An Interpretive Strategy for Fiction & Drama A key stage in learning the skill of basic literary interpretation is to realize that the eight major devices do not simply work in isolation from one another.  Several of these devices, in particular, form a pattern.  The pattern is one of cause and effect. And here is that pattern:  In many, even most stories, the main character (protagonist) is subject to some particular kind of social conflict, perhaps even several kinds together.  Perhaps it is gender conflict, for example.  That particular kind of social conflict causes inner conflict in the main character.  The inner conflict gradually worsens as the story goes on.  Finally, the main character's inner conflict gets so bad that he or she is pushed to the very brink of a character change, a personality change.  The personality of the main character may change, or it may not.  Either way, that may be a good thing, or it may be a bad thing.  But in every case, the outcome for that character shows the theme, the moral lesson of the story.  The author means for me and for you to learn a lesson by experiencing, second-hand, how these conflicts have changed the character (or not). Put as simply as possible, the pattern I want you to learn to see is this:  social conflict creates inner conflict; inner conflict, in turn, creates a window of opportunity for character change.  The outcome of that window of opportunity shows the theme of the work.  The pattern is then essentially a simple one, comprising those three steps. So then, here is a good strategy for interpretation:  Figure out who is the protagonist; Figure out that person’s major social conflict(s); Realize that often, social conflicts will create inner conflict in the protagonist; Decide if she/he is static or dynamic as a result of those conflicts; Decide whether the author means for that static state or dynamic change to be seen as a good thing or a bad thing, or some of both; Decide what message or moral lesson that implies about that character; and State that lesson so that it applies to us as well.  At that point you have a theme. Become reasonably good at spotting this pattern in short stories and dramas, and you will do well in the first two-thirds of this course.  One last word, however:  Many of you may be wondering how the other devices relate to this pattern.  The answer is that they can all help in following this pattern in a story.  It is just that the devices mentioned specifically above (social conflict, inner conflict, and the presence or absence of character change) are more directly useful, whereas the usefulness of the other devices is more subtle usually, more indirect. Quiz Questions on Basic Interpretive Strategy: The following questions on basic interpretive strategy are to be answered in Blackboard for the Quiz Three assignment.  You will create a file, answer the five questions below in complete sentences and numbered just as the questions are, you will name the file Q3 plus your three initials, you will save the file as Rich Text, and you will submit it within the Quiz Three assignment under Daily Grades in Blackboard.  For a more detailed review of how to do the above steps of submitting the quiz, see the assignment in Blackboard. Here are the quiz questions.  Each answer counts 20 points.  Do not just copy and paste your answers, even if that is possible!  By actually typing them in your own words, you are helping yourself remember them! What relationship does social conflict have to inner conflict? What relationship does inner conflict have to the opportunity for character change? Name one particular kind of social conflict the protagonist of a story may face (this is material you should remember from quiz two).  Do not confuse types of social conflict with any of the other three main kinds of conflict. What tends to happen to the protagonist's inner conflict as the story goes on (does it stay the same, or what)? If the protagonist is dynamic (changes personality), is that always good, always bad, or could it be either one?  Depending on what?

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