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There are four throughlines that must be explored in every story for it to feel to readers or audience that the underlying issues have been fully examined and the message completely supported.<\/p>\n
Throughline 1: The Objective Story<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The Objective Story is the big picture – the situations and activities in which all the characters are involved. \u00a0In\u00a0To Kill A Mockingbird<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0the Objective Story Throughline explores\u00a0prejudice in a small\u00a01930s southern town where Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping a white girl . Though he is being brought to trial, many of the town folk\u00a0think this case should never see trial and the defendant should just be lynched. Defending Tom Robinson is Atticus Finch, a well-respected lawyer (played by Gregory Peck in the movie version). \u00a0The father of the ostensibly-raped girl, Bob Ewell, leads a mob to murder Tom Robinson, but Atticus stands firm against them. \u00a0Enraged, Ewell seeks to hurt Atticus’ children in revenge. \u00a0This conflict over the goal of getting Robinson a fair trial makes Atticus the protagonist of the story and Bob Ewell the Antagonist.<\/span><\/p>\n Throughline 2: The Main Character<\/strong><\/p>\n The Main Character is the one we identify with: the one whom the story seems to be about at a personal level. \u00a0In\u00a0To Kill A Mockingbird<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Atticus’ young daughter, Scout, is the Main Character, and her throughline describes her personal experiences in the story. \u00a0We see this story of prejudice through her eyes, a child’s eyes, as she watches her father stand up against both the town and Bob Ewell. \u00a0It is partly because we stand in her shoes that makes her the Main Character.\u00a0 But also, the main character is the one who must grapple with some internal issue, like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Though the story is about the trial and about prejudice, neither Atticus nor Ewell ever come to a point where they question or even change their beliefs.\u00a0 Rather, it feels like that inner consideration revolves around Scout’s impressions of all that happens.\u00a0 In fact, Scout is actually prejudiced, not against blacks but against Boo Radley, the supposed monstrous child-killing boogey man who is locked\u00a0in the basement of his family’s home on Scout’s street.<\/p>\n Throughline 3: The Influence\u00a0Character<\/strong><\/p>\n The Influence\u00a0Character is not the antagonist but the character who most influences the Main Character’s outlook and feelings. \u00a0In\u00a0To Kill A Mockingbird<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Boo Radley is the Influence Character to Scout. The rumors\u00a0surrounding this man, fueled by the town’s ignorance and fear, makes Scout concerned for her safety, even though she’s never seen him, and along with most everyone else, she holds him in derision.\u00a0 Yet it is Boo’s influence on Scout over the course of the story that ultimately brings her to a point of change in her own personal prejudice.<\/p>\n Throughline 4: The Subjective Story<\/strong><\/p>\n The Subjective Story is the tale of how the Influence Character and Main Character impact each other’s beliefs over the course of the story. \u00a0One will be forced by their interactions to grow even more steadfast their their beliefs. \u00a0The other will be pressured by that steadfastness ultimately to\u00a0 change and adopt the outlook of the other. \u00a0This is the heart of a story’s message. \u00a0In\u00a0To Kill A Mockingbird<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0the Subjective Story centers on the relationship between Scout and Boo Radley. This throughline explores Scout’s prejudice against Boo solely by virtue of hearsay. Boo has been constantly active in Scout’s life, protecting her from the background, ultimately saving her and her brother from Bob Ewell. When Scout finally realizes this she changes in her feelings toward him, thereby strongly supporting the story’s message that it is very easy for anyone\u00a0 to fall into prejudice if we judge people by what we hear, rather than what we have determined from our own first-hand experience.<\/p>\n To further illustrate how these four throughlines work together to create and support a story’s message, watch the following video clip recorded at one of my seminars on story structure.<\/p>\n Melanie Anne Phillips<\/a>
Creator, StoryWeaver<\/a>
Co-creator, Dramatica<\/a><\/p>\n