GED · Reasoning Through Language Arts · 5 min read
Plot, Characters, and Conflict in Fiction
- Identify the structural stages of plot, variations in narrative pacing, and chronological devices in fiction.
- Distinguish between internal and external conflicts, their narrative stakes, and how resolutions clarify literary themes.
- Analyze methods of characterization, character types, points of view, and the role of textual evidence in evaluating character development.
Plot Structure, Timeline, and Narrative Pacing
Plot is the sequence of events that make up a narrative. In many stories, writers arrange these events in chronological order, which presents narrative events in the exact sequence in which they occur in time. However, an author may deliberately alter this timeline. A flashback interrupts the chronological flow of a story to depict events that occurred earlier, giving readers essential context about the past. In addition, an author may include foreshadowing, which gives hints or clues about events that may happen later in a narrative. Some plot details serve as symbols or foreshadow later events, including the resolution.
A traditional plot unfolds across distinct stages. The story begins with the exposition, which introduces the setting, main characters, and basic situation of a story. In a traditional plot model, the inciting incident introduces the central conflict and sets the plot in motion; it may follow or overlap with the exposition, and some stories begin with it. The story then enters the rising action, which consists of a series of complications and crises that build suspense and tension. Alongside the primary story, an author may weave in a subplot, which is a secondary storyline that accompanies and may intersect with the main plot.
The tension reaches its peak at the climax, which is a pivotal turning point when the central conflict reaches a critical moment. After this peak, the falling action shows the events that lead toward the resolution. The resolution, also known as the denouement, shows how the central conflict is resolved or where it stands at the story's end. The outcome of these conflicts in the resolution helps clarify a work's themes.
Throughout this structure, narrative pacing refers to the speed at which a writer moves the story forward. Writers can deliberately adjust pacing to match the mood of a scene. For example, writers can use short sentences, action verbs, and rapid dialogue to create fast narrative pacing during intense moments. Conversely, authors can slow narrative pacing by using descriptive language, introspection, and background details.
Common mistakes
- Confusing flat characters with static characters: A flat character lacks complexity and is defined by one or two dominant traits, whereas a static character is one who does not undergo internal change over time.
- Assuming every narrator is reliable: In first-person narratives, a narrator may be biased, mistaken, or deceptive, meaning readers must critically evaluate the account rather than accepting it as absolute truth.
- Overlooking the difference between inciting incident and exposition: The exposition introduces the setting and characters, but the inciting incident is the specific event that introduces the central conflict and sets the plot in motion.
- Failing to support character inferences with textual evidence: Readers sometimes assume a character's traits without checking whether speech, actions, appearance, or the reactions of others in the excerpt actually verify those traits.
Key points
- Plot is the sequence of events in a narrative, progressing through exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
- Narrative pacing affects how quickly a story unfolds, while flashbacks alter the order in which events are presented and foreshadowing hints at events that may occur later.
- Conflict drives the narrative, creates tension, and establishes stakes through internal struggles (character vs. self) or external struggles (character vs. character, nature, or society).
- Resolutions can be closed or open/ambiguous, and the outcome of conflicts helps clarify the themes of the narrative.
- Characterization occurs directly through narrator statements or indirectly through speech, thoughts, actions, appearance, and the reactions of others.
- Characters can be dynamic or static based on internal change, and round or flat based on complexity; foils highlight traits through sharp contrast.
- Point of view determines narrative access across first-person, third-person limited, and third-person omniscient perspectives, including the possibility of an unreliable narrator.
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