Plot Character Worksheet

ENG 150 Reynolds 1

Online Lecture 1: Introduction to Literature; Plot; Character
If you've ever taken a literature class, you will have realized that not all literature is the same. There's the stuff you read for information (mostly nonfiction, and not our concern in this class), there's the stuff you read for fun (literature with a little "l"), and there's the stuff you read in classes like this (Literature with a capital "L"). The stuff you read for fun ("literature") is mostly easy to read. Most romance, science fiction, and mystery novels fall into this category, for example. (Okay, you hard-core sci-fi fans: I said "most"!) It's usually plot-oriented; that is, you read it to see what's going to happen next, and you enjoy it more if
Then he pulled the trigger and there was a shot. Bang. One more person dead in the city. It's getting to be a vice. First he grabbed the revolver that was in a desk drawer, rubbed it gently across his face, put it to his temple, and pulled the trigger. Without saying a word. Bang. Dead. Let's recapitulate: the office is grand, fit for a minister. The desk is ministerial too, and covered with a glass that must have reflected the scene, the shock. Ismael knew where the gun was, he'd hidden it there himself. So he didn't lose any time, all he had to do was open the right-hand drawer and stick his hand in. Then he got a good hold on it and rubbed it over his face with a certain pleasure before putting it to his temple and pulling the trigger. It was something almost sensual and quite unexpected. He hadn't even had time to think about it. A trivial gesture, and the gun had fired. There's something missing: Ismael in the bar with a glass in his hand thinking over his future act and its possible consequences. We must go back farther if we want to get at the truth: Ismael in the cradle crying because his diapers are dirty and nobody is changing him. Not that far. Ismael in the first grade fighting with a classmate who'll one day become a minister, his friend, a traitor. No, Ismael in the ministry without being able to tell what he knew, forced to be silent. lsmael in the bar with the glass (his third) in his hand, and the irrevocable decision: better death. Ismael pushing the revolving door at the entrance to the building, pushing the swinging door leading to the office section, saying good morning to the guard, opening the door of his office. Once in his office, seven steps to his desk. Terror, the act of opening the drawer, taking out the revolver, and rubbing it across his face, almost a single gesture and very quick. The act of putting it to his temple and pulling the trigger -