It’s great when we can cater for the students in the class who think with a “maths brain”, if there is such a thing. Here is a graph and an equation that seeks to explain how it is that extended narrative (novel, feature film, for example) focus on character and how they change over time, whereas short narrative focuses on character and how the deal with a conflict.
This is ultimately a conversation that leads to ideas around the difference between plot and story, the narrative arc (and shape) of particular stories, the movement between order, disorder and (re)order.
So, have a look at these graphs and questions and formulas and think carefully about The Catcher in the Rye and other stories you have read. What narrative arc/plot graph would you draw for The Catcher in the Rye. Why?
Mapping Plot 1
Mapping Plot 2
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