A Story Frames Plot Analysis of UNBREAKABLE

 

In last week's BLOG, I recommended using the picture book Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp to bridge the gap between narrative and non-fiction by exploring its rich back matter.  This week, I'll give a brief summary of the book using Storyboard elements from my book, Story Frames for Teaching Literacy. For more information about Story Frames, go HERE or visit Brookes Publishing.

Read the book to your students before discussing the plot and have them take notes or make quick sketches about what is happening in the story. Even older students enjoy listening to stories, and using sketches is a great way to introduce struggling writers to note-taking. In Chapter 6 of Story Frames, "From Speaking to Writing: Sentences, Paragraphs, and Stories," I share a Quick Draw strategy based upon Ukrainetz's 1998 method for "picture noting." Basically, students listen to a story and draw sketches of what is happening in the plot. For Story Frames, we then use those sketches to fill out a storyboard and discuss plot elements. The storyboard can then be used to retell the story orally or to write a summary. Ukrainetz later adapted her strategy to note-taking for non-fiction. 

Ukrainetz, T. (1998). Stickwriting stories: A quick and easy narrative representation strategy. Language, Speech, and Hearing in Schools, 29, 197-206. 

Ukrainetz, T. A. (2019). Sketch and speak: An expository intervention using note-taking and oral practice for children with language-related learning disabilities. Language, Speech, and Hearing in Schools, 50, 53-70.  

Unbreakable Plot Summary
BEGINNING:
1. Ordinary World - Min and his family live in San Pedro, California, where his father sells fruits and vegetables. Min enjoys collecting rocks as he walks home from school. 
2. Call and Response - FBI agents come to the home and accuse Mr. Tonai of being a spy because he gave money to family members in Japan.
3. Mentors, Guides, and Gifts - In December of 1941, agents return and take Mr. Tonai away. Before he leaves, he gives Min a smooth gray stone "for strength."
4. Crossing - People of Japanese descent are forced to leave their homes. Min, his mother, and siblings are taken to Santa Anita Park.
MIDDLE: 
5. New World - Their new home is a horse stall at the racetrack with straw mattresses.
6. Problems, Prizes, and Plans - Guards patrol the racetrack, and no one is able to leave. 
7. Midpoint Attempt - The family is hopeful when they are told they are being moved to Granada, Colorado, but Camp Amache turns out to be a dry desert. Min makes furniture from scrap wood to lift his mother's spirits. They receive letters from Mr. Tonai, who is imprisoned elsewhere. Min clutches the stone and thinks of his father.
8. Chase and Escape - In March of 1944, Min sees a man outside the barracks and runs to greet him. It's his father who has joined them at Amache. He has been released from prison.
END:
9. Downtime - Mr. Tonai has collected stones from every prison where he was incarcerated. He shows them to Min and talks about the strength and beauty he has found. 
10. Death and Transformation - They use the rock collection to create a beautiful design outside of their barracks. They have transformed something ugly into something beautiful.
11. Climax: The Final Test - In October of 1945, the Tonai family is finally released from the camp. At first, Min worries that they won't be accepted or that they could be incarcerated again. Min lets go of the stone and holds his parents' hands "for strength," knowing that they will make things better. 
12. Final Reward - (In the co-author's note) As an adult, Min founded the Amache Historical Society. In 2015, Emperor Akihito awarded Min with a medal for "promoting friendly relations and mutual understanding between Japan and the United States."

A Different Kind of Hero's Journey

My Story Frames analysis is based on The Hero's Journey, as described by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In Western culture, we are accustomed to Hero stories where an underdog fights against extreme odds to emerge victorious over a bigger, stronger opponent, but that's not how real life works for most of us. Sometimes heroes make their mark by enduring extreme hardship through resourcefulness (making furniture from scraps) and by creating beauty in the midst of adversity (crafting art from stones). They try to create a better world in ways both big and small. That is the story of Min Tonai, and it is inspiring because these are things each of us can do every day - create beauty and hope wherever we find ourselves.

Next week, we will use Unbreakable to explore the difference between phrases and clauses.

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Happy Book Birthday to UNBREAKABLE

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Plot Tips: Spectacular Sun Rises, Stunning Sun Sets, and the Dry, Hot Middle of the Day

I recently attended an informal writing retreat in the middle of the desert at an abbey with a few of my long-time writing friends. The abbey rents out its facilities for retreats and the accommodations were sparse, but it was also far enough out of town that the mountains didn't block the sunrises or sunsets. It is this very desolation of the dessert that allows for such a beautiful, unobstructed sky.

It got me thinking about stories and how it's fairly easy for me to create a spectacular beginning and/or a stunning ending. It is often my vision of an exciting scene at either the beginning or the ending of a story that inspires me to write the story in the first place. Then there is the despair that happens in the murky middle where I have to invent plot twists just to keep the story slogging along. It's not unlike the dry, hot middle of the day when nothing much seems to be happening and I can barely put one foot in front of the other just to make it to the shade.

The beginning of a story starts out in the main characters (MC) Ordinary World. Then some inciting event and a Call to Adventure turn the MC's world upside down. This is followed by a reaction, typically a Refusal to embark on the Hero's Journey because the danger is just too great. A Mentor shows up to provide advice along with cool Gifts like ruby red slippers or an invisibility cloak. Then the MC Crosses over to the New World where we enter the middle of the story.

The story is still exciting at this point because the MC faces all manner of dangerous and often hilarious attempts to fit in. Soon there is a Problem to be solved or a Prize to be sought and a Plan must be made to achieve it. There is a Midpoint Attempt to solve the problem and/or gain the prize, followed by Downtime Response as the MC reacts to either the success or failure of the attempt.

This structure works quite well for a short story, a picture book, a play, or even a screenplay with a fairly linear plot, but what if you want to write a 300, 400 or 800 page novel? You're going to need more action in the middle.

Going back to the mid section of the story outlined above, there is a Plan, Attempt, Response sequence that may be repeated an infinite number of times. This is why the structure of an epic poem, a narrative picture book, and War and Peace all have a fundamentally similar foundation. The MC makes a Plan and then Attempts to carry it out and Responds emotionally to the success or failure which leads to the creation of a new Plan. Other elements may also be repeated such as Crossing over into additional New Worlds. 

Karen S. Wiesner discusses a similar structure for the middle of a story in First Draft in 30 Days: A Novel Writer's System for Building a Complete and Cohesive Manuscript.

Christopher Vogler explains the Hero's Journey structure in his book, the Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. I discuss how I use a combination of strategies for both writing my novels and teaching writing to children in The Secret Language of Stories.

As for the ending of the story, the Downtime Response is followed by Chase and Escape as the action twists in an unexpected direction. A Death and Transformation occurs either before or during the Climax and the story ends with a Final Reward where the MC gets what he or she deserves which is not always what was desired at the beginning of the story.

To learn more about this structure, check out the books by Christopher Vogler's, Karen Wiesner, and my page on the Secret Language of Stories. Also watch my Teacher Resource section for Teachers Pay Teachers activities using the Hero's Journey coming soon!

HOT PLOTS - MACBETH by William Shakespeare

Macbeth and the Tragic Hero’s Journey

I’m often asked if the hero’s journey plot analysis works for all types of stories, such as those involving tragic heroes, so I thought I’d try it out on one of the most famous tragic heroes in literature – Macbeth. Macbeth is often taught in high school English courses during junior year, making it a pertinent story to analyze.

A tragic hero is a character who starts out with great promise. He is usually of noble heritage and held in high esteem by his peers, but a tragic flaw causes a fall from grace. At some point in the story, the tragic hero realizes he has made an irreversible error in judgement that will lead to his doom, but he faces his demise with honor.

To read my plot analysis of Macbeth, visit the Spellbinders Blog.