To further assist readers with understanding dynamic characters, our class used Aristotle's Incline to chart the gradual changes Jimmy Valentine experiences throughout the key acts in a plot.
Initially, readers meet Valentine on the day he is released from prison. Towards the warden, Jimmy acts playful as he jokes that he's never "cracked a safe in his life." The reader can easily see through Jimmy's jovial behavior; the character has committed the crimes for which he's been accused and imprisoned. Due to sheer arrogance toward his own skills, Jimmy continues his thieving ways throughout the duration of ACT I. As ACT II begins, events will alter the protagonist significantly when he falls for the bank owner's daughter, Annabel Adams.
Overwhelmed and lovestruck, Jimmy feels he must become a new man. Love transforms the character and Jimmy changes his name to Ralph Spencer. Motivated to live life on the straight-and-narrow path, Spencer spends the duration of ACT II establishing his new life. He opens a shoe shop, proposes to Annabel, and gains acceptance among the Adam's family. As the third act approaches, Jimmy/Ralph's life will be altered significantly through the "dark moment."
In Act III of Aristotle's Incline, all protagonists experience a "dark moment," an event in the plot which challenges the character in ways that will forever change them. This catharsis acts to purge the character of select characteristics they once represented; characteristics that held back the protagonist from growing into a worthy hero. As the protagonist suffers and learns, they eventually come to a decision (whether consciously or subconsciously) about who they are and have become as a result of their experiences.
Like O'Henry's protagonist Jimmy Valentine, a character will make a selfless choice and shed their former image; hence why the climax is considered a "turning point." Whereas the author introduces an arrogant Valentine, readers conclude with a humbled Spencer--a man worthy of a reader's attention.
Initially, readers meet Valentine on the day he is released from prison. Towards the warden, Jimmy acts playful as he jokes that he's never "cracked a safe in his life." The reader can easily see through Jimmy's jovial behavior; the character has committed the crimes for which he's been accused and imprisoned. Due to sheer arrogance toward his own skills, Jimmy continues his thieving ways throughout the duration of ACT I. As ACT II begins, events will alter the protagonist significantly when he falls for the bank owner's daughter, Annabel Adams.
Overwhelmed and lovestruck, Jimmy feels he must become a new man. Love transforms the character and Jimmy changes his name to Ralph Spencer. Motivated to live life on the straight-and-narrow path, Spencer spends the duration of ACT II establishing his new life. He opens a shoe shop, proposes to Annabel, and gains acceptance among the Adam's family. As the third act approaches, Jimmy/Ralph's life will be altered significantly through the "dark moment."
In Act III of Aristotle's Incline, all protagonists experience a "dark moment," an event in the plot which challenges the character in ways that will forever change them. This catharsis acts to purge the character of select characteristics they once represented; characteristics that held back the protagonist from growing into a worthy hero. As the protagonist suffers and learns, they eventually come to a decision (whether consciously or subconsciously) about who they are and have become as a result of their experiences.
Like O'Henry's protagonist Jimmy Valentine, a character will make a selfless choice and shed their former image; hence why the climax is considered a "turning point." Whereas the author introduces an arrogant Valentine, readers conclude with a humbled Spencer--a man worthy of a reader's attention.