Narrative Structure
Plot
You must be able to: analyse the novel’s two-part structure.
What story elements are set up in Part 1? Part 1 begins in 1741. The first three chapters establish Otis Gardiner as a threat to Ashbrook. This first part also develops the friendship between Alexander and Thomas, and shows the start of Meshak’s obsession with Melissa. This part builds to a high point of tension and release in two stages. First, Alexander’s father forces him to leave the choir school. This leads him to leave Ashbrook – after making love to Melissa. The second stage is the consequence: Melissa becomes pregnant, and her baby is given to Otis, then saved by Meshak.
How does Part 2 develop to a climax and resolution? This part begins in 1750. Melissa’s baby, Aaron, is now an eight-year-old at Coram, and is friends with Toby. Both are watched over by Mish (Meshak). Alexander and Thomas have established themselves in musical careers. Otis Gardiner, meanwhile, has managed to have someone else hanged in his place, and has reinvented himself as Gaddarn. Trouble develops in Chapters 18–19 when Aaron and Toby are separated and Toby is sent to serve Gaddarn. This is pivotal, as it is Gaddarn saying that he will sell Toby into slavery that makes Alexander realise that he looks familiar. It is also Toby who overhears Gaddarn discussing his human trafficking, and who eventually runs for help when Gaddarn puts Aaron and Meshak on the slave ship. The storylines of Otis/Gaddarn and Meshak, and those characters associated with Ashbrook, merge in the two-part climax of Chapter 32: Thomas dies defending Alexander; Aaron and Toby escape the slave ship. The climax is followed by the falling action of Chapter 32, which reveals the characters’ losses and gains.
How does the novel create suspense and dramatic tension? The novel creates and releases tension. For example, the tension created by Sir William’s opposition to Alexander’s music is released by Alexander leaving Ashbrook, but it is not yet resolved, because Alexander leaves Melissa pregnant, and he is lost to his family for nine years. The novel also raises questions. Will Alexander return? Will he and Melissa be reunited? Will Aaron survive? Will he find his parents? Will Otis face justice? Tension is relaxed at times before being wound up again. Thus, after the drama at the end of Part 1, we have the relatively calm Chapters 15–17, in which we see Aaron and Toby as friends, Aaron apprenticed and Alexander flourishing.
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Plot
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