Assignment 4

Question

        Find a clear-cut example of that wish/desire/decision that opens the conflict and explain how the rest of the plot grows out of the protagonist's search for that specific goal.

Response

        a. I have chosen the Walt Disney movie, A Bug's Life, as my example;

        b. There are two protagonists in this movie. They are 'Flik' and to a lesser degree, Princess Ada. Flik's conflict is man vs himself and man vs man i.e. ant vs grasshopper. The conflict with the Princess is woman vs herself. I will deal with these separately and then show how the two are intertwined;

        c. The opening scene shows a line of ants that are bringing food for an offering to the grasshoppers. A leaf falls and breaks the line of ants. There is confusion amongst the ants because this leaf has broken the 'order of things' and they do not have the ability, as a mass, to adjust. A 'senior' ant comes along and is finally able to convince the worker ants to go around the leaf.

This sets up the idea that there is an order to their way of life and change is not understood and may not be welcomed.

Flik

        Flik is introduced at this time and he is wearing a contraption that harvests food, something that goes against their order of things. Flik is not like the other ants and he invents things that will change the way of life that has been carried out for eons. His wish, through his inventions and actions, is to be recognized as being a success by the other ants.

        Highlighted below are the elements that result from Flik's wish:

        a. Flik 'stands up' to Hopper, the leader of the grasshopper thugs, showing the colony that they are not slaves to the grasshoppers. However, he backs down from Hopper, showing that if change comes it will not be easy. Demonstrating his courage, Flik offers to leave the island in search of bigger bugs who would fight the grasshoppers;

        b. Flik leaves the island in search of aid. His wish to be successful and his desire to please Princess Ada drive his actions. This brings in the element of romance into the story;

        c. Upon their return to the island, a young princess is put at risk and the group saves her. This leads the colony to believe that Flik has actually succeeded in doing something right;

        d. Flik learns the truth, discovering the 'warriors' are a group of circus performers. To maintain his success and standing with the colony, he keeps this a secret. This is very important because it shows that the protagonist is not perfect...he has a flaw;

        e. Flik stands up to Hopper a second time. He does not back down, showing the conflict of man vs himself and his victory over it. This is similar to para a, although he was unsucessful at that time. He had used 'gadgets' to change the order of life, now he put his life on the line.

Princess Ada

        Princess Ada does not start out with a wish or desire, however she is being groomed to follow the progression from Princess to Queen. She is very unsure of herself and believes that the entire colony is measuring her every move and decision. Her conflict is with herself and her goal is to prove to the colony that she will be a worthy queen.

        Highlighted below are the elements that result from Princess Ada's transformation from Princess to Queen:

        a. She agrees to Flik's plan to leave the island. This serves the purpose of getting rid of an ant that does not quite fit in their society and to give Flik his chance to prove himself  i.e. succeed;

        b. She believes in Flik's ability and approves his plan of creating a bird. She is gaining confidence in herself and her abilities to make sound judgements;

        c. Princess Ada discovers that Flic lied to her and to the colony. She cares for him but requests that he leave the colony. She demonstrates her values as a leader and shows she can make the difficult decisions a leader must;

        d. Hopper is ready to step on Flic but Princess Ada steps between them and leads the revolt against the grasshoppers. As leader-to-be she has boldly put her life on the line to rally the rest of the colony to support her.

The Protagonists

        Flik had a wish to be a success in the eyes of the colony. Princess Ada did not have a wish but knew she was destined to be Queen when she proved herself worthy. Both, Flik and Princess Ada's actions lead to the preservation and growth of the colony. The growth transformed the ants from perceived lowlifes serving grasshoppers to proud ants serving themselves. Flik was very personally motivated, wanting to be thought of as successful. He put his life at risk for this and even lied to the colony and the person he cared for. Princess Ada was much subtler. She made decisions that affected the whole colony and her successes gave her the confidence that she lacked at the beginning.

Note: This exercise leads me to believe that outlining is very important and that the threads at the beginning have to be woven in patterns that follow through...working hand in hand from start to finish. If this is not done, I can only envision a great amount of editing at the tail end...or during the writing. Each writer is different but do you think that an outline assists the writer to ensure that all necessary elements are contained in their story?

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