Narrative Plot Structure

Mapping a Story on the Plot Pyramid

What is Narrative Text?

• Narrative refers to a story—an account of events or experiences

Parts of a Narrative Story• Character—a person in the story we learn about through

their words, thoughts and actions• Setting—the place where the story is set• Problem or Conflict—the struggle in the story (man vs

man, man vs nature, man vs self)

• Events—the things that take place in the story that are important and lead to the climax and the resolution (also known as Rising Action and Falling Action)

• Climax—the most intense part of the story, physically or emotionally

• Resolution—the conclusion, tying up all the loose ends, telling how it all ended up

Beginning, Middle and End

• Every story can be broken up into three parts: the beginning, the middle and the end.

Beginning Middle End

Characters

Setting

Problem or Conflict

Events in the Rising Action

Climax

Event(s) in the Falling Action

Resolution or Conclusion

Plotting the Story on the Plot Pyramid

• Once you can determine the beginning, middle and end of the story as well as the characters, problem, climax and solution, you are ready to plot the story on a pyramid like the one below:

Middle/ClimaxMost intense part

Beginning/ExpositionCharactersSettingProblem

Ending/ResolutionWas the problem solved?If yes, how?

Rising ActionEvents

Falling ActionEvents

The Princess and the Pea    Once upon a time there

was a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she would have to be a real princess. He travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always something about them that was not as it should be. So he came home again and was sad, for he would have liked very much to have a real princess.    

  One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.      It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real princess.     

"Well, we'll soon find that out," thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses.    

  On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept.      "Oh, very badly!" said she. "I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!"     

Now they knew that she

was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds.      Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that.      So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess; and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it.     

Beginning-Exposition

A prince in a kingdomwho can’t find a realprincess to becomehis wife

Rising Action

Prince searchedfor a princess, butcouldn’t find one

A “princess” knockedon the door in a storm

The Queen invited theprincess to sleep on 20 mattresses with a pea under the bottom one

Climax-Middle

Princess couldn’t sleep because of the pea-they knew she was a real princess

Falling Action

The prince and princess marry

End-Resolution

The princess is a realprincess-She and theprince marry and livehappily ever after

Plot

Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows arrangement of events and actions within a story.

Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts

Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax

Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action

Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax

Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads

Plot Components

Plot: ConflictConflict is the dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.

Plot: Types of Conflict

Character vs Nature

Character vs Society

Character vs Self

Character vs Character

Plot: Character vs. Character Conflict

This type of conflict finds the main character in conflict with another character, human or not human.

“The new one is the most beautiful of all; he is so young and pretty.” And the old swans bowed their heads before him.

Then he felt quite ashamed, and hid his head under his wing; for he did not know what to do, he was so happy, and yet not at all proud. He had been persecuted and despised for his ugliness, and now he heard them say he was the most beautiful of all the birds.

The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson

Plot: Character vs. Nature Conflict

This type of conflict finds the main character in conflict with the forces of nature, which serve as the antagonist.

It´s a Truffula Seed.It´s the last one of all!

You´re in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds.And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.

Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.

Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.Then the Lorax

and all of his friendsmay come back.

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Plot: Character vs. Society ConflictThis type of conflict has the main character in conflict with a larger group: a community, society, culture, etc.

“I’m tired of living in a hole,” said Jenny.“Let’s fight for freedom!” cried Bouncer. “We’ll be soldiers! Rough-riding Rowdies! I’ll be the general and commander-in-chief!”

The Island of the Skog by Steven Kellogg

Plot: Character vs. Self Conflict

In this type of conflict, the main character experiences some kind of inner conflict.

Finally, Sam’s father said, “Go to bed now. But before you go to sleep, Sam, tell yourself the difference between REAL and MOONSHINE.”

Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness

Plot your reading book: