(INBT) Lesson Topic 2: The Plot Pyramid

The introduction starts off with the base of the pyramid. The introduction is also known as the exposition. During the introduction or exposition, the writer might reveal the setting. The setting is the time and place of the story.

The setting of the story can be implied or stated. With an implied setting, the reader might need to pick up on clues within the text in order to determine the time and place of the story. For example, in Bridge to Terabithia, the setting alternates between a fantasyland and reality. How can you tell when the setting changes? When castles, kings, and giants come into the story, these are all clues so that the reader can tell the setting has changed to the land of Terabithia—the fantasyland that Jess and Leslie created.

However, with a stated setting, the author clearly reveals the time and place of the story. Jess reveals that Leslie is the new neighbor who moved into the farm near him. The reader then clearly knows that Leslie lives on a farm. Along with the setting, the exposition also introduces the characters and provides background information the reader needs to properly understand the start of the novel.

The rising action appears on the first side of the pyramid. The events of a story work together to create conflict, and the action "rises" from the drama that the conflicts create. Conflict is a struggle between two or more forces, and conflicts can be internal or external. Many different types of conflict occur throughout literature. The conflict might be man versus man, man versus nature, man versus society, or man versus himself.

• • Man versus man is an external conflict where a character has an argument, disagreement, struggle, or another type of problem with another character. Man versus man conflict can occur when one character makes fun of another character.
  • The conflict of man versus nature is an external conflict where a character has a problem with outside forces in nature such as weather, animals, and land. Man versus nature conflicts tends to occur if someone is hurt in a tornado or injured from an animal attack.
  • Man versus society is an external conflict where a character encounters a struggle with the laws or beliefs of a group. In the novel for this module, how people are separated in the culture represents a man versus society conflict. The people of the Appalachian town in the novel are very conservative, but some people in the town have taken on the "hippie" culture.
  • The internal conflict appears in the form of man versus himself. Man versus himself appears when the character struggles to decide what to do or think. The characters might be feeling badly about what they wear or how they talk, and the characters struggle because they want to fit in. This problem inside someone's brain represents an internal conflict.

At the peak of the pyramid, the climax occurs. When the conflict reaches the highest point (the point where forces in conflict meet), and the problems do not have the ability to become worse, a turning point must appear. The climax represents both the height of action and the turning point where a change in the story takes place, and the conflicts can wind down.

Last but not least, the resolution, or dénouement, forms the base on the opposite side of the pyramid. The resolution occurs when the falling action unwinds to a conclusion and all loose ends are tied. The resolution provides the conclusion to the story.