Plot device
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A plot device or plot mechanism is any
technique Technique or techniques may refer to: Music * The Techniques, a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group of the 1960s * Technique (band), a British female synth pop band in the 1990s * ''Technique'' (album), by New Order, 1989 * ''Techniques'' (album), by ...
in a
narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...
used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the
suspension of disbelief Suspension of disbelief is the avoidance—often described as willing—of critical thinking and logic in understanding something that is unreal or impossible in reality, such as something in a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe i ...
. However, a well-crafted plot device, or one that emerges naturally from the setting or characters of the story, may be entirely accepted, or may even be unnoticed by the audience.


Stories using plot devices

Many stories, especially in the fantasy genre, feature an object or objects with some great magical power, such as a crown, sword, or jewel. Often what drives the plot is the hero's need to find the object and use it for good, before the villain can use it for evil, or if the object has been broken by the villains, to retrieve each piece that must be gathered from each antagonist to restore it, or, if the object itself is evil, to destroy it. In some cases destroying the object will lead to the destruction of the villain. In the
Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...
film series, each film portrays Jones on the hunt for a mystical artifact. In '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'', he is trying to retrieve the
Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, was a religious storage chest and relic held to be the most sacred object by the Israelites. Religious tradition describes it as a wooden storage chest decorat ...
; in ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Jeffrey Boam, based on a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jone ...
'', Jones is on a search for the Holy Grail. This plot device is also used in the '' Arabian Nights'' tale of " The City of Brass," in which a group of travelers on an
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
expedition journeys across the
Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
to find a brass vessel that
Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
once used to trap a
jinn Jinn or djinn (), alternatively genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Their existence is generally defined as parallel to humans, as they have free will, are accountable for their deeds, and can be either ...
. Several books in the
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
series orient around a search for a special object. In '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', Harry believes there is a magical stone in
Hogwarts Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry () is a fictional boarding school of magic for young wizards. It is the primary setting for the first six novels in the '' Harry Potter'' series by J. K. Rowling, and also serves as a major setti ...
with special powers.
Lord Voldemort Lord Voldemort ( , in the films) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He first appears in ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997) and returns either in pers ...
needs this stone to bring back his body, and Harry looks for the stone first to prevent Voldemort's return. The One Ring from
J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...
's novel, ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...
'' has been labeled a plot device, since the quest to destroy it drives the entire plot of the novel. However, British Classical scholar Nick Lowe said: "Tolkien, on the whole, gets away with the trick by minimizing the arbitrariness of the ring's plot-power and putting more stress than his imitators on the way the ring's power moulds the character of its wielder and vice-versa."


Examples


Deus ex machina

The term ''deus ex machina'' is used to refer to a narrative ending in which an improbable event is used to resolve all problematic situations and bring the story to a (generally happy) conclusion. The Latin phrase "
deus ''Deus'' (, ) is the Latin word for 'God (word), god' or 'deity'. Latin ''deus'' and ''dīvus'' ('divine') are in turn descended from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''deiwos'', 'celestial' or 'shining', from the same root ( ...
ex machina" has its origins in the conventions of Greek tragedy, and refers to situations in which a mechane (crane) was used to lower actors playing a
god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
or gods onto the stage at the end of a play. The Greek tragedian
Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...
is notorious for using this plot device as a means to resolve a hopeless situation. For example, in Euripides' play '' Alcestis'', the eponymous heroine agrees to give up her own life to Death in exchange for sparing the life of her husband, Admetus. In doing so, however, Admetus grows to regret his choice, realizing that the grief of her death would never leave him. Admetus is seized by guilt and sadness, wishing to keep her or die alongside her, but held by his obligations to raise their children. In the end, though,
Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...
shows up and seizes Alcestis from Death, restoring her to life and freeing Admetus from the grief that consumed him. Another example of a ''deus ex machina'' is
Gandalf Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is a Wizards (Middle-earth), wizard, one of the Istari order, and the leader of the Company of the Ring. Tolkien took the name "Gandalf" fr ...
in '' The Hobbit.'' With the help of seemingly limitless magical capabilities, he rescues the other main characters from all sorts of troubles. Likewise, the eagles in both ''The Hobbit'' and ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...
'' perform unexpected rescues, serving both as the eucatastrophic emissary and the agent of redemption. The first person known to have criticized the device was
Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
in his '' Poetics'', where he argued that the resolution of a plot must arise internally, following from previous action of the play.


Love triangle

A frequently used plot mechanism in romances and dramas is the love triangle, a conflict where two characters compete for the affection of a third character.


MacGuffin

A MacGuffin is a term, popularized by
film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
, referring to a plot device wherein a character pursues an object, though the object's actual nature is not important to the story. Another object would work just as well if the characters treated it with the same importance. Regarding the MacGuffin, Alfred Hitchcock stated, "In crook stories it is almost always the necklace and in spy stories it is almost always the papers." This contrasts with, for example, the One Ring from ''The Lord of the Rings'', whose very nature is essential to the entire story. Not all film directors or scholars agree with Hitchcock's understanding of a MacGuffin. According to George Lucas, "The audience should care about it he MacGuffinalmost as much as the dueling heroes and villains on-screen". Thus MacGuffins, according to Lucas, are important to the characters and plot. MacGuffins are sometimes referred to as ''plot coupons'', especially if multiple ones are required, as the protagonist only needs to "collect enough plot coupons and trade them in for a dénouement". The term was coined by Nick Lowe.''In normal usage, when people talk of a plot device they mean something in the story that's just a little bit too obviously functional to be taken seriously.''


Plot voucher

A ''plot voucher'', as defined by Nick Lowe, is an object given to a character (especially to the protagonist) before they encounter an obstacle that requires the use of the object. An example of a plot voucher is a gift received by a character, which later impedes a deadly bullet.


Quibble

A quibble is based on an argument that an agreement's intended meaning holds no legal value and that only the exact, literal words agreed on apply. For example,
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
used a quibble in '' The Merchant of Venice'': Portia saves Antonio in a court of law by pointing out that the agreement called for a pound of flesh, but no blood, so Shylock can collect only if he sheds no blood.


Red herring

The function of a red herring is to divert the audience's attention away from something significant. Red herrings are very common plot devices in mystery, horror, and crime stories. The typical example is in
whodunit A ''whodunit'' (less commonly spelled as ''whodunnit''; a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal ...
s, in which facts are presented so that the audience is tricked into thinking that an innocent character is the murderer.


Shoulder angel

A shoulder angel is a plot device used for either dramatic or humorous effect in animation and comic strips (and occasionally in live-action television). The angel represents conscience and is often accompanied by a shoulder devil representing temptation. They are handy for easily showing inner conflict of a character. Usually, the angel is depicted on or hovering near the right shoulder and the devil or demon on the left, as the left side traditionally represents dishonesty or impurity (see Negative associations of left-handedness in language). The idea of a shoulder angel and devil consulting the person in the center of the dispute is a tripartite view of the divided soul, that contributes to a rich tradition involving Plato's Chariot Allegory as well as id, ego and super-ego from Freudian
psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...
. The difference with other views is that the shoulder angel and devil emphasize the universal ideas of good and bad.


See also

* Dangler *
Literary technique A narrative technique (also, in fiction, a fictional device) is any of several storytelling methods the creator of a narrative, story uses, thus effectively relaying information to the audience or making the story more complete, complex, or engag ...
* Plot twist * Premise (narrative) *
Stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. Th ...
*
Theme (narrative) In contemporary literary studies, a theme is a central topic, subject, or message within a narrative. Themes can be divided into two categories: a work's ''thematic concept'' is what readers "think the work is about" and its ''thematic statement' ...


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plot Device Plot (narrative)