Plot
& Action
What is Action?
• Action is all the stuff that happens in
a story
big
• It can be
things (like a volcano
erupting) small things (like a girl winking
at a boy)
What is Plot?
•Plot is the structure of a story.
•It is all the actions of the story
and the order that they are told
in.
Plot Components
Climax: the turning point, the
most intense moment; this is
the most exciting or stressful
part of the story
Rising Action: the series of
conflicts and crises in the
story that lead to the climax
Falling Action: all of the
action which follows the
climax
Exposition: the start of the
story, the situation before the
action starts – we meet the
characters and find out the
setting
Resolution: the conclusion,
the tying together of all of
the threads
Example: Plot of the Story “The Dog
of Pompei” by Louis Untermeyer
Climax:
The volcano erupts,
burning people, and covering them in
ash. Bimbo tries to chase Tito to the
sea gate. Tito faints.
Rising Action:
Tension
begins to build when we
realize that a volcano is
starting to erupt and Bimbo is
trying to lead Tito to safety,
but Tito is very tired and
hungry and thirsty, so he
can’t walk quickly. Bimbo
tries to get bread for Tito.
Exposition: We meet the
characters (a blind boy called Tito
and his dog Bimbo) and find out
the setting (the streets of Pompeii,
Italy, in ancient Rome)
Falling Action:
Tito
wakes up and he is safe
from the volcano, but he is
very sad because Bimbo
didn’t make it out.
Resolution: 1800 years later,
scientists dig up the fossil of a
dog holding some bread.
Conflict
Conflict is the dramatic struggle
between two forces in a story.
Without conflict, there is no
plot.
Types of Conflict
External Conflict
Character vs Character
Character vs Nature
Character vs Society
Internal Conflict
Character vs Self