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“A Letter to God” has a well-constructed plot. It has a beginning, middle, and end.
So, what is the difference between a story and a plot?
A story or narrative is a connected series of events told through words (written or spoken), imagery (still and moving), body language, performance, music, or any other form of communication. Elements of a story include plot, setting, characters, theme, events, point of view, diction, and style.
A plot is the structure of interrelated actions, consciously selected and arranged by the author. It is the events that make up a story, following the formula arc of beginning, middle, and end.
Incidents / events that make up a story:
There are two kinds of events/incidents in a story. They are,
- Those that are connected to the plot (and the story)
- Those that are not connected to the plot but are relevant to the story
In the lesson, the following incidents are considered relevant to the plot:
- Lencho predicts rain.
- Rain arrives but is soon replaced by hail.
- Crops are destroyed.
- Lencho writes a letter to God, asking for 100 pesos.
- The postmaster decides to respond go the letter.
- The postmaster, along with some of his staff and friends, gather about 70 pesos and send them to Lencho, with only a signature that states that it is from "God".
- Lencho gets upset and writes an ungrateful letter to God.
These incidents are crucial because they are well connected; one incident leads to another, eventually bringing a resolution to the story.
Analysing the plot of the lesson, “A Letter to God”, based on Freytag’s pyramid.
About Freytag’s pyramid
Freytag’s pyramid is a definitive study of the five-act dramatic structure used and embraced by writers for over millennia. The structure was developed in the \(19\)th century by the German playwright and novelist Gustav Freytag. Under Freytag's pyramid, the plot of a story consists of five parts:
- Exposition (introduction)
- Rising action
- Climax
- Falling action
- Dénouement (French for “the ending) / catastrophe
*Freytag’s pyramid
Let us correlate the incidents from the lesson and see how they fit into the structure.
1.Exposition: The author sets the scene and the character’s background. An expository paragraph presents facts, gives directions, defines terms, etc. It should inform readers about a specific subject. It should also contain an incident that leads to a chain of other incidents.
In the lesson: In the 1st paragraph of the story, the author presents the setting (place), introduces the protagonist (Lencho), and also lets us know the importance the protagonist has placed on his fields. The narrator also suggests an impending rain.
2.Rising Action: The story moves forward due to the character responding to an incident. Conflicts are brought into the plot, with the character trying to solve them.
In the lesson: It rains as predicted but is soon replaced by a destructive hail. The family becomes desolate. The conflict here is the hopeless situation that Lencho and his family is forced to deal with. Lencho decision to write a letter to God serves as rising action.
3.Climax: The story reaches a point where the tension between the protagonist and his (or her) conflict is greatest. Here, the situation reaches a point where there is no return.
In the lesson: The postmaster's response to Lencho's letter becomes the climax.
4. Falling Action: The plot moves towards the end due to events from the climax. The incidents happen quickly in falling action, and the fall is relatively swift.
In the lesson: Lencho's reaction to the postmanster's "Letter from God" is the falling action.
5. Denouement: The ending or the outcome of the story. The denouement is often happy if it’s a comedy, and it is dark and sad if it’s a tragedy.
In the lesson: Lencho's counter letter to the postmaster's letter is the denouement. It gives an unusual turn in the end, with Lencho's reputation among readers turning from positive to negative.
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