Overview
Plot is essential to any story. The sequence of events within the story are linked by cause and effect to produce a desired outcome, and keep readers engaged. Plots tend to follow a structure where the action rises to a climax, then falls as the situation is resolved for the characters.
Exposition and Inciting Incident
Many stories begin with introducing the main characters as exposition. For example, Dickens introduces the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol by showing how he limits the heat in the office to three coals, as well as begrudging his clerk, Bob Cratchit, time off to spend the holiday with his family. Scrooge also turns down an invitation to join his nephew Fred’s family for dinner, rebuffs men seeking donations, allowing readers to see that he considers Christmas as a humbug. The ghost of Jacob Marley, his old business partner, visits him as an inciting incident. Marley’s chains were forged by greed and selfishness, and the ghost is condemned to trudge the earth, just as Scrooge will be, if he does not change his ways while he lives.
Rising Action
The visits from successive ghosts follow. The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge what Christmas was like for him as a lonely child and as an apprentice, as well as the breakup between Scrooge and his fiancée Belle. The Ghost of Christmas Present appears, to take Scrooge to many different celebrations, including the one he spurned with his nephew Fred and his family. Bob Cratchit’s family, including his young son Tiny Tim, enjoys a happy holiday, despite the child’s serious illness.
Climax
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come takes Scrooge to view the events surrounding the death of a man no one mourns, with his possessions stolen. He contrasts that man’s death with the death of the beloved child Tiny Tim. He then shows Scrooge that the neglected grave belongs to him. At that point, a contrite Ebenezer gives that ghost a pledge that he will change his ways if he is given a chance to make amends.
Falling Action and Resolution
On Christmas morning, Scrooge does make amends. He sends a huge turkey to the Cratchit family, and later gives Bob a raise and helps the child Tiny Tim. He is a truly changed man, who keeps the spirit of Christmas in his heart, and does good deeds for others. The conflicts are resolved for the former miser Scrooge and the Cratchit family.
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