ENH 110

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ENH 110 Plot in fiction
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Plot It is a series of carefully devised,
interrelated events that progress through a
struggle of opposing forces to a climax and to a
conclusion/not always a resolution.
Peripeteia
crisis
Climax
Epitasis
Complication an element that introduces some
problem or difficulty
Catastasis
Rising Action
Falling Action
Conflict the tension that results from the
struggle of opposing forces in a plot.
Person vs Person Person vs Environment
Person vs Self
Exposition
Resolution / Denoument
Protasis
Catastrophe
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The Players in a Short story
Protagonist He or she is the leading figure
both in terms of importance in the story and in
terms of his or her ability to enlist our
interest and sympathy, whether the cause is
heroic or ignoble.
Antagonist The character (or force) in a story
who stands directly opposed to the protagonist, a
rival or an opponent of the protagonist.
Agon contest (conflict)
Greek roots
Proto first
Agonistes actor
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John Updike Born 1932
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A and P discussion questions
Of what significance is the 10 paragraph
expository section?
Often in first person narratives we learn
the name of the narrator early on in the
story. Why does Updike wait almost
twenty paragraphs before revealing Sammy?
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A and P discussion question
What is/are the dramatic conflict(s) in the story?
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A and P discussion question
Is there a crisis, a climax, a definite (as
opposed to indefinite) ending?
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A and P discussion question
Do you think women characterize Sammy differently
than men do?
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A and P discussion question
Critics of the story offer various
interpretations for Sammys quitting. What is
your view on his walking away from the A P?
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Joyce Carol Oates Born 1938
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Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Discussion Questions
What is the purpose of the expository section in
this story? Does the story have any
foreshadowing incident or incidents? Do you
define the storys ending as lucid or abstruse?
Explain.
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Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Discussion Questions
What is your impression of Connie? Is she in any
way appealing? Is she imperceptive and immature?
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Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Discussion Question
What is your impression of Arnold Friend? As
some have suggested, is he a supernatural
character?
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Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Discussion Question
Why doesnt Connie? succeed in breaking loose
from Arnolds spell?
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Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Discussion Questions
Explain the title Where is Connie going? Where
has she been? Does Arnold Friend shed any light
on answers to these questions?
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Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Discussion Questions
Why do you think the story was dedicated to Bob
Dylan?
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Charles Schmid The Pied Piper of Tuscon

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Bob Dylan