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Plot device
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A plot device is an element introduced into a story solely to advance or resolve the plot of the story. In the hands of a skilled writer, the reader or viewer will not notice that the device is a construction of the author; it will seem to follow naturally from the setting or characters in the story. A poorly-written story, on the other hand, may have such awkward or contrived plot devices that the reader has serious trouble maintaining suspension of disbelief.
Calling an element of a work a 'plot device' is generally derogatory, implying a lack of complexity in the work.
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A plot device is an element introduced into a story solely to advance or resolve the plot of the story. In the hands of a skilled writer, the reader or viewer will not notice that the device is a construction of the author; it will seem to follow naturally from the setting or characters in the story. A poorly-written story, on the other hand, may have such awkward or contrived plot devices that the reader has serious trouble maintaining suspension of disbelief.
Calling an element of a work a 'plot device' is generally derogatory, implying a lack of complexity in the work. Judging something as a plot device is always subjective, and depends on the degree to which the 'item' serves other purposes or is well-integrated into the tale. For example, the 'magic item' which the protagonists of a fantasy novel have to find or destroy is often a plot device that serves no other purpose.
MacGuffins and related matters
One of the most common plot devices is the MacGuffin (a term popularized by Alfred Hitchcock). A MacGuffin is an object (or character) which drives the actions of the characters, but whose actual nature is not important to the story; another object would work just as well, if the characters treated it with the same importance. Hitchcock said that "in a thriller the MacGuffin is usually 'the necklace'; in a spy story it is 'the papers'".
MacGuffins are frequently found in 'quest' fantasy stories; the magic artifact which the hero must recover in order to save his village, world or family is a MacGuffin. The labours of Hercules might well qualify.
MacGuffins are sometimes referred to as "plot coupons" (especially if multiple ones are required) as the protagonist only needs to "collect enough plot coupons and trade them in for a denouement". The term was coined by Nick Lowe.
Deus ex machina
The term deus ex machina is used to refer to a narrative ending in which an improbable event is used to resolve all problematic situations and bring the story to a (generally happy) conclusion.
The Latin phrase "deus ex machina" has its origins in the conventions of Greek tragedy, and refers to situations in which a mechane (crane) was used to lower actors playing a god or gods onto the stage at the end of a play.
The Greek tragedian Euripides is notorious for using this plot device as a means to resolve a hopeless situation. For example, in Euripides' play Alcestis, the eponymous heroine agrees to give up her own life to Death in exchange for sparing the life of her husband, Admetus. In doing so, however, she imposes upon him a series of extreme promises. Admetus is torn between choosing death or choosing to obey these unreasonable restrictions. In the end, though, Heracles shows up and seizes Alcestis from Death, restoring her to life and freeing Admetus from the promises. The first person known to have criticized the device was Aristotle in his Poetics, where he argued that the resolution of a plot must arise internally, following from previous action of the play.
In contrast to the deus ex machina, the peripeteia refers to a sudden reversal of circumstances dependent on intellect and logic. An early example of this is "The Three Apples", a murder mystery in the Arabian Nights, which uses the technique twice, once near the middle and again near the end. Both these plot twists involve an apple as a plot device.
Examples of plot devices in fiction
Many stories, especially in the fantasy genre, feature an object or objects with some great power. Often what drives the plot is the hero's need to find the object before the villain and use it for good rather than evil, or, if the object itself is evil, to destroy it. In some cases destroying the object will lead to the destruction of the villain. Examples include:
In the Indiana Jones film series, Jones is always on the hunt for some mystical artifact. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, he's trying to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant, but the Nazis beat him to it. In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Jones is on a search for the Holy Grail, but the Nazis are in search of it as well. Both films lead to physical and moral conflict between good and evil. This plot device dates back to the medieval Arabian Nights tale of "The City of Brass", in which a group of travellers on an archaeological expedition journey across the Sahara to find a brass vessel that Solomon once used to trap a jinn.
Several books in the Harry Potter series orient around a certain object. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry believes there is a magical stone in Hogwarts with special powers. Lord Voldemort needs this stone to bring back his body, and Harry looks for the stone first to prevent Voldemort's return. In the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry and his friends must locate and destroy Voldemort's 'Horcruxes', seven objects in which he has stored pieces of his soul.
J. R. R. Tolkien's novel, The Lord of the Rings, is an example of the subjective nature of labelling something a plot device. The One Ring has been labeled a plot device, since the quest to destroy it drives the entire plot of the novel; however, for something to be considered a true plot device, its nature should be unimportant. In this story the device, the One Ring, represents power and the temptations that come with it.
Other devices
Another common form of plot device is the object, typically given to the protagonist shortly before, that allows them to escape from a situation that would be otherwise impossible. Nick Lowe coined the term 'plot voucher' for these, as the protagonist needs to "save the voucher and cash it in at the appropriate time." Examples of this might include the object given to a character which later stops or deflects an otherwise fatal bullet. An example is the hymn book Richard Hannay accidentally picks up in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935 film). This convention was spoofed in the final episode of Blackadder the Third, Duel and Duality, when Prince George, having been shot, announces that he has been saved by his cigarette case - only to realize that he has left it on the dresser, whereupon he dies. Most of the devices given to James Bond by Q fall into this category. Examples include the breathing device in Thunderball or the exploding keyring in The Living Daylights.
Other plot devices are simply one-offs to get the protagonist to the next scene of the story. The enemy spy, who suddenly appears, defects, reveals the location of the secret headquarters, and is never heard of again, would be an extreme example. Without this 'device' the hero would never find the headquarters and be unable to reach the climactic scene; however the character becomes less of a plot device if the author gives them a back-story and a plausible motivation for defecting and makes them an interesting character in their own right.
Many video games rely hugely on plot devices; lesser games are sometimes entirely centred around characters performing arbitrary tasks in order to 'win' the game. Even relatively well-plotted games often involve the protagonist in a series of relatively unconnected and unjustified tasks.
Some other plot devices include:
- Deathtrap — overly complicated method of killing a character, used solely to provide a means of escape
- Quest — complicated search for capture or return of an object or person
- The Black Spot - overt foreshadowing. In the mythology of pirate code, a pirate marked for death by his contemporaries anonymously receives a piece of paper with a black spot on it; one of his fellow pirates intends to kill him. This overt indication of plot direction can be subverted (protagonist escapes inevitable fate, a la Star Wars) or realized cleverly (see Asimov's Foundation series).
In humor-themed forms of entertainment, particularly those that break the fourth wall in pursuit of comedy, plot devices or the concept itself may be deliberately pointed out to the audience for a joke. For example, in the one-shot DC comic book Blasters, written by Peter David, one of the protagonists is shown installing a device made by an alien race known as the "Plaht" into her spacecraft that will allow herself and her companion to locate the other protagonists, which was required to forward the plot of the story. Her companion then seemingly turned to face the reader and said, "Oh, I get it. It's a Plaht device."
The popular card game munchkin contains a literal "plot device" that dramatically turns the tide of a game.
See also
External links
- Large wiki of literary tropes, including plot devices.
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