Friday, Feb 17, 2012

Plot
the easiest part of a story in some ways - it’s the part that you tell someone when you’re trying to tell them about the story
when talking about or analysing plot, you can’t just recount the events
we need more to think about, more to discuss, more to analyse

Plot is made up of events

Those events occur in a timeline - usually chronological - there are variations in the timeline that can be used by an author - eg read a book with flashbacks or extended fantasy sequences that aren’t part of the timeline - or weirder - Pulp Fiction

The pattern of a plotline in chronology follows ANOTHER kind of logic.

Causal logic - cause and effect - action -> reaction

One event in some way leads to the next, which in some way, leads to the next, which... and finally leads to a logical result, which is the ending.

A + B = C - this is a clear progression that leads to the ONLY possible conclusion that would work (note: there are lots of possible endings, but the story must have the BEST ending)

This is ONE WAY to talk about plot - evaluate the progression of events - does this progression work? does it make sense? does it interest me?

Plot is able to be broken up into THREE pieces - or three ACTS - this comes from a brilliant Greek philosopher and poet named Aristotle (in the book Poetics) Act 1 - setup, Act 2 - complications, Act 3 - resolution

We can also discuss plot in terms of these elements - again, evaluate, describe, figure out where the breaks are between the acts, etc

Maybe - how does the setup work? What is set up? What gets complicated? What happens to our expectations?

Set up has many possibilities
Complication can intensify the problems and situations, so there are possibilities there, but the resolution reduces them to one conclusion - this can be disappointing.

Plot = Character’s Need + Obstacles to fulfilling that Need

eg - Harry Potter’s OUTER NEED is to get revenge on Voldy - there is also an INNER NEED - this is Harry’s need to be accepted/loved/in a family/to be made whole

This idea of plot is that the entire series is a chain of obstacles that stop him from fulfilling both needs until the last possible moment.

Levels of Conflict -

Person vs Person - simple, obvious and clear to plot out
Person vs Environment - survival - person trying to manage situations in Nature that are against all odds - evaluation of the person - testing ground
Person vs Self - most complex, most interesting in some ways, deeper plotline in terms of the psychology - addictions, mental illness, etc

Dialectics - this is a philosophical doctrine (system of belief that is based upon writings and a set of conditions that is recorded) that has some interesting connotations

- a dialectic is ancient Greek - describing two people with differing POV in a discussion
- the way we like to think about it is the Hegelian Dialectic -
Thesis - Antithesis - Synthesis

Simplified:

A THING plus its OPPOSITE = a new state or THING





Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis

You could look for things in stories that opposed the hero and FORCED change and created new situations and ideas - you could discuss this in terms of a dialectic (note: you would need to do some research)

Plot analysis can be deep and interesting and we will not simply retell the story.

Symbolism in plot? Yep. Often, plot lines will reflect human growth, change, maturation and so on. EVERY SINGLE ONE on some level.

Voldemort REPRESENTS Harry’s father (psychologically)

Harry has several - Dursley, Dumbledore, Sirius, Hagrid, etc...


Read Twins - answer Qs 3 and 4 from the text.