20 MP Lesson 12 Plot #6 Revenge
Jul 9, 2021 21:52:29 GMT -6
Post by ScienceGirl on Jul 9, 2021 21:52:29 GMT -6
Finally, a more character-centered plot. I call a good revenge plot deliciously deviant. Francis Bacon, according to Tobias, called it "wild justice."
Tobias himself calls it:
Readers bristle against injustice. We want to see it corrected. And thus we will permit the protagonist to operate outside the limits of law and morality to dispense justice when traditional ways aren't working. We have the main character take matters into their own hands.
Any good preacher will tell you that it's not supposed to be "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," but rather that we should forgive and turn the other cheek. There's no cheek turning in a revenge plot. So, even though morality tells us revenge is wrong, human nature tells us to go for it.
According to Tobias, Shakespeare's Hamlet is the most famous revenge story ever told. The ghost cries out for revenge. Feigned madness, carnage... stock devices, he calls them, in this revenge tragedy. The entire royal family, dead. Hamlet, achieving his revenge, then dies. So the outcome of taking matters into their own hands can sometimes end in an effective tragedy.
Also of interest in this plot is how the protagonist must act against their own character. They may have morals that would normally prevent them from killing or stealing, but NOW they can force themselves to swallow that little angel telling them to behave and do what must be done for justice. As Tobias says, "the more heinous the crime, the more justified the protagonist is in seeking vengeance.
Rules of Revenge
1. The punishment must fit the crime.
2. The revenge must counter injustice.
Phase One
In this first act, readers witness the crime. The hero is in a good place, and the antagonist intrudes with some awful injustice that takes away the hero's happiness. And for whatever reason, the hero cannot fight against the crime. They're absent, restrained, something...
Tobias points out that the starting point of the story is tough to work out. You don't want to drag the reader through all the gory details that lead up to the crime, but you might need them to witness the crime to relate to it emotionally. Witnessing the crime derives outrage.
The hero may seek justice, perhaps from the police or some other entity. But the justice rendered will not be satisfactory to the hero. They will need to go above the law to achieve true justice. They will have to take matters into their own hands.
Phase Two
The hero makes a plan. He prepares for the action. There may be pursuit, adventure, etc. but he's not going to embark on this journey without doing his homework. This is, after all, about justice. So the timed sense of urgency like you'd have in a rescue is not quite as intense.
Keeping with the idea of never taking the reader from point A to point B, remember that it's important to have someone or something present that can thwart the plan. Think about a search and rescue, for example, but it starts storming and it's not safe to go out looking. So the hero gets angry that law enforcement isn't looking and they decide to go it alone.
There is also less action in phase two as the process of developing a good revenge plan takes some detail. The hero may need to collect items or visit people and have personal conversations with people who can help them along the way. People who are willing to help them. Allies, even.
Phase Three
Just as with the rescue or escape plot, the revenge plot begins the third act with an intense, action-filled confrontation. The hero, who has single-mindedly pursued this one goal, is rewarded for their efforts. They may die, but it's heroic. Or, they may return to a "normal life."
Often, revenge possesses the hero. They become obsessed with it to the point that at the end of the story we are starting to see them sliding over the boundary and falling in the deep end. They might get violent or crafty. The risk for lawlessnes grows even greater.
It's key, though, Tobias says, that the punishment fits the crime. For example, conning a con man would be good.
More to come... Sorry!
Tobias himself calls it:
A plot with a dominant, loud and clear motive: retaliation by the protagonist against the antagonist for real or imagined injury.
Readers bristle against injustice. We want to see it corrected. And thus we will permit the protagonist to operate outside the limits of law and morality to dispense justice when traditional ways aren't working. We have the main character take matters into their own hands.
Any good preacher will tell you that it's not supposed to be "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," but rather that we should forgive and turn the other cheek. There's no cheek turning in a revenge plot. So, even though morality tells us revenge is wrong, human nature tells us to go for it.
According to Tobias, Shakespeare's Hamlet is the most famous revenge story ever told. The ghost cries out for revenge. Feigned madness, carnage... stock devices, he calls them, in this revenge tragedy. The entire royal family, dead. Hamlet, achieving his revenge, then dies. So the outcome of taking matters into their own hands can sometimes end in an effective tragedy.
Also of interest in this plot is how the protagonist must act against their own character. They may have morals that would normally prevent them from killing or stealing, but NOW they can force themselves to swallow that little angel telling them to behave and do what must be done for justice. As Tobias says, "the more heinous the crime, the more justified the protagonist is in seeking vengeance.
Rules of Revenge
1. The punishment must fit the crime.
2. The revenge must counter injustice.
Phase One
In this first act, readers witness the crime. The hero is in a good place, and the antagonist intrudes with some awful injustice that takes away the hero's happiness. And for whatever reason, the hero cannot fight against the crime. They're absent, restrained, something...
Tobias points out that the starting point of the story is tough to work out. You don't want to drag the reader through all the gory details that lead up to the crime, but you might need them to witness the crime to relate to it emotionally. Witnessing the crime derives outrage.
The hero may seek justice, perhaps from the police or some other entity. But the justice rendered will not be satisfactory to the hero. They will need to go above the law to achieve true justice. They will have to take matters into their own hands.
Phase Two
The hero makes a plan. He prepares for the action. There may be pursuit, adventure, etc. but he's not going to embark on this journey without doing his homework. This is, after all, about justice. So the timed sense of urgency like you'd have in a rescue is not quite as intense.
Keeping with the idea of never taking the reader from point A to point B, remember that it's important to have someone or something present that can thwart the plan. Think about a search and rescue, for example, but it starts storming and it's not safe to go out looking. So the hero gets angry that law enforcement isn't looking and they decide to go it alone.
There is also less action in phase two as the process of developing a good revenge plan takes some detail. The hero may need to collect items or visit people and have personal conversations with people who can help them along the way. People who are willing to help them. Allies, even.
Phase Three
Just as with the rescue or escape plot, the revenge plot begins the third act with an intense, action-filled confrontation. The hero, who has single-mindedly pursued this one goal, is rewarded for their efforts. They may die, but it's heroic. Or, they may return to a "normal life."
Often, revenge possesses the hero. They become obsessed with it to the point that at the end of the story we are starting to see them sliding over the boundary and falling in the deep end. They might get violent or crafty. The risk for lawlessnes grows even greater.
It's key, though, Tobias says, that the punishment fits the crime. For example, conning a con man would be good.
More to come... Sorry!
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