Chapter 2: Plot And Structure

Front 1

sequence of incidents or events through which an author constructs a story (not the action itself, but the way the author aranges the action toward a specific end)

Back 1

plot

Front 2

arranging plot elements

Back 2

structure

Front 3

a clash of actions, ideas, desires, or wills (ex: man vs. man, man vs. himself - physical, mental, emotional, or moral)

Back 3

conflict

Front 4

central character in a conflict, whether sympathetic or unsympathetic as a person

Back 4

protagonist

Front 5

any force arranged against the protagonsit - whether persons, things, conventions of society, or the protagonist's own characters traites

Back 5

antagonist

Front 6

quality in a story that makes readers ask "What will happen next?" or "How will this turn out?"; these compel the reader to keep reading; increases when a reader's curiositty is combined with anxiety about the fate of a likable, symapthetic character

Back 6

suspense

Front 7

an unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves an explaination

Back 7

mystery

Front 8

a position in which he or she must choose between 2 courses of action, both desirable or undesirable

Back 8

dilemma

Front 9

type of story that keeps us asking "what happens next?"

Back 9

commercial story

Front 10

type of story that makes us wonder "why do things happen as they do?" or "what is the significance of this event?"

Back 10

literary

Front 11

one that features a sudden, unexpected turn or twist
may be judged by:
-the fairness which the surprise is achieved
- the purpose that it serves

Back 11

surprise ending

Front 12

the protagonist must solve their problems, defeat an adversary, win their love, and live "happily ever after"

Back 12

happy ending

Front 13

1. many situations in real like do have unpleasant outcomes, so if fiction reflects and illuminates life, it must acknowledge human defecs as well as triumphs
2. value in forcing us to ponder the complexities of life

Back 13

unhappy ending

Front 14

one in which no definitive conclusion is reached

Back 14

indeterminate ending

Front 15

(essential to a good plot) there must be nothing in the story that is irrevelent, that doesn't contribute to the meaning; there should be nothing there for its own sake/excitement

Back 15

artistic unity

Front 16

a turn in the plot that is unjustifies by the situation or the characters (unmotivated action); relies on chance or coincidence to provide resolution

Back 16

plot manipulation

Front 17

Latin for "god form a machine"; when god descends from heaven at the last minute to rescur the protagonist from some impossible situation

Back 17

'deus ex machina'

Front 18

occurance of an event that has no apparent cause in previous events or in predisposition of character

Back 18

chance

Front 19

the chance occurance of two events that may have a peculiar coorespondence

Back 19

coincidence

Front 20

parts of a plot

Back 20

rising action, climax, and falling action