Plot

“‘The king died and the queen died’ promises a story, but not a plot,” according to novelist E.M. Forster. This is because there is no cause and effect connection between his death and hers. A connection is created, and a plot appears if the sentence is changed to “The king died, and then the queen died of grief.”

Plot consists of the related events of a story and may be divided into three main parts: beginning (rising action), middle (climax), and end (falling action). Two other important aspects of plot are exposition and resolution. Exposition may be thought of as the background that the reader needs in order to understand the story. Where did the king and queen live? How did he die? Many plot diagrams place exposition at the beginning of the story before the rising action occurs. Exposition may also continue throughout the course of the story. The resolution occurs when the complications that make up the rising and falling action are taken care of or “resolved.”

Read “Identifying the Elements of a Plot Diagram” and answer the questions that follow.

1. The rising action in the document is represented by two hikers.
   
   

   Yes, the rising action is appropriately represented by two hikers who face the challenge of increasing elevation on their hike. Likewise, the main character in a short story experiences a journey of increasing conflict and complications that make it more difficult.

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2. In exposition, the setting is described and the characters are introduced.
   
   

   Yes, and most importantly, we are also introduced to the main conflict of the story.

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3. During the rising action, the loose ends of the plot are tied up.
   
   

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   No, that occurs during the falling action. During the rising action, interest or suspense builds as conflicts develop.

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4. The climax is the turning point of the story.
   
   

   Yes. The climax is the turning point, and it is followed by the falling action which is usually brief.

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In their work, textbook authors Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs discuss plot in detail and present concepts that will be useful for analyzing of a short story. They distinguish between “crisis” or “turning point” in a story and “climax,” which they define as “a consequence of the crisis.” According to them, the climax “is the story’s high point” and “may take the shape of a decision, an action, an affirmation or denial, or an illumination or realization.” Though the image that accompanies climax looks as if the climax occurs in the middle of the story, the climax does not always happen in the middle. It may be closer to the end, or in some instances, it could occur before the middle of the story. These concepts are good for you to think about when identifying the climax of a short story.

Now let’s use the story “Cinderella” to review some short story concepts. Each part of the story has been placed into a category: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, or resolution. Read through the categories and placement of events from “Cinderella.”

Exposition

• Cinderella lives unhappily with her stepmother and stepsisters (probably “long ago” and somewhere “far away”); she often sits alone beside the cinders of the fireplace.

Rising action

• The invitation to the ball arrives.
• Cinderella’s stepsisters prepare for and attend the ball with her help. A fairy godmother, sometimes depicted as an old woman, provides Cinderella with clothes, a coach, and a footman.
• Cinderella attends the ball and meets the prince.

Climax

• Cinderella leaves frantically at midnight, losing a glass slipper in the process.

Falling action

• The prince says he’ll marry the woman whose foot fits into the slipper.
• The stepsisters try to force their feet into the slipper.
• The slipper fits only Cinderella’s foot.

Resolution

• Cinderella and the prince marry, and they live happily ever after.

Now that you are finished reviewing the story of “Cinderella,” look at the pictures in the exercise below. Each picture represents an event from the story. For this activity, drag and drop each picture into the correct order on the plot diagram.