Theme model 5

Theme-model V.

—THIS MODEL A SUMMARY. Theme-model V. is one that combinesTheme-models II., III., and IV., and contains three chapters, one written according to Theme-model II. another according to Theme-model III., and a third according to Theme-model IV. It also makes use of Theme-model I., for the situa¬tion in the first chapter is placed in the preparation, as in Theme-model I., that of the second chapter at the climax, and that of the third chapter in the sequel.

Theme-model V. in Outline. The follow¬ing is an outline of this model :

Chapter I. Situation—in the preparation — that is, generally about one-third through the story. Retrospective narrative—leading up to Situation I.

Chapter II. Situation—at the climax, generally about two-thirds through the story. Retrospective narrative—giving the events which have happened between the time of Situation I. and that of Situation II.

Chapter III. Situation—in the sequel, near the end of the story Retri?spective narrative—giving the events which have happened between the time of the second situation and that of the third. Different forms of Theme-model V. As each of the situations must be followed by a dif¬ferent kind of narrative, Theme-model V.

Whatever combination of the three kinds of retrospective narrative is made, all must be used in the one theme.

The selection which is to furnish material for our next theme is Hawthorne's The Great Carbuncle. write in complete sentences the outline of the action ; that is, mention the incidents that advance the story in the order in which Hawthorne presents them. Tell only what people did. Leave out incidents that merely throw light on character or give background. Theme-model V. in Reproduction. Follow¬ing is a plan for the reproduction of The Great Car¬buncle according to Theme-model V.: Chapter I. (Use Theme-model II.) Situation—Find material in paragraphs 1, 2, and 4. Use Situation-type I. Make Matthew and his wife A of the model, and group the other characters as B. Transition—providing an occasion for the telling of the previous history of each of the adventurers. Retrospective narrative in dialogue—Find material in paragraphs 3, 5.22. Select two or three of the minor characters, and let them through conversation tell :

1. How they came to hear of the Great Carbuncle.

2.	Who they are and how they look (through elaboration in the dialogue).

3.	What each intends doing with the stone.

4. Group the others and let one of the charac¬ters tell in monologue their appearance and aims. Conclusion—returning to Situation I. and pointing for¬ward to Chapter II. The story of Matthew and his wife should be given prominence in this theme by introducing these two characters into both the situation and the retrospective narrative in each chapter. The adventures and fortunes of the other characters should be made subsidiary by having these char¬acters appear in the retrospective narrative each time and in the firsI situation, but not in the second or third situations.

Chapter .II. (Use Theme-model III.) Situation—Find material in paragraphs 32-37. The finding of the Great Carbuncle. Situation-type I. Transition—by the device of question. Retrospective narrative by the author—Find material in paragraphs 24-31. Conclusion—returning to Situation II. and pointing for ward to Chapter III. • Chapter III. (Use Theme-model IV.) Situation—Find material in paragraph 53. Matthew and Hannah in their home. Situation-type I. Transition. Retrospective narrative in vision—Let Matthew review in thought (i) his own and his wife's fortunes since they found the Great Carbuncle. Find material in paragraphs 48-50. (2) The ultimate fate of the two or three minor characters who were especially men¬tioned in the first retrospective narrative. Find material in paragraphs 51-52. Conclusion—returning to Situation III. and giving us a sense of completeness in regard to the whole story.

Exercises 3.	Write a theme upon the following subject: Antigone was a noble Greek maiden devoted to her father and brothers. When her father blinded himself and was obliged to leave Thebes, Antigone accompa¬nied him and remained with him till his death. One of her brothers was slain by the other in battle. The king forbade any one to bury this brother, but Antigone defied this prohibition, and was in consequence confined by the king in a vault underground, where she killed herself. This is a mere skeleton of the story. You must invent the material you need for the different situa¬tions and the retrospective narrative. Take as the point for your first situation, Antigone and her father leaving Thebes ; for the second, the king announcing that Antigone's brother is to remain unburied ; the third, Antigone dead in the vault.

IV. Write on the quest of some object similar to the Great Carbuncle. Use as points for the three situations—the starting out, the finding of the object, and a scene in the sub¬sequent life of the finder. Keep the leading character in the situations as .well as in the retrospective narrative. Use as material for the first retrospective narrative, the circumstances which led to the quest, the identity and aims of the seekers ; for the second, the circum¬stances which led to the finding of the object ; for the third, the subsequent fate of the characters. III. Tell the story of a mystery according to the following plan :

Chapter I. Situation—The mysterious event which forms the motive of this story has just happened. Retrospective narrative—the history of the persons con¬cerned to the time of the first situation.

Chapter II. Situation— A person is apprehended who is suspected of doing the deed. Retrospective narrative —the history of the circum¬stances which point to the connection of this person with the mystery.

Chapter III. Situation— A second person is apprehended and it is proved that he, and not the first person suspected, is guilty. The action may have been that of a natural force, as in Sardou's The Black Pearl, or of an animal, as in Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue, in which case the third situation deals with the discovery of the agent of the action, whatever it may be. Retrospective narrative—the history of the circum¬stances which led to the discovery of the real culprit or agent of the mysterious action.