Jane Doe
English Class, Schedule
Date Due
Plot
The Norton Introduction to Literature is a great place to start learning how to read and
write for high school and college students. Its author, Kelly J. Mays, explains many concepts indepth and uses examples that are both helpful and entertaining. Between pages 75 and 82, two
pieces are examined – a comic by G.B. Trudeau called Doonesbury, and a short story by Jacob
and Wilhelm Grimm called The Shroud.
On pages 77 and 78, Mays shares a touching story written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
in 1812, called The Shroud. In this tale, the spirit of a young boy who fell ill cannot rest until he
has comforted his mother. Because it takes less than one page in space, Mays uses the story to
point out that no matter how small a plot is, there are five parts to it – exposition, rising action,
climax, falling action, and resolution. (78)
In The Shroud, there is an example of pacing. On page 78, at first it says that soon after
the child was buried, his spirit started coming back at night. For how many nights the child’s
spirit came back is not directly stated, but it seems to be implied that it happened over the period
of several days or even weeks. Afterwards, the events of only two nights are stated in three
sentences.
Another example she put in, which is before The Shroud is a comic called Doonesbury,
written by G.B. Trudeau. The comic shows a frustrated teacher unsuccessfully attempting to get
his students to use their brains. Instead, it seems that his entire class is so brainwashed that they
latch onto his every word, even when he goes so far as to state that “Jefferson was the antichrist!
Democracy is fascism! Black is white! Night is day!” (77) The comic is used as an example of
conflict, which is the driver for any plot.
In chapter two of her book, The Norton Introduction to Literature, Mays explains how
plots work. Throughout her book, she uses examples from real writing to aid in explaining the
different aspects of literature. The second chapter, in which she uses two entertaining and unique
examples, is no exception to this rule.
This is the first writing assignment I submitted to an English class at a community
college. I have removed the course name and schedule, and my own name. It is a one page
response to the second chapter of A Norton Introduction to Literature. I did go slightly over one
page, but that did not reduce my grade; it received a one hundred. This is from a class with a
large homework load and easy grading.