Cliffhanger Plot Device

CLIFFHANGER
A cliffhanger is a type of narrative or a plot device in which the end is curiously abrupt so that the main characters are left in a difficult situation without offering any resolution of conflicts. Why use a Cliffhanger?
• As a result of a sudden end, suspense is created at the very end of the novel, leaving the readers in such a state that they could not help but to ask, “What will happen next?” This type of end is common to the serially published novels which end at a dramatic or suspenseful moment. Cliffhanger plot device ensures readers will buy the next installment in order to read and find out what happens. Function of a Cliffhanger
• By nature, man is a curious creature. Cliffhangers in any form of literature appeal to our curiosity. The main purpose of employing this device is to maintain suspense in the plot in order to ensure the interest and focus of the readers. It acts as a bait to lead the readers from one part of the text to another with more interest than before.

Functions continued…..
• In TV series, where the cliffhanger tool is perhaps most popular, they make use of this device to great effect. The favorite characters of the viewers are left in a lurch and the viewers yearn to know more about their fate. As a result, viewers will for sure want to catch up with the latest in the next episode.
• Cliffhangers, undoubtedly, are enjoyable to read at the end of the chapters of novels. However, it can be very frustrating at the very end of a novel as it leaves the readers discontented after all the effort they put in to read the novel.

Example of a Cliffhanger
• J.K Rowling in “Harry Potter and the Last Sorcerer’s Stone” employs many
Cliffhangers. To cite an example from Chapter 3, “The Letters from No One”:
“One minute to go and he’d be eleven. Thirty seconds…twenty…ten…nine – may be he’d wake Dudley up, just to annoy him – three…two…one…
BOOM. The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door.
Someone was outside, knocking to come in.”
• Obviously, you will turn the page and start reading the next chapter to know who was outside knocking at the door. The obvious reason for such endings is to create interest in the readers so they will move onto the next chapter without the slightest hesitation.

Another Example
A twig snapped somewhere across the icy street. Hannah’s back stiffened. “What was that?” She whispered to Ashley, her breath coming out in misty puffs. Ashley’s pupils shrank down into specks. “I don’t know.” She replied, her voice thin and wispy. They both stood in utter silence for what felt like minutes. Only one dim streetlight shown over the road, creating a small beam of light in the pitch black night. The lightly falling snow was blown gently by the wind, and whistled through
Ashley’s hair and froze her ears. Chimes clashed restlessly together somewhere in the distance. Hannah reached for Ashley’s gloved hand, but she batted it away. “Don’t be a wimp.” Ashley hissed. Another twig snapped, louder and sounding closer this time. Hannah whimpered. Ashley’s eyes slowly shifted toward the streetlight. A dark shadow darted behind it. Ashley’s heart stopped. She turned to face Hannah. “We have to get out of here,” she said staring at her with a crazed look in her eye, “Now.” She began to take a step away from the street, but Hannah put a hand out to stop her. “We can’t,” She insisted. Her breath was ice cold on Ashley’s face, “If we go, whoever the heck is out there is going to hear us. And they’re going to follow us.” Ashley stared at Hannah with her big blue eyes. The light behind them flickered and they both shot their heads around. Within an instant, everything was utterly and completely black.

Final Scene in
Deathly Hallows
Part I
THINK: Does this cliffhanger make me want to see the next movie?