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English Language Arts
The Plot in Storytelling

The Plot in Storytelling

Concept sheet | English Language Arts
Secondary
1-5
Table of contents

What is a Plot?

Definition

The plot is a series of events telling a story. These story events are sequenced and connected.
The story events are either the cause of the next event, or the effect of a previous event.

This happens because of that, and that is a result of this.

SuperGuyDude in: Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

A superhero answering a call for help form a little girls whose kitty is stuck in a tree.
Event 1SuperGuyDude was flying to work when he heard a cry for help.
Event 2A little girl was crying because her kitty cat was stuck in a tree.
Event 3SuperGuyDude got the cat out of the tree after a little struggle.
Event 4The struggle with the kitty cat left a mark or two.

Plot Elements

The plot generally contains 6 elements:

  1. Exposition

  2. Inciting Incident

  3. Rising Action

  4. Climax

  5. Falling Action

  6. Resolution

Visit the Plot Diagram concept sheet for more information.

The plot diagram that includes the exposition, the inciting incident, the rising action, the climax, the falling action and the resolution.

Exposition

The exposition is the introduction of a story. It is a situation rather than an action.

It generally introduces the characters and the setting.

Characters

the who

People in the story

Setting

the where*

The place, physical location

the when*

Time period

the what*

The context & situation

*Not all stories necessarily contain all three.

Exposition with SuperGuyDude

A sequence in 4 panels. Panel 1: Mild-mannered Simon Simmons is working at his desk job. Panel 2: He sees a signal in the sky. Panel 3: He runs out, revealing the costume under his shirt. Panel 4: He flies off in the direction of the signal.

Mild-mannered Simon Simmons is actually the secret identity of the fantastic SuperGuyDude. He works a regular office job until the SuperGuyDude signal calls him to save the city.

Exposition with Literary Examples

A young girl reading a book while her older sister is bored out of her mind.

Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland
(Lewis, 1865)

Characters
Alice (protagonist)
Alice’s younger sister (minor supporting character)
The white rabbit (supporting character)
Setting
Alice is bored and wants adventure
Begins in the real world
Moves into an imaginary world
A group of 4 people being introduced to one another.

The Great Gatsby
(Fitzgerald, 1925)

Characters
Nick Carraway (narrator)
Jay Gatsby (protagonist)
Daisy Buchanan (love interest)
Tom Buchanan (antagonist: Daisy’s husband)
Setting
Summer 1922, during the Roaring Twenties
Narrator just moved into the neighborhood, from the Midwest
Wealthy main characters
Lavish and opulent lifestyles
An old seaman being introduced to an inn by a young boy.

Treasure Island
(Stevenson, 1883)

Characters 
Jim Hawkins (narrator & protagonist)
Captain Billy Bones (catalyst)
Setting
Story told as a memoir
Coast of England
The Admiral Benbow Inn (workplace & home)
Time period of piracy and ship sailing

Inciting Incident

The inciting incident is the event that sparks a conflict and leads to an adventure.

It forces the protagonists to take action, and leads them into a series of other events. 

Inciting Incident with SuperGuyDude

A superhero is talking to the police because a robot factory and a plutonium reserve were robbed.

SuperGuyDude followed the signal to meet with the police and found out that giant robots and plutonium were stolen.

Inciting Incident with Literary Examples

A young girl reading a book while her older sister is bored out of her mind.

Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland
(Lewis, 1865)

Alice (protagonist) follows the rabbit down the proverbial rabbit hole. She then finds herself in a world that makes little sense.

A man seeing his ex-lover after a long time.

The Great Gatsby
(Fitzgerald, 1925)

Gatsby (protagonist) wants to reunite with his former lover, Daisy, who is now married.

A young boy discovering a pirate treasure map in an old sea chest.

Treasure Island
(Stevenson, 1883) 

Jim (protagonist) finds a treasure map in the deceased captain's old sea chest.

Rising Action

The rising action is the sequence of events and challenges leading up to the climax of the story. 

Rising Action with SuperGuyDude

A superhero tries to stop a villain but fails. He then trains, does some research and flies to find the villain once more.

After looking at the crime scene:

  1. SuperGuyDude figured out who was behind the theft.

  2. He surprised and confronted Villainlad at his lair.

  3. Villainlad thwarted the hero’s efforts with a giant robot, escaping with the plutonium to an unknown location.

  4. SuperGuyDude worked out to be in better shape the next time he meets the nefarious Villainlad.

  5. He investigates other recent crimes and finally finds a trail leading to Villainlad’s whereabouts.

  6. SuperGuyDude flies off to find the villainous fiend and put a stop to his crimes.

Rising Action with Literary Examples

Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland (Lewis, 1865)

The character Alice meeting stranger characters in Wonderland, then going to a mad tea party and playing a game of croquet.

Alice journeyed into Wonderland:

  1. She met interesting and weird characters.

  2. She attended a peculiar tea party.

  3. She played a curious game of croquet.

The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald, 1925)

The protagonist, Gatsby, is trying to win over his former lover Daisy by displaying his wealth and status. It creates a love triangle with Daisy’s husband and some friction with his friend Nick, the narrator of the story.

Gatsby’s relationship with the other characters is developed:

  1. Gatsby displayed his wealth and status to Daisy to win her over.

  2. It created a love triangle between a lovestruck Gatsby, an undecided Daisy and a jealous Tom.

  3. Nick confronts Gatsby on his mysterious past and fortune.

Treasure Island (Stevenson, 1883) 

Having found a treasure map put Jim on a journey where he went on a ship voyage, faced a mutiny and became a hostage once on the island.

The map Jim found sent him on an adventure:

  1. Jim joined a ship crew and set sail to find treasures.

  2. A mutiny led by John Silver forced Jim to escape from the ship.

  3. Jim was later caught and became a hostage of the pirate mutineers.

Climax

The climax is the ultimate turning point of the story.

It is the point where the tension, the excitement and stakes are at their highest.

Climax with SuperGuyDude

A superhero finds and fights a bad guy with a remote controlled giant robot army.

SuperGuyDude finds Villainlad with his remote controlled giant robot army for a final showdown!

Climax with Literary Examples

Alice who is still in Wonderland grows and takes more and more place in the room. The character of the mouse seems frightened. The character of the Mad Hatter looks at the scene with amusement.

Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland
(Lewis, 1865)

 Alice is growing back to her normal size because she begins to understand she has control over the events taking place in this imaginary world.

1 Carrol, Lewis (1865) Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland. Internet Archive, ebook, p68

A heated confrontation between Gatsby, the protagonist and his former lover’s husband led to a car accident and a death.

The Great Gatsby
(Fitzgerald, 1925)

After a heated confrontation, the characters drive back home and Daisy was involved in a hit and run, which killed a pedestrian.

After following a treasure map, a pirate crew finds an empty treasure site.

Treasure Island
(Stevenson, 1883) 

The pirate mutineers arrive at the treasure location only to find it has already been taken.

Falling Action

The falling action is where the story begins to slow down.

  • It indicates the upcoming end of the story.

  • The sequence of events is generally very short.

  • The conflict may or may not be resolved.

Falling Action with SuperGuyDude

A superhero being taken care of by a paramedic while firefighters are putting out flames and the villain is being dragged away by the police.

After the big climactic fight:

  • A paramedic took a look at SuperGuyDude’s injuries.
  • Firefighters put out the flames from the wrecked giant robots.
  • The police handcuffed the defeated Villainlad and dragged him to jail.

Falling Action with Literary Examples

Alice scolds characters that are turning into a deck of cards as she speaks.

Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland
(Lewis, 1865)

Alice reaches her full size. She declares to the Queen and her guards that they are just that–cards. They turn into plain old playing cards and she wakes up.

2 Carrol, Lewis (1865) Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland. Internet Archive, ebook, p74

After his love interest killed a pedestrian in a car accident, Gatsby (the protagonist) takes the blame. Nick (the narrator) decides to take his distance from Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby
(Fitzgerald, 1925)

After the car accident killing a pedestrian:

  • Gatsby takes the blame for Daisy.
  • Nick, having learned about Gatsby’s past, decides to take his distance.
Jim, the protagonist, escaped from his pirate captors and joined his shipmates on the shore of Treasure Island.

Treasure Island
(Stevenson, 1883) 

After the pirates’ failure in finding the treasure:

  • Jim escaped from his pirate captors and rejoined his shipmates.
  • Having found the actual treasure site, they carried it onto their ship.

Resolution

The resolution is the conclusion of the story. It is also known as the denouement.
The resolution brings the story to a close.

The story events have affected the character and the setting, changing them into a new normal.

Resolution with SuperGuyDude

A superhero in a rocking chair mending his costume after a long, hard day.

After defeating the bad guy and saving the day, SuperGuyDude takes a little time for himself and gets ready for his next adventure.

Resolution with Literary Examples

Alice recounts the strange dream she’s just had. Alice’s sister is standing next to her, not quite understanding what her sister is talking about.

Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland
(Lewis, 1865)

After waking up, Alice told her sister all about the uncanny adventure she had in her dream.

The story narrator, Nick, leaving his late friend’s funerals.

The Great Gatsby
(Fitzgerald, 1925)

Believed to be responsible for the death in the car accident, Gastby is shot and killed. Nick attends the funeral before moving back to the Midwest.

Young Jim, the protagonist, is finally back home in England. He watches John Silver, the protagonist, leaving in a small boat with part of the treasure.

Treasure Island
(Stevenson, 1883) 

The surviving crew returned to England, forever changed by their adventure. The pirate John Silver escaped with his share of the treasure, never to be seen again.

Plot Devices & Plot Types

Plot Devices

Techniques used to move the story along, enhancing the storytelling when properly used. For example:

The MacGuffin
An object several characters are trying to get their hands on.The Excalibur sword in the Sword in the Stone legend (around 1200)
The One Ring in the The Lord of The Rings (Tolkien, 1954-1955)
The flashback
An interruption in the story’s chronology to relate a past event.Frankenstein (Shelley, 1818) is told as a flashback through Captain Walton’s letters. The letters recall his meeting with Victor Frankenstein and the Creature.
The subplot
A secondary storyline parallel to the main plot which has its own elements (rising action, climax, falling action, etc).Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare, 1597) shows the evolution of the rivalry between the Capulets and the Montagues alongside the teenagers’ love story.

Visit the Literary Techniques & Devices concept sheet to learn more.

 

Plot Types

Stories tend to follow certain patterns. These patterns can be categorized into general plot types. For example:

Overcoming the monster
The dinosaurs on a rampage in Jurassic Park (Circhton, 1990) are literal monsters.
The government system, Big Brother in 1984 (Orwell, 1949) is a metaphorical monster.
Rags to riches
The penniless Charlie ends up owning the chocolate factory in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Dahl, 1964).
The mistreated maid becomes a princess in Cinderella (folktale).

Visit the Plot Types concept sheet to learn more. (coming soon)

See Also