Lecture 10: Plotting with the Freytag Pyramid
z Next comes the inciting action, which is the event that introduces
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Miss Gulch wants Dorothy’s dog put to sleep. This is what
causes Dorothy to run away from home, leading to the blow
to the head she receives during the tornado. In that sense, we
might consider Miss Gulch’s threat the inciting moment.o %XWWKLVFRQÀLFWEHFRPHVPRUHFRPSOLFDWHGZKHQWKHWRUQDGR
transports Dorothy to the Land of Oz. There, Dorothy’s house
lands on the Wicked Witch of the East and kills her, and the
Wicked Witch of the West threatens to kill Dorothy in revenge.
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Wicked Witch of the West is Miss Gulch in her Oz incarnation,
and in both incarnations, she wants to harm Dorothy.o 7KHUH¶VDOVRDQRWKHUSRWHQWLDOFRQÀLFWWKDWDULVHVDIWHU'RURWK\
lands in Oz: the fact that she wants to go home, but nobody
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Dorothy versus the Wicked Witch and Dorothy’s quest to go
home—are linked and become even more explicitly linked
later on.z The rising action is the part where the plot becomes more complicated
and exciting, building tension. In 7KH:L]DUGRI2], the rising action
includes Dorothy’s departure from Munchkinland; her meetings with the
Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion; her arrival in Emerald
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o During this party of the story, small obstacles are thrown in
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mentioned earlier are reemphasized. Once Dorothy and her
companions arrive in Oz, the witch spells out “Surrender
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head of the wizard, asks for his help in returning home. The