20 Master Plots (21 page)

Rivalry existed before humanity (at least as presented in certain literary accounts). The struggle for power between God and Satan is a story of rivalry, chronicled best in Milton's
Paradise Lost.
The saga of the gods, Greek and Roman, are stories of rivalry for power on Mount Olympus. And with the arrival of humans, the tradition continued. Rivalry existed in the Garden of Eden in the guise of a serpent. It existed between the children of Adam and Eve: Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy when God preferred Abel's sacrifice to Cain's.

In fact, the theme of rivalry of a shepherd for the approval of a deity is as old as literature itself. When the gods weren't busy

competing with each other, they were competing with humans (and they usually won); and when humans weren't competing with the gods, they were competing with each other.

A principle rule of this plot is that the two adversaries should have equivalent strengths (although they can have different weaknesses). Having equivalent strengths doesn't mean the precise nature of strengths must be exactly the same. A physical weakling might outwit a muscle-bound giant by virtue of his wit. A wrestling match between hulks can be interesting if they're of equal physical strength, but we prefer stories where wit and cunning match brute strength. (We love it, for instance, when Odysseus outwits the cannibal Cyclops Polyphemus, although theirs is not a true rivalry.) The point is that whatever the strength of one party, the other party has a
compensating
strength that levels the balance. A tug-of-war isn't interesting if one opponent can easily drag the other across the line.

Literature is overflowing with rivalries: Captain Ahab and Moby Dick; the children who revert to savagery in
Lord of the Flies
; The Virginian and Trampas in
The Virginian.
Every Superhero has his nemesis, every Montgomery his Rommel. Some rivalries are the classic struggle between good and evil, as in Herman Melville's
Billy Budd,
and some struggles are between opponents who are both deserving. The tension comes from their opposition. Whether it's a pitcher facing a batter or two politicians squaring off to run for office, two people cannot occupy the same space. One must win, one must lose (with all its variations of winning and losing). Rivalry is competition.

That competition can take many forms. It can be Felix Unger vs. Oscar Madison of
The Odd Couple
; the old man vs. the fish in
The Old Man and the Sea; or
Captain William Bligh vs. Fletcher Christian in
Mutiny on the Bounty.
Rivalries are familiar ground for bedrooms, as well: Literature is filled with comedies about two people competing for the love of a third, everything from the comedies of Shakespeare to
Jules and Jim
by Francois Truffaut. The classic love triangle is a rivalry plot.

Readers like
mano a mano
combat because it's exciting.
Ben-Hur
has been in print for more than a hundred years. As a novel, it was one of the first works of fiction allowed in American homes, and it was the first work of fiction ever carried in the Sears catalogue. The novel was turned into a play in 1899, made into a silent film in 1907, then remade in 1925 and again in 1959. The final film version, directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston, won an incredible eleven Academy Awards.

The story is compelling because of the depth and breadth of the rivalry between its two principle characters, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew, and Messala, a Roman. Whichever critic described the film as "Christ and a horse-race" wasn't paying attention to the fundamental conflict of the story between Roman and Jew and between two opposite ways of life in the pagan world.

The story starts at the point of conflict. Messala, a boyhood friend of Judah Ben-Hur, returns from his apprenticeship in Rome as an officer in the imperial service. The two men embrace, recalling their childhoods together. Immediately their competitive spirit surfaces as they hurl javelins at a wooden crossbeam. This moment is typical of the first dramatic movement: The two rivals have a common ground. They meet and are perceived as equals. They eat and drink together, and Judah gives Messala a gift that foreshadows what will come later: a beautiful Arabian horse.

There is no conflict up to this point, and the writer shouldn't spend too much time reconstructing the past. Once the common ground has been established, the conflict should be introduced.

Messala wants to return Judah's gift by advancing his friend in the favor of the Emperor. But to do this, Judah must reveal the names of other Jews who have been resisting Roman rule.

Enter conflict: Judah refuses to turn over his friends.

Messala issues an ultimatum: Either you're with me or you're against me. All right, says Judah, I'm against you. The challenge issued, they take sides.

Now it's time for a catalyst episode to occur, something that pits the rivals against each other in action, not just threats.

Shortly after the initial confrontation between Messala and Judah, the Roman governor arrives. As Judah's family watches the procession from a rooftop, a tile slips and crashes onto the governor's head. Messala's men break into Judah's house and arrest the entire family for attempting to assassinate the governor.

Judah makes a daring escape and forces his way to Messala, threatening to spear him if he doesn't release his family. Messala, being a true macho Roman, swears he'll kill Judah's mother and sister if he doesn't surrender. Judah throws his spear into the wall behind Messala (an action that parallels the spear he threw in friendly competition a little while ago).

Messala knows Judah's sister and mother are guiltless, yet he plans to make an example of them. Messala makes the first move, capitalizing on circumstance to make it work in his favor. As is typical of the plot, one rival moves to gain the advantage over the other. This is a struggle for power. One rival acts to overcome or overwhelm his competition. In this case, Messala manipulates both events and people for his purposes.

Judah's mother and sister are sent to prison and Judah is sent to row in a Roman galley ship. One rival has attained momentary superiority over the other. If we were to look at what we might call the "power curves" of each of the two rivals, we would usually find that they are inversely related to each other. As one rival moves up the power curve (that is, becomes more powerful and has a distinct advantage over his competitor), the other rival moves down the same curve. Messala's rise in power and influence is matched in reverse by Ben-Hur's descent into anonymity and slavery. This matching of opposites is important for developing audience sympathy. Usually that's done by clarifying the moral issues within the story line.

In
Ben-Hur,
Messala is unscrupulous and ambitious; therefore, he's the antagonist. Judah Ben-Hur is conscientious and honest, so he's the protagonist. The antagonist usually takes the initiative in the rivalry and gains the advantage. The protagonist suffers by the actions of the antagonist and is usually at a disadvantage in the first dramatic phase. That is the function of the first dramatic phase: to separate the rivals on the power curve, with the protagonist at the bottom and the antagonist at the top.

In the second dramatic phase, events occur that reverse the protagonist's descent.

Judah spends three years shackled to an oar of a Roman flagship. During a battle in which their ship is rammed, Judah escapes, but not before he saves the life of the Roman commander, Quintus

Arius. Thankful to Judah for saving his life, Arius frees Judah and adopts him as his son.

This is the reversal of fortune necessary for Judah to rise to the level at which he can compete with Messala. Judah goes to Rome, learns the arts of war, and becomes an expert charioteer. Once Judah has gained power, he is in a position to challenge the antagonist. Notice how the motion has reversed itself: In the first phase the antagonist challenges the protagonist; in the second phase the protagonist challenges the antagonist. Judah has ascended on the power curve. The rivals have reached parity; they have equal power, which sets the stage for their conflict.

But the protagonist's house must be in order first (after all, he's a moral person). His mother and sister are still unaccounted for, so Judah goes in search of them.

The antagonist is often aware of the empowerment of the protagonist. (It heightens the tension if the antagonist continually looks over his shoulder, anticipating the inevitable confrontation.) Messala, who's completely forgotten about Judah's mother and sister, knows Judah's back in town and starts to worry. He checks on the two women only to find that they are both lepers. He retires them to a leper colony. Judah's girlfriend hides this fact from Judah, insisting that his mother and sister are dead. This reinforces Judah's intent to avenge his family's wrongful deaths.

The stage is set. The empowered protagonist's motivation is morally justified. The antagonist prepares to defend. Enter the third dramatic phase: the inevitable confrontation.

An Arab sheik convinces Judah to race his team of horses against Messala in the Circus in Rome. The sheik gets Messala to bet his entire personal fortune on the race, thus giving Judah even more reason to beat him.

Anyone who's seen the 1959 film version remembers those eleven minutes as the two men pit strength and cunning against each other. Messala's chariot is outfitted with hubcaps that have revolving blades that chew up the competition. But the hubcaps don't work on Judah, and Messala's chariot crashes. He gets trampled by the other teams behind him and lies in the sand bleeding. Before he dies, Messala tells Judah what really happened to his mother and sister. Now Judah must find his family.

In the movie, Christ comes in and out of the action, affecting Judah and his family. After Messala's death, Christ is crucified, and Judah's mother and sister are cured. The Ben-Hurs have found a new faith. But the film version leaves out the greater depth of the rivalry. Ben-Hur wants Jesus to be the head of a revolution against Rome, and even raises an army for him to lead. The rivalry extends beyond Judah and Messala; it is pagan against Jew, Rome against Jerusalem. The forces that oppose each other extend beyond individuals; they incorporate religions and cultures. The third point of the triangle is Jesus. Jesus doesn't affect Messala, but he does affect Judah, who finally realizes that Jesus isn't the rebel he wants him to be. By the end, Judah and his family have been raised to a higher level of moral consciousness.

AN IMMOVABLE OBJECT

If the basic premise of the rivalry plot is what happens when an immovable object meets an irresistible force, you should structure your characters and situations along those lines.

First, establish two conflicting and competing characters who vie for the same goal. The characters should be equally opposed; if one character has a superior strength in one area, the other character should make up for it in another area.
As
mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, it's more interesting to the reader if the strengths between characters aren't exactly matched. Your first character may be stronger physically while your other character may be more clever. Then create circumstances that test your characters according to their strengths. In some cases, one character will win, and in the other case, the other character will win. The pendulum swings both ways. This increases the tension and makes the reader wonder who will win.

And don't always be obvious. The physically stronger character may actually lose a contest of strength to her opponent because the opponent is more clever. This adds a twist to the action and keeps it from being predictable.

But this plot isn't just about forces and objects. It's about human nature, too. The intent of the rival is to overcome her opponent. But what is the character's motivation? What fuels her ambition? Is it anger, jealousy, fear? Examine the characters who are involved in the contest. Round out action with an understanding of what motivates your characters. We want to get a sense of the source of their obsession.

CHECKLIST

As you write, keep the following points in mind:

1. The source of your conflict should come as a result of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object.

2. The nature of your rivalry should be the struggle for power between the protagonist and the antagonist.

3. The adversaries should be equally matched.

4. Although their strengths needn't match exactly, one rival should have compensating strengths to match the other.

5. Begin your story at the point of initial conflict, briefly demonstrating the status quo before the conflict begins.

6. Start your action by having the antagonist instigate against the will of the protagonist. This is the catalyst scene.

7. The struggle between your rivals should be a struggle on the characters' power curves. One is usually inversely proportional to the other: As the antagonist rises on the power curve, the protagonist falls.

8. Have your antagonist gain superiority over your protagonist in the first dramatic phase. The protagonist usually suffers the actions of the antagonist and so is usually at a disadvantage.