Presenter(s): Andrew Tesoriero
Faculty Mentor(s): Mark Hennion
Oral Session 1 DL
Authors evoke narrative surprise to catch the audience off-balance. While plot twists are often associated with film, fiction also employs foreshadowing to build towards their reveals. However, fiction is a different medium than film. Film is often seen from outside its characters whereas fiction often puts the reader in a character’s mind or over their shoulder in the third person. Thus, interiority can make a plot twist more satisfying. When inside a character’s head, a reveal that they are not what they seem is more impactful than if viewed from the outside. Authors such as O. Henry, Ursula K. Le Guin, James Tiptree Jr., Seth Dickinson and Kazuo Ishiguro have used plot twists and narrative surprise to catch the reader off-balance. The meaning and emotional impact of each of their works is enhanced by the plot twist, but all in different ways that suit their disparate genres and tones. These authors’ varying works demonstrate multiple ways of executing plot twists: some feature dramatic reveal moments, others never acknowledge the twist and wait for the reader to figure out what is going on, but each of them use narrative surprise to support the tone and meaning of the piece.