In primary school, we were taught that all stories must have a beginning, middle and an end. These three parts could be distinguished in anything we read. So, the story begins with three children, their dog and the initial task of trying to give their dog a bath – a problem since the dog heavily dislikes being washed. The middle consists of the problem being solved (maybe through friendly persuasion, effective mongrel management or coercion, I can’t remember fully). The aftermath and result can be construed as the end of the story. In this case, the dog is washed, the problem overcome and the story positively resolved.
This concept can be applied to the majority of modern fiction and any form of media that has a storyline. In a simplified version of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald first characterises Gatsby and the individuals around him. This poses a problem – Gatsby is in love with Daisy Buchanan, but she is married. The middle, and majority, of the story is how this problem is overcome. From Gatsby’s point of view, the problem isn’t overcome and ultimately results in his death. The ending leaves the narrator to reflect upon events.
Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs proves to be a more complex arrangement on the original structure concept. The opening scene (memorable for its small talk about Madonna and tipping waitresses) shows to the audience how all the characters act around each other and alludes to their intentions. It acts as base of events – this is where the story starts. However, for the rest of the film, the point of view changes to each individual character. For several scenes the audience is experiencing events from Mr White’s point of view, but then from Mr Pink’s, then from Mr Orange, etc. This is further developed through the introduction of flashbacks, or to use the more technical name, analepses. Mr Orange’s story is extended to include actions before the original restaurant scene. By subverting the basic storyline structure, his character is expanded and made to be more plausible within the film. As a result, the audience can understand and sympathise with him more. Mr Orange now has his own individual beginning, middle and end, as do all the other characters. These storylines all converge to make the overarching storyline.
So, let’s return to the original story involving three children and their dog. Although perfectly suited for children, it holds little clout amongst older readers and may (to put it mildly) leave them asking questions. Questions such as, why does the dog dislike being washed? Well, it had a bad experience when younger involving a pond and several garden gnomes. Why are three children washing a dog, isn’t that a bit overkill? They’re being punished simultaneously, you see. And so on. For serious books, a beginning, middle and end rarely justifies a good story. Multiple narratives or analepses, amongst others, are necessary to subvert this basic storyline structure and give it more depth.
It seems that beginnings might also be middles or even ends, and that is what I’m ultimately trying to get at. Storyline structure tends to be amorphous when considered amongst other storylines. Personally, I prefer the evening to the morning, the end to the beginning. Kazuo Ishiguro says it more eloquently in The Remains of the Day:
“The evening's the best part of the day. You've done your day's work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it.”
At the end of the story, we can reflect upon what’s happened and understand how it happened. This helps us become better people in the future. The end to that particular story acts as the beginning to our next one. One can easily propose that the ultimate storyline, the storyline of all our lives together, will never truly end. Theoretically, though our individual narrations may end in death, we play out parts in the humanity’s narration and that truly is humbling and beautiful.
This sense of understanding is the reason for this blog. Be it through articles, reviews or simple blog posts, reflection enables understanding on a huge scale. I aim to discuss various issues (including not exclusively literature, philosophy, films and football) and improve my view on things. We are forever in a process of perpetual learning. I don’t claim to be correct on every single subject; indeed, if I am wrong on certain topics, it will help me in the future when I look back at what has been written. It is possible to perceive this blog, or any blog for that matter, as the development of thoughts and ideas.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it.
Jonathan Margetts
