Plot device

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Main article: Plot (narrative)
A plot device can be anything which moves the plot forward.[1]
A contrived or arbitrary plot device may annoy or confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelief. 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.

Examples of stories using plot devices

Many stories, especially in the fantasy genre, feature an object or objects with some great power. 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 film series,
Jones is always on the hunt for some mystical artifact. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, he is trying to retrieve the Ark of the
Covenant; in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Jones is on a search for the Holy Grail. This plot device dates back to the
medieval Arabian Nights tale of "The City of Brass," in which a group of travelers on an archaeological expedition[2]
journey across the Sahara to find a brass vessel that Solomon once used to trap a jinn.[3]
Several books in the Harry Potter series orient around a certain object. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry
believes there is a magical stone in Hogwarts with special powers. Lord Voldemort 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's novel, The Lord of the Rings has been labeled a plot device, since the quest to destroy
it drives the entire plot of the novel. However, as Nick Lowe puts it: "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."[4]

Examples of plot devices

The MacGuffin
Main article: MacGuffin
A MacGuffin is a term, popularized by film director Alfred Hitchcock, referring to a plot device whose actual nature is not
important to the story. Another object would work just as well if the characters treated it with the same importance.[5]
Hitchcock said that "in a thriller the MacGuffin is usually 'the necklace;' in a spy story it is 'the papers.'"[this quote needs a citation]
This contrasts with e.g. the One Ring, its very nature is essential to the entire story.
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 dnouement."[6] The term was coined by Nick Lowe.[4]

Deus ex machina
Main article: 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.[7]

The Latin phrase "deus 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 or gods onto the stage at the end of a play.
The Greek tragedian Euripides 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, she imposes upon him a series of extreme promises. Admetus is
torn between choosing death or choosing to obey these unreasonable restrictions.[which?] In the end, though, Heracles shows
up and seizes Alcestis from Death, restoring her to life and freeing Admetus from the promises. Another example of a deus
ex machina is Gandalf in The Hobbit.[8] With the help of seemingly limitless magical capabilities, he rescues the other main
characters from all sorts of troubles. The first person known to have criticized the device was Aristotle in his Poetics, where
he argued that the resolution of a plot must arise internally, following from previous action of the play.[9]

Shoulder angel
Main article: Shoulder angel
A shoulder angel is a plot device[10] 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 Shoulder Angel and Shoulder devil are both
derived from the concept of the Id, ego and super-ego in Psychoanalysis, with the person in the centre of the dispute
between Angel and Devil being the Ego.

Red herring
Main article: 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 whodunits, in which facts are
presented so that the audience is tricked into thinking that a given character is the murderer, when it is actually another
character.

Other devices
A "plot voucher", a term coined by Nick Lowe,[4] can be described as an exemplification of Chekhov's gun. It is an object
typically given to the protagonist shortly before an action that allows them to escape from a situation that would be
otherwise impossible. Examples of this include the object given to a character which later stops or deflects an otherwise
fatal bullet. Most of the devices given to James Bond by Q fall into this category.
Other plot devices are simply intended to get the protagonist to the next scene of the story. The enemy spy, who suddenly
appears, defects, reveals the location of the secret headquarters, and is never heard of again, would be an extreme example.
Without this 'device' the hero would never find the headquarters and be unable to reach the climactic scene; however the
character becomes less of a plot device if the author gives them a back-story and a plausible motivation for defecting and
makes them an interesting character in their own right.
Another kind is the device that overcomes some technical difficulty of the plot which is not important to the story but
which needs to be explained. Devices for turning foreign (especially alien) languages into English, so that the audience and
characters understand them are one of the most common.[11]
Some video games rely heavily on plot devices; games are sometimes entirely centered around characters performing
arbitrary tasks in order to win the game. Even well-plotted games sometimes involve the protagonist in a series of relatively
unconnected and unjustified tasks.
Some other plot devices include:

Deathtrap overly complicated method of killing a character, used only to provide a means of escape. The capturer
leaves the scene, because of another plot device, for example he might have to attend an emergency phone call, so
there is no one to witness the victim's expected demise, thereby giving the captive the opportunity to openly free
himself. This is sometimes unknown to secondary or miscellaneous characters, various associates of the villain, the
other protagonists, or to the audience until the character is needed. The character in this way also functions as a deus
ex machina.

Plot twist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A plot twist is a radical change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot of a novel, film, television series, comic,
video game, or other work of narrative.[1] It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience,
usually surprising them with a revelation. Some "twists" are foreshadowed.
When a plot twist happens near the end of a story, especially if it changes one's view of the preceding events, it is known as
a surprise ending.[2] Sometimes people use a plot twist to describe a sudden change of a situation in real life. It is often
assumed that revealing the existence of a plot twist spoils a film or book, since the majority of the film/book generally
builds up to the plot twist; however, at least one study suggests otherwise.[3]
A method used to undermine the expectations of the audience is the false protagonist. It involves presenting a character at
the start of the film as the main character, but then disposing of this character, usually killing them a device known as a
red herring.

Early example
An early example of the romance genre[4] with multiple twists[5] was the Arabian Nights tale "The Three Apples". It begins
with a fisherman discovering a locked chest. The first twist occurs when the chest is broken open and a dead body is found
inside. The initial search for the murderer fails, and a twist occurs when two men appear, separately claiming to be the
murderer. A complex chain of events finally reveal the murderer to be the investigator's own slave.

Surprise ending
A surprise ending is a plot twist occurring near or at the conclusion of a story: an unexpected conclusion to a work of
fiction that causes the audience to reevaluate the narrative or characters.[2]

Mechanics of the twist ending

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Anagnorisis
Anagnorisis, or discovery, is the protagonist's sudden recognition of their own or another character's true identity or nature.
[6]
Through this technique, previously unforeseen character information is revealed. A notable example of anagnorisis
occurs in Oedipus Rex: Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother in ignorance, learning the truth only toward the
climax of the play.[7] The earliest use of this device as a twist ending in a murder mystery was in "The Three Apples", a
medieval Arabian Nights tale, where the protagonist Ja'far ibn Yahya discovers by chance a key item towards the end of the
story that reveals the culprit behind the murder to be his own slave all along.[8][9]
In M. Night Shyamalan's 1999 film The Sixth Sense, a main character who believes he is alive, helping a boy to
communicate with dead people, discovers that he is really dead. Similarly, another film to use it is the 2001 film The
Others, in which a mother is convinced that her house is being haunted; at the end of the film, she learns that she and her

children are really the ghosts. In the episode of The Twilight Zone titled "Five Characters in Search of an Exit", the
protagonists discover at the climax, that they were discarded toys in a donation bin. Another example is in Fight Club,
when Edward Norton's character realizes that Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is his own multiple personality. A mental patient in
the psychological thriller film The Ward reveals that the three persons she's talking to are all actually herself. Sometimes the
audience may discover that the true identity of a character is in fact unknown, as in Layer Cake or the eponymous assassins
in V for Vendetta and The Day of the Jackal.
Flashback
Flashback, or analepsis, is a sudden, vivid reversion to a past event.[6] It is used to surprise the reader with previously
unknown information that provides the answer to a mystery, places a character in a different light, or reveals the reason for
a previously inexplicable action. The Alfred Hitchcock film Marnie employed this type of surprise ending. Sometimes this
is combined with the above category, as the flashback may reveal the true identity of one of the characters, or that the
protagonist is related to one of the villain's past victims, as Sergio Leone did with Charles Bronson's character in Once
Upon a Time in the West or Frederick Forsyth's The Odessa File. The TV series Boardwalk Empire and manga (twice made
into a movie) Old Boy uses similar twists.
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator twists the ending by revealing, almost always at the end of the narrative, that the narrator has
manipulated or fabricated the preceding story, thus forcing the reader to question their prior assumptions about the text.[6]
This motif is often used within noir fiction and films, notably in the film The Usual Suspects. An unreliable narrator motif
was employed by Agatha Christie in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a novel that generated much controversy due to critics'
contention that it was unfair to trick the reader in such a manipulative manner.[10] Another example of unreliable narration is
a character who has been revealed to be insane and thus causes the audience to question the previous narrative; notable
examples of this are in the Terry Gilliam film Brazil, Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club (and David Fincher's film adaptation),
Gene Wolfe's novel Book of the New Sun, the second episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Premonition, Iain Pears's An
Instance of the Fingerpost, Shutter Island, and 'The Hitchhiker' from More Horowitz Horror by Anthony Horowitz.
Peripeteia
Peripeteia is a sudden reversal of the protagonist's fortune, whether for good or ill, that emerges naturally from the
character's circumstances.[11] Unlike the deus ex machina device, peripeteia must be logical within the frame of the story.
An example of a reversal for ill would be Agamemnon's sudden murder at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra in Aeschylus'
The Oresteia or the inescapable situation Kate Hudson's character finds herself in at the end of The Skeleton Key. This type
of ending was a common twist ending utilised by The Twilight Zone, most effectively in the episode "Time Enough at Last"
where Burgess Meredith's character is robbed of all his hope by a simple but devastating accident with his glasses. A
positive reversal of fortune would be Nicholas Van Orton's suicide attempt after mistakenly believing himself to have
accidentally killed his brother, only to land safely in the midst of his own birthday party, in the film The Game.
Deus ex machina
Deus ex machina is a Latin term meaning "god out of the machine." It refers to an unexpected, artificial or improbable
character, device or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction to resolve a situation or untangle a plot.[12] In Ancient
Greek theater, the "deus ex machina" (' ') was the character of a Greek god literally brought onto the stage
via a crane (mechanes), after which a seemingly insoluble problem is brought to a satisfactory resolution by the
god's will. In its modern, figurative sense, the "deus ex machina" brings about an ending to a narrative through unexpected
(generally happy) resolution to what appears to be a problem that cannot be overcome (see Mel Brooks' History of the
World, Part I). This device is often used to end a bleak story on a more positive note.
Poetic justice
Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished in such a way that the reward or
punishment has a logical connection to the deed.[12] In modern literature, this device is often used to create an ironic twist of
fate in which the villain gets caught up in his/her own trap. For example, in C. S. Lewis' The Horse and His Boy, Prince
Rabadash climbs upon a mounting block during the battle in Archenland. Upon jumping down while shouting "The bolt of

Tash falls from above," his hauberk catches on a hook and leaves him hanging there, humiliated and trapped. Another
example of poetic justice can be found in John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, in which a concentration camp
commander's son is mistakenly caught up with inmates rounded up for gassing, or in Chris Van Allsburg's picture book,
The Sweetest Fig, where a cold-hearted dentist is cruel to his dog and ends up getting his comeuppance.
Chekhov's gun
Chekhov's gun refers to a seemingly minor character or plot element introduced early in the narrative that suddenly
acquires great importance to the narrative.[13] A similar mechanism is the "plant", a preparatory device that repeats
throughout the story. During the resolution, the true significance of the plant is revealed.
Red herring
A red herring is a false clue intended to lead investigators toward an incorrect solution.[14] This device usually appears in
detective novels and mystery fiction. The red herring is a type of misdirection, a device intended to distract the protagonist,
and by extension the reader, away from the correct answer or from the site of pertinent clues or action. The Indian murder
mystery film Gupt: The Hidden Truth cast many veteran actors who had usually played villainous roles in previous Indian
films as red herrings in this film to deceive the audience into suspecting them. In the bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code,
the misdeeds of a key character named "Bishop Aringarosa" draw attention away from the true master villain ("Aringarosa"
literally translates as "red herring"). Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None is another famous example, and
includes the term as well in a murder ploy where the intended victims are made to guess that one of them will be killed
through an act of treachery. A red herring can also be used as a form of false foreshadowing.
In medias res
In medias res (Latin for "into the middle of things") is a literary technique in which narrative proceeds from the middle of
the story rather than its beginning.[15] Information such as characterization, setting, and motive is revealed through a series
of flashbacks. This technique creates a twist when the cause for the inciting incident is not revealed until the climax. This
technique is used within the film The Prestige in which the opening scenes show one of the main characters drowning and
the other being imprisoned. Subsequent scenes reveal the events leading up to these situations through a series of
flashbacks. In Monsters, a similar beginning proves to be a flashforward as it is the linear conclusion of the events that then
follow; this is not apparent until the end. In medias res is often used to provide a narrative hook.
Non-linear narrative
A non-linear narrative works by revealing plot and character in non-chronological order.[16] This technique requires the
reader to attempt to piece together the timeline in order to fully understand the story. A twist ending can occur as the result
of information that is held until the climax and which places characters or events in a different perspective. Some of the
earliest known uses of non-linear story telling occur in The Odyssey, a work that is largely told in flashback via the narrator
Odysseus. The nonlinear approach has been used in works such as the films Mulholland Drive, Sin City, Premonition, Pulp
Fiction, Memento, the television show Lost (especially in many episodes in the later seasons), and the book Catch-22.[17][18]
Reverse chronology
Reverse chronology works by revealing the plot in reverse order, i.e., from final event to initial event.[19] Unlike
chronological storylines, which progress through causes before reaching a final effect, reverse chronological storylines
reveal the final effect before tracing the causes leading up to it; therefore, the initial cause represents a "twist ending."
Examples employing this technique include the films Irrversible, Memento, Happy End and 5x2, the play Betrayal by
Harold Pinter, and Martin Amis' Time's Arrow.