virgin appear reliable. We can believe what they tell
storytelling is told from the point of view of I. The I-
us. However, the narrators in Hell Screen and A Tell-Tale
narrator may be part of the action or an observer. As
Heart may not be as reliable. The narrator in the first
readers, we cannot know or witness anything the
story is biased towards the Grand Lord, while a
narrator does not tell us. We therefore share all the
madman tells latter story.
limitations of the narrator. This technique has the
advantage of a sharp and precise focus. Moreover, you
A final question is whether the narrator takes a
feel part of the story because the narrators I echoes
subjective or an objective stance. An editorial point of
the I already in your own mind.
view is intrusive, making use of a subjective narrator
who makes judgments about characters and events and
Second-Person Point of View This narrator speaks expects the reader to accept them. The objective
directly to the reader: You walk in the room and what narrator of the reportorial point of view seems to
do you see? Its Mullins again, and you say, Out. Ive present a totally neutral interpretation of events and
done with him. This point of view is rare primarily therefore does not make any judgments about the
because it is artificial and self-conscious. It seems to characters.
invite identification on the part of the reader with the
narrator, but it often fails. Point of view is important as it helps shape the theme.
In Little Red Riding Hood what happens remains
Third-Person Point of View This is the most common unchanged whether told from the wolfs point of view
narrative style, illustrated by John Cheevers The or the girls, but if we hear the story from the wolfs
Swimmer: His life was not confining and the delight he point of view, we may feel that the story is about
took in this observation could not be explained by its terrifying yet pathetic compulsive behavior; if from the
suggestion of escape. The third-person narration girls point of view, about terrified innocence.
permits the author to be omniscient (all knowing) when
necessary but also to bring the focus tightly in on the
central character by limiting observation only to what
IRONY
that character could possibly witness or recall. One
Irony is the contrast between what is expected or what
emotional effect of the technique is the acceptance of
appears to be and what actually is. It is natural to
the authority of the narrator. In essence, the narrator
human beings who are aware of lifes complexities. It is
sounds like the author.
a reflection of how life does not measure up to promise:
the best of friends are the worst enemies, the most
One of the most significant aspects of point of view is
oppressive teachers can be the most liberating, etc.
whether it is restricted or unrestricted. The question is
important regardless of which point of view is used.
Verbal Irony pertains to the contrast between what is
The restricted narrator does not know everything but
said and what is meant. A student is shocked about
restricts his or her observations about thought and
receiving a low grade in one subject and she goes
feeling to one central character or to a limited physical
around telling everyone, its my favorite subject.
area, such as the space in which a character acts. When
This student is being verbally ironic.
the narrator is the same as a character in the story, this
point of view usually respects that characters
With Situational Irony there is a disparity between
limitations: the narrator can only tell us what the
expectation and outcome. What was hoped for is
character knows.
different from what actually happens. For example,
in The Story of an Hour, instead of grief in her
However, third-person point of view can also be
husbands death, Mrs. Mallard is overjoyed.
restricted. Sometimes, the third person narration takes
o Cosmic Irony is a kind of situational irony that has
on the vantage point of one of the characters in the
something to do with chance and fate. In the TV
story. We read the story as if we are peering over the
series LOST, Hurley experiences a series of
shoulder of this character. This character is called the
unfortunate events after winning the lottery. His
central consciousness because we see what he sees
lucky numbers turn out to be cursed.
(and not sees).
Dramatic Irony results from misunderstanding and lack
The unrestricted narrator usually called omniscient
of knowledge. It happens when either a character has
often resembles the voice of the author. This narrator
no information about a situation or misjudges it, but
knows what the characters think, what they say when
readers (and some other characters) see everything
they are out of sight and what they feel. Often, this
completely and correctly. A classic example is
narrator often steps back to comment on the behavior of
Oedipus Rex everyone knows the truth even before
the characters. The omniscient point of view is usually
Oedipus knows it.
third person but not always.