A lecture on plot, with some points about characterization.

1. Introduction to Plot
In Essay #2, due at the end of Week 6, we react
to one piece from weeks 4-6 and reflect on how
Setting, Plot and/or Characterization work alone
or together to help create that reaction.
Up to 25 Extra Points for detailed Compare-
Contrast of a 2nd piece (student choice).
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2. Can they survive this!?
We care what happens next (plot)
because the characters are believable
and likable enough (characterization)
to care about in the first place.

3. Do you like stories that
have a count down, as in
Independence Day? If so,
you like your fiction with a
strong plot: There’s a
deadline, a ticking bomb,
a rush to overcome
obstacles by the time X
happens. In Independence
Day, X is just the
annihilation of the whole
human race. No pressure.
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Pieces that rely more on tone and style –
film critics use the term atmospheric –
may rely less on plot. It Comes at Night
has been called a very atmospheric film.

4. Yes pressure! Plot likes pressure. Plot needs
suspense. A good plot keeps the reader/viewer
wondering what’s going to happen. If you know the
ending, it’s spoiled for you, right? Because suspense
is a big part of the pleasure.
If you knew in advance that “Raymond’s Run”
would end with Hazel less concerned with winning,
the story would still work as well as it worked for
you. In that story, it’s more about style, tone and
hearing the voice of the main character than it is
about What Happens Next. There’s no pressure.
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5. The opening words of Neil Gaiman’s novel
Stardust, which was made into a film of the
same title, states a (fantasy) fact that should
make readers’ curious:
“Chapter One, in which we learn of the
village of Wall and of the curious thing that
occurs there every nine years.”
Well what happens every nine years? We don’t
know. So we read on.
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6. Plot is a mechanism
moving the story forward. The parts:
 Foreshadowing – Hinting at what is to come, building
suspense, giving signs and messages to the audience
that the characters may miss or dismiss.
 Exposition – Background details & other information
needed for the story to be plausible. Usually but not
always at the start. Might be in a flashback.
 Obstacles & Conflicts – Problems characters face as
they move toward goals or away from dangers.
 Climax – Highest point of suspense, tension, danger.
 Resolution –After the climax. Questions resolved. The
cool down time, the marriage, the dessert. Usually
short.
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7. Foreshadowing
Writers and film makers try to hook our interest by creating suspense. They find
ways to hint at something amazing/scary/shocking/strange etc. to come. In
“Popular Mechanics” the tone with which the setting is described foreshadows
problems to come. “Early that day the weather turned. [...] Cars slushed by on
the street outside, where it was getting dark. But it was getting dark on the inside
too.” The period mark before the “But,” where Carver might have used a comma,
emphasizes the sentence and subtly accentuations the suspenseful tone.
In “The Story of an Hour” (a very short story we’re not reading this semester) the
first sentence announces that the main character, though young, has heart
trouble. Oh and her husband has just been in a train wreck. Oh and they are
about to tell her. What will happen? We read on, or we should if the author has
managed to get us even a little interested in the character.
In “A Doll’s House,” we learn 2 things about the couple right away: One of them
hates debt, and the other has secretly gone into deep debt. Emotional fireworks
to come!
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8. Foreshadowing in Get Out
In the very suspenseful recent film Get Out even
the title foreshadows what’s to come. In addition,
the main character’s best friend warns him not to
go to the country. And yet he goes. Someone there
screams at him, “Get out!” And yet he stays. The
disturbing details pile up until he realizes he has to
get out. Now. And then he can’t.
No wonder the film has such a high rating on Green
Tomatoes. It keeps warning us that something is
going to happen, and then something happens.
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9. Exposition
Exposition is background information that helps the plot make sense. In
sci-fi movies, there’s often an expert who explains things to a main
character early in the story so we can be filled in too. We need enough
information for things to feel plausible, but not so much that we feel
bogged down. Stories need exposition but it can get in the way of
suspense.
Get Out gives the needed exposition brilliantly by way of a promotional
sales video made by the mad scientists holding him prisoner. In it, he and
we find out exactly what they intend to do to him.
In Independence Day, we learn the background about David’s ex-wife in a
conversation he has with his father before the aliens arrive and clock starts
ticking. We wouldn't want to get the exposition while the clock is ticking.
That would be a boring distraction and artificial. We want to already have
the needed background before the plot gets tense.
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10. Obstacles & Conflicts
Another way writers create suspense and increase excitement
is to place Obstacles and Conflicts in the characters’ way.
To use Independence Day again, the Jeff Goldblum character,
David Levinson, discovers the timer counting down to what he
realizes is an alien invasion. He's in New York. He must get to
the president in D.C. to warn him. But, oh no, he doesn’t know
how to drive (obstacle). He finds his father, who does know
how to drive and they head for D.C. But everyone is leaving
D.C. so . . . traffic (obstacle). They get there finally. BUT David’s
ex-wife happens to be the president’s chief of staff and she is
really angry and fed up with her ex (conflict). She will not let
him see the president. The president won’t see him anyway
because a jealous David punched him awhile back.
Meanwhile the clock is ticking down on the alien invasion.
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11. Climax
The climax is when suspense and tension are highest.
It’s that moment when you do not go for popcorn. In
Titanic, the action climaxes when the ship is about to
go down. Will they make it?! Perhaps the emotional
climax is the moving scene in the water when Jack
sacrifices himself for his love.
Climax is in the eye of the beholder. In the hands of a
skilled storyteller though most of the audience should
be on the edge of their seats at about the same time.
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12. Resolution
After the climax, tension drops. There’s relief, humor, joy,
peace. The writer might let us know where everyone is or
where they’re going next. In Independence Day, David
and his ex get back together after he and Will Smith save
the planet. In Get Out, the friend who warned the main
character not to go gets to say “I told you so.” And in
Titanic we get to see snapshots of the good life xxx lived
after the disaster.
This after-climax time is known as the Resolution. It’s
sometimes also called the Denouement, French for
untying the knot (of the plot).
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13. This engrade wiki offers more about plot. Consult it if interested or if
you decide to use Plot in your essay and want extra knowledge. The
visual below is from that cite. The yellow circles are obstacles.
Foreshadowing in not mentioned but will happen during the
Exposition & Rising Action phases.
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14. Those Twisted Plots
Wait, what, Frank killed Lila?
How to Get Away with Murder fans were rocked by the
ending of season 2. Flashbacks supplied the missing puzzle
pieces that made it all come together. Er, sort of.
The Statue of Liberty showing up at the end of Planet of the
Apes is a famous, if dated, example of a plot twist. Spoiler
alert: They thought they were on another planet run by apes
when really they were on a future earth. Run by apes.
In the Forum this week we’ll discuss plot twists that worked
well and others that felt contrived. Where do you stand on
the ending of The Sixth Sense?
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15. Plot & Character Work Together
In addition to creating excitement for the reader, plot creates opportunity
for the characters to show who they are. Just as in life, conflicts and
obstacles force people to act (or fail to). How they act reveals who they are
– to themselves, others characters, and us. Their actions lead to
consequences that move the story forward and also change them.
In Fences Rose and Troy face several conflicts. Two are with each other, over
their son Cory’s desire to play sports and an affair. Others are with inner
demons and outer forces. How they act and react to these conflicts makes
them dynamic, three-dimensional people. And the pressures of the plot
make the roles attractive to the best actors.
In A Doll’s House Nora’s debt problem becomes a crisis when the man she
owes the debt to threatens blackmail. How she overcomes this obstacle
reveals and deepens her character. The way Torvald reacts when he finds
out about the debt reveals his character in turn. To Nora it’s a shock that
leads to a revelation in her and the play’s controversial climax.
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16. In action and super hero stories, characters
overcome tremendous inner and outer obstacles as
they strive to meet their goals, escape their
doubts/inner demons/enemies and achieve their
destiny.
For 10 Bonus Points, tell me about a fictional
character who inspires you. What obstacles and
conflicts do they overcome? What does their journey
reveal about their character, or even about human
(or superhuman) nature itself?
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17. A thought about Plot
Some writers say plot is an over-rated, artificial way
to think about a story. Stephen King explains that he
doesn’t plan out plots. He just puts someone in a
situation and writes to see what happens.
Life has put all of in situations from time to time,
maybe even from the start. Story telling was first
born and lives on through every new media
because it lets us reflect on all that happens to us,
and all that we make happen as we reach for our
goals and dreams.
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18. Plot questions for possible use
in a Reaction Essay
• How plotted is this piece?
• If I liked this piece more/less than I thought I would, did the plot
have anything to do with that?
• What if anything created curiosity or suspense for me?
• How well does the author fit in needed exposition?
• What obstacles and conflicts (inner and outer) force the
character(s) in this piece to act? What’s revealed about their
character – what type of person they are – along the way?
• What foreshadows the climax? (May take re-reading to see it)
• How exciting or tense is the climax? Did it work for me?
• Is the plot of the piece I chose very similar to or different from
another piece I know well? Can I add a section on that for the 25
Bonus Points?
• What worked for me in Essay #1? What will I do differently this
time?
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19. Tips for the Essay
• Use terms and ideas from the lectures and reading. Show your
knowledge.
• Be specific and concrete. When making general statements,
give examples. Use the phrase “for example” often.
• Plot and character tend to go hand in hand. Setting might or
might not be central to the piece. You do not have to discuss
all three elements or even two. Focus on the element(s) most
related to your reactions to the piece or to one part of it.
• You do not have to love the piece you choose for your essay. I
didn’t write it. I respect when students express critical
opinions. It’s often easier to write a critical essay than a
praising one. Read movie and book reviews. You’ll see many
have a mix of positive and negative.
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20. Avoid Plagiarism
“Fences” and “A Doll’s House” are classics that have been
written about widely. Feel free to consult online sources. If
you use ideas or words from a source, even if you put them
in your own words, you must give the source credit. See
pages 1504-1516 in our book for help with that and a model
essay. You can also consult the Research Tab in Blackboard,
your Writing I textbook and me.
Avoid plagiarism. Take the time to read and develop your
own ideas. If a source is cited improperly, the essay may lose
a few points. If a passage or idea is plagiarized, accidentally
or intentionally, the essay earns 0 points, no rewrite option.
Plagiarism is obvious to graders and easy to verify. Don’t.
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