discussion post


I am going to be asking you to create plot diagrams for each of the stories that we have read in this unit.  Please go back to the Section 1 pdf on Plot and look carefully over the diagram of Freytag’s Plot Structure.  Once you have done so, I would like you to identify the scenes or moments in each story that fit the criteria for each of the following plot points, Exposition, Inciting Incident, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution, Denouement.  Please explain your reasoning behind your choices for each plot point.  

As you are charting the plots of these stories, please consider how these structures inform the relationships between parents and children in these works.  The author manipulates the events of the plot much in the same way as a composer arranges the different parts and movements in a musical composition.  While there may be moments of creative inspiration, the organization of the events in a story are not accidental.  They are carefully contrived to manipulate the mood and overall experience of the audience as they proceed through the work.  As you chart the events in the stories, think about the decisions the authors have made and their decisions for doing so.  

In your final assignment for this semester, you will be asked to write a short story of your ownand you will be required to carefully orchestrate the sequence of events in your own work of fiction, so be sure to take some notes on these author’s choices