Side Track: Plot Techniques

Plot Twist - This device refers to an unexpected turn of events in a story. An example would be Psycho.

Psycho is an american psychological thriller-horror based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. Basically, there's a mother and son running a motel,  Bates Motel. Things were going normal until a phoenix secretary Marion Crane, on the lam after stealing $40,000 from her employer, stops for the night at the ramshackle Bates Motel and meets the polite but highly strung proprietor Norman Bates. After Norman fixes her a light dinner, Marion goes back to her room for a shower... THEN a female figure comes out of nowhere while she was in the shower and stabs her to death with a butcher knife. Norman appears after the attacker fled and cleaned up the mess. After that Marion's sister found out about the place and set out an investigation. The detective went to the place and as he reached the top of the stairs, a figure suddenly appears and kills him.

PLOT TWIST - When they didn't hear from the detective, they went to the house and found that Norman's mother has been dead for 10 years. They figured out the it was Norman Bates dressed as his mother that killed Marion.

Red Herring- This device refers to details that mislead the audience such that they follow the wrong track. An example would be the Da Vinci Code.

The character "Bishop Aringarosa" in Dan Brown's novel Da Vinci Code serves as an example. The character is presented in a way that the audience would think he is the mastermind of the whole conspiracy in the church. Later in the novel it was revealed that he was innocent. Interestingly, the Italian surname of the bishop "Aringarosa" translates in English as "red herring".

First Destination: The Luck of the Roaring Camp

Reality strikes.

      In the Roaring Camp in California, there was a woman who was giving birth, Cherokee Sal. Being the only woman in the camp, the men had no idea what to do. The men let Stumpy help Sal because "he's had experience in them things" . After awhile, all the men heard a cry and everyone went silent. Anyway to cut the story short, Stumpy took care of the baby. Kentuck who was not one to be soft started to grow a soft spot for the baby and Oakhurst named him, Tommy Luck. They believed that Tommy was giving them luck as things were improving in the camp. But even their camp was prone to disasters. A flash flood strikes the camp. They found Stumpy dead with no signs of the baby. They found Kentuck barely breathing with Luck who has died. It ends with Kentuck saying, "he's a taking me with him,- tell the boys I've got Luck with me now".

Bret Harte, the author of the story, was an american author and a poet. He writes stories with him having some experience in the situation as it happens in "The Luck of the Roaring Camp". As he moved to California, he has taken up a lotof jobs; a miner, teacher, messenger and journalist. The story somehow reflects on his life. No one would expect a miner would become an author, right?

It seems he added a lot of realism to this story. Starting from Cherokee Sal, who was the only woman in the camp and how she was described as a "coarse, and, it is to be feared, a very sinful woman". Also the fact that the men had no idea on what to do when she was giving birth. Generally, men don't know things about birth or babies. As the baby was born, they made Luck the reason for their refinement. In this part, I think Harte wanted us to realize that even men, who doesn't really have any knowledge on those kind of things, can change to be more suitable for a baby's environment. The end left me with an odd thought. Why did they die?

I think what Harte wanted us to realize is stereotypes aren't always stereotypes. As miners being rough and tough, you would never imagine them to grow and become better for a single child. They are just human and they have much respect for a child who can continue their legacy but unfortunately he died. The last part where Kentuck said "I've got Luck with me now", is what stuck with me. It's like he is saying "I've done my job" or "I'm now at peace". Luck showed Kentuck what he was missing because even rough and tough men need something as fragile as a child to teach them that their life wasn't complete until he came along.

That is the reality that most of us don't realize. We think too much of how a person looks we forget that they are just like us. Stumpy showed us that even men can raise children. Kentuck showed us that no matter how rough and tough he is, he would do anything such as cleaning himself up to hold Luck or try to save Luck, he is still human. Luck showed us that even as a baby, a child, his life changed others. In Harte's case, people expected he do this and that and they loved him for it but when he strayed away from this and that, he didn't get what he deserved.

Well, this is just how I see it. I neither love it nor hate it. It's very interesting in a way that you wouldn't get it in the first read. But it does show a lot of realism that connects to the reality we are all in now. 

“People reject what they do not understand because it makes them feel small. They would rather believe in some other reality, even if it is only an illusion, so long as it makes them feel bigger.” 
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem