Plot Terms and Definitions with Examples from Night

Falling Action - In the plot of a story or play, the action following the climax of the work that moves it towards its denouement or resolution.

An event in the falling action in Night is

Rising Action - Major events that develops the plot of a story and leads to the climax.

An event in the rising action in Night is

External Conflict - A struggle between the a character and some outside force: another character, society as a whole, or some natural force.

An external conflict in Night is Elie and Idek.

Internal Conflict - A struggle between opposing needs, desires, or emotions within a single character.

An internal conflict in Night is Elie trying to keep his dad and himself alive.

Climax - The turning point or most exciting moment of a story, in which the main character comes face to face with the main conflict and a change happens.

The climax in Night is

Exposition - A narrative device; the introductory material which gives the setting, creates the tone, presents the characters, and presents other facts necessary to understanding the story.

The exposition in Night is when Elie is in his home town of Sighet and characters are being developed.

Inciting Incident - An event that introduces the central conflict.

The inciting incident in Night is Germans arriving in Sighet.

Conflict - A struggle between opposing forces (character vs. character, character vs. nature, character vs. society, and/or character vs. self).

The overall conflict in Night is man vs. self.

Plot - A series of related events in a story, each connected to the next.

The plot in Night is Elie Wiesel telling the story of his experience being taken from his home along with other Jews in his town to Auschwitz where they are forced to survive in awful conditions in the concentration camps.

Point of View - The perspective from which a story is told.

The point of view from which Night is told is by the author Elie Wiesel, who experienced the events.

Characters - Fictional personalities created by an author

The protagonist in Night is Elie Wiesel and his father. Other characters in Night are Moshe Beadle, Mrs. Schacter, and Rabbi Eliahou.

Resolution - Also called the denouement, this is the final stage in the plot of a narrative. Here the action comes to an end and remaining loose ends are tied up.

The resolution in Night is

Setting - It refers to the time and place which the events of a story take place.

The setting of Night starts in Elie's home town of Sighet, then stays in Auschwitz for a majority of the story, and ends in Buchenwald.