Load-Bearing Elements – Plot
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| Pictured: a selection of books whose plots I have enjoyed. |
So, what's this feature's deal?
So, you remember that time when we talked about Philip K. Dick instead of a book that I'd just read?
Originally, Lucas Blogs About X was meant to encompass any literary subject, but inertia kinda turned it into my jokey review feature. So I decided to start another new Monday feature: Load-Bearing Elements. So, here's the pitch.
Do you need to pitch ideas to me?
No. But don't you want to know what we're doing?
You mean, for the sake of actual readers?
Yeah.
Well, it's pretty self-explanatory, I think they can catch up.
You're the rhetorical device. Then let's just jump right in and talk about plot.
You mean story, right?
No, they're two different things.
All right, so the difference between "plot" and "story" is . . . ?
Well, a story is simply a series of events. Let's look at The Count of Monte Cristo, for example.
Didn't you just write a lengthy blog post about that recently?
Yes. But let's look at what the story is. Edmond Dantés is falsely accused of a crime. He's sent to prison without trial. He breaks out. He carries out an elaborate revenge scheme where he poses as a nobleman. Several people die. He marries his seventeen-year-old slave. The end.
You made that sound incredibly dull. Also, you keep harping on the whole, "The Count is in his forties and ends up pursuing a romantic relationship with a teenage girl that he owns."
Because it's still aged poorly. Anyway. My point is that the story isn't the plot. The plot is what makes a story satisfying. Unlike in real life where events string together randomly and we're left to assign meaning afterwards, the plot of a work of fiction is intentionally constructed to convey meaning to the audience. If done well, you won't even notice it. Let's look at The Count of Monte Cristo again and examine the plot rather than the story.
If we must.
Well, I mean this whole exercise is optional, really.
Just summarize the plot.
So, Edmond Dantés is happily engaged and has a fulfilling career. This is stripped away because of the petty jealousy and ambitions of three men who work together to ensure that he is imprisoned for life without trial. While in prison, he meets a man who teaches him all the skills necessary to break out of prison and to craft and carry out an elaborate revenge scheme where he poses as a nobleman. As he carries out said scheme several people die, including people who had nothing to do with the injustice that was perpetrated against him and he begins to question his motives. This culminates in his forgiveness of one of the men responsible for his imprisonment. And although he realizes that his time away from his fiancée (and the fact that she was one of the people negatively affected by his campaign of vengeance) has made it impossible for them to pick up where they left off, he takes solace in the fact that his young slave, Haydée, is in love with him.
Okay, you're right, that is messed-up.
Right?
Right! But you said that a good plot is supposed to be satisfying and that the reader isn't supposed to notice that everything has been constructed to deliver meaning. The plot of The Count of Monte Cristo is contrived and ham-fisted. How is that supposed to be satisfying?
There's no accounting for taste.
Seriously?
Well, look, whether or not a plot is satisfying sort of depends on what you're looking to get out of it. I read The Count of Monte Cristo because I went to see the 2002 film adaptation (the tagline was "Count on Revenge," I'm not even joking). It's a fun movie, and I thought the book would be fun. And I made it about halfway through. Then about ten years later, I made a second attempt and I had a lot of fun. There are elements that haven't aged well (like the Orientalism and the whole the Count marries his teenage slave thing), but the plot is dynamite. Though, around the half-way point I did start making, "I guess we know who the real monster is here" jokes.
Very original.
I know, but the point is, a good plot (that is to say, one with believable cause-and-effect, and character motivations) is one of the things that can sustain a reader's interest in a work of fiction. And even when you can see the author's hand pushing things along, it can be satisfying to see an intricate plot unfold. I look forward to discussing some other Load-Bearing Elements with you in the future, Hypothetical Reader.
Wow! Very ending. Much satisfying. So finish.
You mean story, right?
No, they're two different things.
All right, so the difference between "plot" and "story" is . . . ?
Well, a story is simply a series of events. Let's look at The Count of Monte Cristo, for example.
Didn't you just write a lengthy blog post about that recently?
Yes. But let's look at what the story is. Edmond Dantés is falsely accused of a crime. He's sent to prison without trial. He breaks out. He carries out an elaborate revenge scheme where he poses as a nobleman. Several people die. He marries his seventeen-year-old slave. The end.
You made that sound incredibly dull. Also, you keep harping on the whole, "The Count is in his forties and ends up pursuing a romantic relationship with a teenage girl that he owns."
Because it's still aged poorly. Anyway. My point is that the story isn't the plot. The plot is what makes a story satisfying. Unlike in real life where events string together randomly and we're left to assign meaning afterwards, the plot of a work of fiction is intentionally constructed to convey meaning to the audience. If done well, you won't even notice it. Let's look at The Count of Monte Cristo again and examine the plot rather than the story.
If we must.
Well, I mean this whole exercise is optional, really.
Just summarize the plot.
So, Edmond Dantés is happily engaged and has a fulfilling career. This is stripped away because of the petty jealousy and ambitions of three men who work together to ensure that he is imprisoned for life without trial. While in prison, he meets a man who teaches him all the skills necessary to break out of prison and to craft and carry out an elaborate revenge scheme where he poses as a nobleman. As he carries out said scheme several people die, including people who had nothing to do with the injustice that was perpetrated against him and he begins to question his motives. This culminates in his forgiveness of one of the men responsible for his imprisonment. And although he realizes that his time away from his fiancée (and the fact that she was one of the people negatively affected by his campaign of vengeance) has made it impossible for them to pick up where they left off, he takes solace in the fact that his young slave, Haydée, is in love with him.
Okay, you're right, that is messed-up.
Right?
Right! But you said that a good plot is supposed to be satisfying and that the reader isn't supposed to notice that everything has been constructed to deliver meaning. The plot of The Count of Monte Cristo is contrived and ham-fisted. How is that supposed to be satisfying?
There's no accounting for taste.
Seriously?
Well, look, whether or not a plot is satisfying sort of depends on what you're looking to get out of it. I read The Count of Monte Cristo because I went to see the 2002 film adaptation (the tagline was "Count on Revenge," I'm not even joking). It's a fun movie, and I thought the book would be fun. And I made it about halfway through. Then about ten years later, I made a second attempt and I had a lot of fun. There are elements that haven't aged well (like the Orientalism and the whole the Count marries his teenage slave thing), but the plot is dynamite. Though, around the half-way point I did start making, "I guess we know who the real monster is here" jokes.
Very original.
I know, but the point is, a good plot (that is to say, one with believable cause-and-effect, and character motivations) is one of the things that can sustain a reader's interest in a work of fiction. And even when you can see the author's hand pushing things along, it can be satisfying to see an intricate plot unfold. I look forward to discussing some other Load-Bearing Elements with you in the future, Hypothetical Reader.
Wow! Very ending. Much satisfying. So finish.
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