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Unit two: The plot and the Character
Reading: O. Henry,
The Gift of the Magi
Plot
?
A
plot
is
a
plan
or
groundwork
for
a
story,
based
on
conflicting
human
motivations,
with
the
actions resulting from
believable and realistic human
responses.
?
“The
king died, and then the queen died.”
?
“The king died,
and then the queen died of grief.”
Conflict in plot
Fictional
human
responses
are
brought
out
to
their
highest
degree
in
the
development
of
a
conflict. In its most elemental form, a
conflict is the opposition of two people. They may
fight, argue,
enlist
help
against
each
other,
and
otherwise
carry
on
their
opposition.
Conflicts
may
also
exist
between
larger
groups
of
people,
between
an
individual
and
larger
forces,
such
as
natural
objects,
ideas,
modes
of
behavior,
public
opinion,
and
the
like.
The
existence of
difficult
choices
within
an
individual’s mind may also be presented
as conflict.
External Conflict
External
conflict
may
take
the
form
of
a
basic
opposition
between
man
and nature
,
or
between
man
and
society
.
It
may
also
take
the
form
of
an
opposition
between
man
and
man
(between
the
protagonist and
a human adversary, the
antagonist.
Internal
Conflict
?
Internal
conflict,
on
the
other
hand,
focuses
on
two
or
more
elements
contesting
within
the
protagonist’s own
character.
?
Some
conflicts, in fact, are never made explicit and
must be inferred by the reader from what the
characters
do
or
say
as
the
plot
unfolds,
as
is
the
case
in
Ernest
Hemingway’s
Hills
like
White
Elephants
.
Five Stages of Plot (1)
?
Exposition:
the
exposition
is
the
beginning
section
in
which
the
author
provides
the
necessary
background
information,
sets
the
scene,
establishes
the
situation,
and
dates
the
action.
It
usually
introduces the characters and the
conflict, or at least the potential for conflict.
Five Stages of Plot (2)
?
Complication:
The complication, which is sometimes referred to
as the rising action, develops and
intensifies the conflict.
?
Crisis:
the
crisis (also referred to as the climax) is that
moment at which the plot reaches its point of
greatest emotional intensity; it is the
turning point of the plot, directly precipitating
the resolution.
Five Stages of Plot (3)
?
Falling action:
Once the crisis, or turning point, has been
reached, the tension subsides and the plot
moves toward its conclusion.
?
Resolution:
It
is
the
final
section
of
the
plot
which
records
the
outcome
of
the
conflict
and
establishes
some
new
equilibrium.
The
resolution
is
also
referred
to
as
the
conclusion
or
the
denouement, the latter a
Frenc
h word meaning “unknotting” or
“untying”.
The
Ordering of Plot (1)
?
The
customary way of ordering the episodes or events
in a plot is to present them chronologically,
i.e., in the order of their occurrence
in time.