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song—composition.Fortheelementsbywhichtheyimitatearetwo(verbalexpressionandsong—composition),themannerinwhichtheyimitateisone(visualadornment),thethingstheyimitatearethree(plot,characters,thought),andthereisnothingmorebeyondthese.2.WhatisPlotunderthepensofmodernnovelistsandstorytellers?Andhowtounderstand“Plot”inastory?(“”ppt:‘Thequeendied,nooneknewwhy,untilitwasdiscoveredthatitwasthroughgriefatthedeathoftheking.’…P.6Itsuspendsthetime-sequence,itmovesasfarawayfromthestoryasitslimitationswillallow.)Thestoryandthecharacteralonecannotmakeanovelye.Tomakeanovel,aplotisprerequisite.AlookattheexamplesuggestedbyE.M.Forsterwillhelptodistinguishbetweenthestoryandtheplot.“Thekingdiedandthenthequeendied”isnotaplot,butastory.Ifwemakeit“Thekingdiedandthenthequeendiedofgrief,’wehaveaplot.Thiscausalphrase“ofgrief”indicatesourinterpretationandthusarrangementofthehappenings.Intheworldofrealityeventstakeplaceoneafteranotherinthenaturaltemporalorder,butintheworldoffictionitisthenovelist’sdesignthatoneparticulareventoccurafteranotherparticularevent.Theveryword“plot”impliesthenovelist’srebellionagainstthenaturallawandhisendeavortomakemeaningsoutofthehappeningsthatmayotherwisebemeaningless.“Thehappenings”mayormaynotberealhappenings.(Sowhatplotis--)Aplotisaparticulararrangementofhappeningsinanovelthatisaimedatrevealingtheircausalrelationshipsoratconveyingthenovelist’sideas.Aplotissometimescalledastoryline.Themostimportantofthetraditionalplotisthatitshouldbeacompleteorunifiedaction,thatis,somethingwithabeginning,amiddle,andanend.3.Thedramaticsituationinastory.4.Thethreepartsofaplot:abeginning(exposition),amiddle(suspenseoraseriesofsuspense….foreshadowing…crisis–amomentofhightension),andanend(aclimax,themomentofgreatesttension…theconclusion—fallingaction,resolutionordenouement).Plotabeginningamiddleanendexpositionsomeothereventsclimax(themoment(suspense,aseriesofsuspense,ofgreatesttension,foreshadowing,crisis)theconclusion-fallingaction,resolutionordenouement)II.Readthestoriesof‘RipVanWinkle’(WashingtonIrving)and‘DavidSwan’(NathanielHawthorne)III.Questions:(Finishreadingthetwostoriesandpointouttheplotsofthetwostories,thedescriptivedetails,theexposition,characters)RipVanWinkle1.Descriptivedetails:theplotofthestory?2.Whatpartofthestoryseemsliketheexposition?3.Wheredoesthedramaticconflict?4.Whatistheclimaxofthestory?DavidSwan5.theplotofthestory?6.Howfullydoestheauthordrawthecharactersinthestory?(Charactertraitsarethequalitiesofacharacter’spersonality.Theyarerevealedthroughacharacter’sactionsandwordsandthroughdescription).7.Moreworkstodo:somethingaboutthewritersofthetwostories.ChapterTwoCharacterIntheintroductionwehavesaidthatfictionisanimageofpeopleinaction,movingtowardsanundeclaredend.Thuscharacterisalwaysinvolvedinfiction,eveninthestoryofthesimplestaction.Sometimescharacterisatthecenterofourinterestbecauseincharacterwemayseemanyfacetsofthepeoplewemeetinourdailylifeandevenofourselves.Fictionalcharacterisalwayscharacterinactionandthecharactergetsintoactionbecauseitiscaughtinasituationofconflictandhe/sheisalwaysprovidedwithmotivation:he/shehassufficientreasonstoactorbehaveashe/shedoes.Thecharacterisdoingsomethingandthereaderwhilereadingfictionwantstoknowthe“why”aswellasthe“what”oftheaffairs.(Sometimesacharacter’smotiveforanactionisnotexplainedonacceptablegrounds,forexample,thevillaininAdgarAllanPoe’story“TheTell-TaleHeart,”andthusthereaderfeelscheated.Inthiscase,thewriterofdetectivefictionwhomakesthecriminalamerelunatichascheatedthereaderbyavoidingtheproblemofmotive.)Andgenerally,theactionitselfishumanlysignificantanditendsusuallyinashiftinorclarificationofhumanvalues,asdisplayedinJohnUpdike’s“A&P,”andthemotivationofacharacterinastory—oneoftheanswerstothequestion“why”—isoffundamentalimportance.I.WhatisCharacter?Closelyrelatedwiththestoryisthecharacter.HenryJamessaid,“Whatischaracterbutthedeterminationofincident?Whatisincidentbuttheillustrationofcharacter?”(TheArtofFiction”)Whenwereadanovel,wereadaboutourfellowbeings,andthatisoneofthemotivesinreadingatall.The“fellowbeings”inthenovelistermedcharacters.By“fellowbeings”ismeantnotonly“humanbeings”butalso“otherbeings,”suchasanimals.GeorgeOrwellusesanimalstorepresenthumanbeingsinhisnovelAnimalFarm.LewisCarrolcreatesmanylovelyanimalsinhisAlice’sAdventuresinWonderlandthatappealtobothchildrenandadults.Orwelldoesnotintendtoconvincethereaderthatanimalscanspeakhumanlanguageorthatheisatranslatorbetweenanimalsandhumans.Nosensiblereader,afterreadingOrwell’sAnimalFarm,wouldgotothepigstytolookforatalkingboar.Thisprovestheagreed-onfictionalityofcharactersinnovels.Sobroadly,acharacterisaninventedpersonalitytoresemblebutnevertoequalarealpersoninlife.Itisnotdifficulttoseethatcharactersinnovelsresemblepeopleinreallifeinmanyways.Theyhavenamesusedinthesamewayoursareused,theyhavehatredandlove,andtheyhavedesiresandfears.Aboveall,theyactthewayweactorthewaywecanunderstand(likeordislike).Butwemustbearinmindthatthecharactersarenotrealpersons,butmerelyinventions,howeveringenious.Comparethephysicallifeandspirituallifeof