Tableau Novel Project:

1) Exposition:  

-The exposition is the very first part of the story where we start to learn about the character’s background information and his relationships. It can also be about events that happened before the story. 

-We hear about Junior and his condition called hydrocephalus which is a condition that causes there to be more fluid in the brain than normal. Junior tells us about his best friend Rowdy and how he protects him every day from getting bullied. He also tells us about his sister Mary and that she ran away from home. His parents are alcoholics, but they don’t get abusive when drunk. Whereas Rowdy’s parents do. 

-I know this is the beginning because Junior is telling us about his life right now and past events. He is explaining his condition and his relationships as well as his friendships. 

2) Initiating Incident:  

–This is the event that is the turning point in the story and where it changes the character’s life either for the better or worse. This usually happens right after the introduction of the story. 

-Mr. P, who is Junior’s math teacher, talks to Junior about the mostly white school called Rearden. He tells him that Rowdy has given up on everything, that is why he bullies other people every day except Junior. Mr. P tells Junior to go find hope at Rearden. 

-I know this is the initiating incident because at this point is where Junior decides to leave all his friends and they are getting mad at him for it. 

3) Rising action 1: 

-Rising action is the events leading up to the climax. The rising action is usually what keeps the reader engaged in the book. These are also the parts where we get a clear vision of the conflict and who is involved. 

-Junior tells his best friend Rowdy that he is leaving the rez and going to Rearden. Rowdy is very upset with this because Junior is his only friend. At first, he thought Junior was joking but once he realized it was legit, he lost it. He got so mad that he punched Junior in the face. Rowdy has never laid a hand on Junior, so this is how we know he is very upset. Junior realizes he deserved the punch and just lay there on the ground until Rowdy left. Junior realized his friendship with Rowdy was over or so he thought. 

-I know that this is the rising action because here his friends find out that he is moving, and things start to take off. 

4) Rising action 2: 

-Junior makes another friend named Gordy. Gordy is a bit of a nerd and a bookworm. At first, he didn’t want to be friends with Junior, but he came around once he found out that Junior wasn’t as stupid as he thought he was. He was teaching Junior how to read a book the “proper way”. Gordy was also a bit of a weird kid, but we won’t go too deep into that. 

-This point in the story things is calm but after this it’s going to go up. Gordy is another one of his new friends and explains to him how to read a book. 

5) Rising action 3: 

Junior makes friends at Rearden, Penelope and Roger. Junior and Penelope start dating, they go to dinner and Junior does not have the money to pay for the food. Junior gets nauseous because he doesn’t know what to do. Roger tells Junior to come to the basketball tryouts and then gives him money to pay for the food. 

-In this part his new friends at Rearden realize he is poor. Junior doesn’t know how they are going to react, so he starts to get sick. It adds more tension to the story. 

6) Climax: 

-The climax is the highest point of tension in the story. The main conflict of the story is happening here. The confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist happens.  

-Junior has made the basketball team and I am pretty sure it was their second game where they played against the kids on the rez, which includes Rowdy. Rowdy and Junior didn’t leave off on good terms. Junior has never beat Rowdy in a one-on-one game, but to Rowdys surprise when he went to dunk the ball Junior jumped up with him and blocked the shot. Rowdy got mad again and gave Junior a concussion and a few stitches. 

-I know this is the climax because the main conflict happens here. Basketball is Junior’s future, and he only has good things coming for him. 

7) Falling action: 

-Falling action is what the character is doing after the main conflict happens and it leads up to how the conflict gets resolved. This explains what happens near the end of the story. 

-Junior sends Rowdy an e-mail and they discuss what happened. Rowdy invites him to go shoot some hoops and they didn’t talk much. Mary Junior’s sister, his grandma and his uncle Eugene pass near the end of the story. Junior is very sad at their funeral but at Mary’s funeral Rowdy hides in the woods and Junior runs into him. Junior laughs because he can’t believe Mary is dead. Rowdy is crying and pushes junior when he tries to touch his shoulder. 

-After what happened Junior and Rowdy decides to resolve the conflict by shooting around and even though they didn’t talk much, they knew their friendship will last longer. 

8) Conclusion: 

-The conclusion is the part in the story after the falling action, where usually the conflicts are resolved. The reader may be left with open ended questions, or the ending is clear, and we know exactly what type of ending it is. 

-All the kids at Rearden show Junior more affection after Mary’s death. Junior realizes he isn’t alone anymore, and he has a lot of friends. Rowdy and Junior have a deep conversation and Rowdy tells Junior that he always knew how Junior was going to be the one to travel the world, but he must promise to send him postcards from every place he travels to. Junior finishes his first year at Rearden and has a good time with all his friends.  

-All the conflict now is resolved, and Rowdy realizes that Junior is going to keep leaving and do big things, but their friendship stays the same.