Plot
Let’s apply our knowledge of plot to
the story of “Yeh Shen!”
(pg. 829 of your literature book)
Inciting Incident
(conflict)
Exposition:
Setting: China
Time: Ch’in and Han Dynasties
Characters:
Chief Wu
Yeh Shen
Stepmother
Step sister
Basic Situation:
Chief Wu and one of his wives die, leaving Yeh Shen to
be raised by her stepmother and stepsister. We find out she is
not treated well, and her only friend is a fish.
Inciting Incident
The stepmother pretends to be Yeh
Shen and kills Yeh Shen’s fish.
The old man tells of the magical
powers of the fish’s bones.
Rising Action
We learn about the festival and
how the stepmother refuses to
let Yeh Shen go.
After she prays to the bones of
her fish, her clothes transform
into a magnificent gown!
Climax
Yeh Shen goes to the festival incognito, but
she flees when she thinks her cover is blown.
Falling Action
The king looks to find
the owner of the slipper
and sees Yeh Shen take it
from the shrine.
Resolution
The king goes to Yeh Shen’s home, where she
produces the other slipper. The King marries her,
and they live…
Happily Ever After.
Denouement
The stepmother and
stepsister are crushed by
stones.