Characters are crucial in fiction. Actually, they are the most crucial element. We know that
by now. However, fiction does not live by characters alone. Many other elements
go into the creation of a story and one of those is a plot. If characters are
what make us love a story, plot is what keeps us turning pages.
Plot is an intricate topic, and we could easily devote
numerous lessons to it. For now, let's explore how characters may lead us into
a good plot. We'll focus on The Great
Gatsby in this lecture, while this week's reading assignment offers a
detailed breakdown of the plot of "Cathedral."
The Protagonist
Usually a story has a single main character, or protagonist.
A single protagonist because it's
often most satisfying for readers to identify with one character – to see the
world through, and go on a journey with, that one person. Yes, there are
exceptions to this single protagonist rule. But it exists in the two stories
we've been studying. The unnamed narrator is the protagonist of
"Cathedral," and Jay Gatsby is the protagonist of The Great Gatsby (even though Nick is
the story's narrator).
The protagonist of a story should be a round character, the
rounder the better. Like the best characters, and like real people, the
protagonist should be neither all good nor all bad. He or she should be
sympathetic; we should be able to relate to the protagonist as a fellow human being.
But a protagonist should not be a perfect person, a sure recipe for boredom.
Jay Gatsby and the "Cathedral" narrator both fit
this bill nicely. Thought Gatsby is a courteous and decent man, he's full of
flaws. He's obsessed with a married woman, Daisy, who really isn't worthy of
all the hope and desire he expends on her behalf. He also lies to elevate his
social position, and his business dealings do not seem to fall on the right
side of the law. The "Cathedral" narrator is even more flawed. He's
close-minded, unambitious, slightly mean, and his only hobbies seem to be TV,
drink, and drugs. And yet, he's not entirely unsympathetic, as we gradually
come to see his hidden desire to climb out of his rut.
Desire
Desire is what drives a protagonist. It’s customary in a
story for the protagonist to have one major desire – need, want, whatever you
want to call it. In fact, that’s where the plot comes from. Throughout the
story the protagonist is trying to get the one thing he or she wants and by the
end of the story the person will either get it or not get it. Call it a quest,
much like the quests embarked upon by all those heroes and heroines in the
ancient myths.
Jay Gatsby has a very clear desire. He wants Daisy Buchanan.
He devotes his entire life to this quest and it never wavers throughout the
book. He gains money to impress Daisy, he builds a mansion within viewing
distance of Daisy's house, so he can keep an eye on her and so she can see his
wealth. He befriends Nick, Daisy's cousin, so Nick can arrange a rendezvous for
him with Daisy. And so on. Gatsby's desire for Daisy gives the story a clear
focus, which, as we learned in the first lesson, is an important aspect of
storytelling.
This focus can also make a story easier to write. Once you
know your protagonist and his desire, you have a definite road map to follow.
Often, however, there is more to a character's desire than
meets the eye. One suspects that Gatsby wants Daisy because she represents
"class" and "success." Deep in his heart, Gatsby really
wants to be accepted and admired by the elite of the world. Perhaps he wants
this more than he actually loves Daisy. In a sense, she is a means to an end.
So, often in fiction there is a desire beneath the desire.
Doesn't this make things more complicated than they need to
be? Well, no, it can actually make things simpler to write. It's difficult to
construct a plot around someone pursuing an abstract desire like
"class" or "success." How do you obtain "class"
or "success?" These aren't things you can grab in your hand or
definitively capture or write scenes about. It's actually easier to make the
immediate desire specific and concrete. Plot-wise, Daisy Buchanan works
beautifully as an object of desire. She gives Gatsby's deepest desire a human
face.
It's a simple formula and one that you can follow yourself.
Pick a protagonist, then give him or her one specific, concrete desire. If
layers of meaning lie beneath that desire, all the better, but keep the
protagonist focused on that one tangible goal. Make sure he or she wants it
badly. Then, make it hard as hell for them to get it.
Conflict
Suppose when Gatsby meets up with Daisy at Nick's house for
tea, Daisy tells Gatsby that she has never stopped loving him and that she will
immediately leave her husband. And suppose that she followed through on the
promise, moving in with Gatsby the very next day. This would be glorious news
for Jay Gatsby, but it wouldn't make for much of a story. Something big would
be missing, and that something is conflict.
Without conflict, a story is destined to be either very short or very dull, and
probably both. No two ways about it, conflict is essential.
The Great Gatsby contains plenty of conflict. Yes,
Daisy does seem to have some affection for Gatsby and she does briefly take up
with him. But, she also has a mean and vindictive husband blocking her path.
Also, Daisy is elitist enough to recognize that her husband, however uncouth,
is "old money" while Gatsby falls into the much less socially
desirable class of "new money." Worst of all, Daisy lacks the courage
and conviction to break away from her marriage. No matter how far Gatsby goes
to win Daisy – and he goes to incredible lengths – he is fighting a difficult
battle. This difficulty, this conflict, is part of what makes the story so
compelling. We don't know if Gatsby will succeed at his quest or not. We have
to keep reading to find out. Furthermore, nothing illuminates a character
better than a good struggle.
Though a protagonist should stay focused on a single desire,
there is no limit to how much conflict may be interfering with that desire. The
more the merrier (at least for the reader). The eternal struggle between desire
and conflict is part of what makes a story dramatic and worth reading, no
matter if the story is tragic, comical or anything in between.
Finally, just as conflict must occur, that conflict needs to
be eventually resolved. In other words, at the end of your story, your
protagonist must have achieved the concrete goal, or not. You can’t write a conclusion
to your story that leaves your readers scratching their heads, wondering just
what happened. After all, when readers begin a story, they do so with the
understanding that the writer will finish the tale being told. And that means
resolution, for better or worse.
A Test Drive
Though it’s by no means simple to construct the plot of a
story, it’s considerably easier, once you learn how to put the
protagonist/desire/conflict scheme into motion.
Suppose you wanted to use Maria Rialto as the protagonist of
your story. A good way to start figuring out the plot of your story would be to
figure out her big desire. Let’s go back to our theory that she wants to make
friends and she carries a new book every day hoping someone will start up a
conversation with her about the book she is currently reading. Good. She wants
to make a friend. That’s an excellent desire. See, this one doesn’t even have
layers of meaning beneath it and it’s still excellent.
Now, what is the conflict? First off, she is terribly shy.
Her shyness would definitely count as a conflict. It’s a direct, and very
strong, obstacle to her goal of making a friend. In fact, very often the
strongest conflicts are internal, in that they come from within a character, as
opposed to external conflicts, which are obstacles outside of the person, like
a car breaking down.
Suppose early in the story Maria does meet someone and they take the first few steps toward a
friendship. But this person turns out to be deranged and dangerous and,
unfortunately, Maria is so desperate for friendship that she is blind to this
person’s flaws. Now you’ve got some external conflict (the deranged and
dangerous person) and some more internal conflict (the blindness). None of this
is good for Maria, but it’s all good for the story. A compelling plot is
beginning to take shape.
From here, the plot could veer in any number of directions.
You may have an idea of the development and resolution before you start writing
or you may just hit the road and see where things lead. Either way, you’re
bound to go somewhere interesting because you’ve created a memorable character
then given her the desire and conflict necessary to carry her all the way
through a first-rate story.
Don’t you hope things work out for Maria, by the way? It’s entirely
possible that you’ve come to care about her!
Discussion
After reading the lecture, try answering some or all of the
following:
1. Think of one of your favorite fictional
protagonists and tell us what you think this character’s desire is.
2. Desire is what fuels fictional
characters. Is this true of people in real life?
3. Do you think a story can be interesting
without strong conflict?
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