Plot twist: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Latest revision as of 20:20, 11 November 2024

A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction.^[1] When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist ending or surprise ending.^[2] It may change the audience's perception of the preceding events, or introduce a new conflict that places it in a different context. A plot twist may be foreshadowed, to prepare the audience to accept it, but it usually comes with some element of surprise. There are various methods used to execute a plot twist, such as withholding information from the audience, or misleading them with ambiguous or false information. Not every plot has a twist, but some have multiple lesser ones, and some are defined by a single major twist.

Since the effectiveness of a plot twist usually relies on the audience's not having expected it, revealing a plot twist to readers or viewers in advance is commonly regarded as a spoiler. Even revealing the fact that a work contains plot twists – especially at the ending – can also be controversial, as it changes the audience's expectations. However, at least one study suggests that this does not affect the enjoyment of a work.^[3]

Many television series, especially in crime fiction, use plot twists as a theme in every episode and some base their whole premise on the twist; for example, The Twilight Zone and Tales of the Unexpected.^{[citation needed]}

Early examples

An early example of the romance genre^[4] with multiple twists^[5] was the Arabian Nights tale "The Three Apples". It begins with a fisherman discovering a locked chest. The first twist occurs when the chest is broken open and a corpse is found inside. The initial search for the murderer fails, and a twist occurs when two men appear, separately claiming to be the murderer. A complex chain of events finally reveals the murderer to be the investigator's own slave.

Mechanics

Literary analysts have identified several common categories of plot twists, based on how they are executed.

Anagnorisis

Anagnorisis, or discovery, is the protagonist's sudden recognition of his or her own or another character's true identity or nature.^[6] Through this technique, previously unforeseen character information is revealed. A notable example of anagnorisis occurs in Oedipus Rex: Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother in ignorance, learning the truth only toward the climax of the play.^[7] The earliest use of this device as a twist ending in a murder mystery was in "The Three Apples", a medieval Arabian Nights tale, where the protagonist Ja'far ibn Yahya discovers by chance a key item towards the end of the story that reveals the culprit behind the murder to have been his own slave all along.^[8]^[9]

Flashback

Flashback, or analepsis, a sudden, vivid reversion to a past event,^[10] surprises the reader with previously unknown information that solves a mystery, places a character in a different light, or reveals the reason for a previously inexplicable action. The Alfred Hitchcock film Marnie employed this type of surprise ending. Sometimes this is combined with the above category, as the flashback may reveal the true identity of one of the characters, or that the protagonist is related to one of the villain's past victims, as Sergio Leone did with Charles Bronson's character in Once Upon a Time in the West or Frederick Forsyth's The Odessa File.

Cliffhanger

A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending, is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction. A cliffhanger is hoped to incentivize the audience to return to see how the characters resolve the dilemma. A notable example is in the 1980 Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back where protagonist Luke Skywalker who initially believed that the antagonist Darth Vader had killed his father, Anakin after Obi-Wan Kenobi told it to him in A New Hope is shocked and horrified when the latter tells him that he himself is his father Anakin, with the revelation eventually being fully dealt with and resolved in Return of the Jedi (1983).

Unreliable narrator

An unreliable narrator twists the ending by revealing, almost always at the end of the narrative, that the narrator has manipulated or fabricated the preceding story, thus forcing the reader to question his or her prior assumptions about the text.^[11] This motif is often used within noir fiction and films, notably in the film The Usual Suspects. An unreliable narrator motif was employed by Agatha Christie in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a novel that generated much controversy due to critics' contention that it was unfair to trick the reader in such a manipulative manner.^[12] Another example of unreliable narration is a character who has been revealed to be insane and thus causes the audience to question the previous narrative; notable examples of this are in the Terry Gilliam film Brazil, Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club (and David Fincher's film adaptation), Gene Wolfe's novel Book of the New Sun, the second episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Premonition, the 1920 German silent horror film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Iain Pears's An Instance of the Fingerpost, Shutter Island and Kim Newman's Life's Lottery. The term "unreliable narrator" is sometimes applied to films (such as the aforementioned Brazil and Shutter Island) which do not feature any voice-over narration in a conventional sense, but whose protagonists are still considered "narrators" in the sense that the film is presented from their perspective and the audience mainly encounters the narrative and diegesis through that character's point of view.^[13]

Peripeteia

Peripeteia is a sudden reversal of the protagonist's fortune, whether for good or ill, that emerges naturally from the character's circumstances.^[14] Unlike the deus ex machina device, peripeteia must be logical within the frame of the story. An example of a reversal for ill would be Agamemnon's sudden murder at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra in Aeschylus' The Oresteia or the inescapable situation Kate Hudson's character finds herself in at the end of The Skeleton Key. This type of ending was a common twist ending utilised by The Twilight Zone, most effectively in the episode "Time Enough at Last" where Burgess Meredith's character is robbed of all his hope by a simple but devastating accident with his eyeglasses. A positive reversal of fortune would be Nicholas Van Orton's suicide attempt after mistakenly believing himself to have accidentally killed his brother, only to land safely in the midst of his own birthday party, in the film The Game.

Deus ex machina

Deus ex machina is a Latin term meaning "god from the machine." It refers to an unexpected, artificial or improbable character, device or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction to resolve a situation or untangle a plot.^[15] In Ancient Greek theater, the "deus ex machina" ('ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός') was the character of a Greek god literally brought onto the stage via a crane (μηχανῆς—mechanes), after which a seemingly insoluble problem is brought to a satisfactory resolution by the god's will. The term is now used pejoratively for any improbable or unexpected contrivance by which an author resolves the complications of the plot in a play or novel, and which has not been convincingly prepared for in the preceding action; the discovery of a lost will was a favorite resort of Victorian novelists.^[16]

Red herring

A red herring is a false clue intended to lead investigators toward an incorrect solution.^[17] This device usually appears in detective novels and mystery fiction. The red herring is a type of misdirection, a device intended to distract the protagonist, and by extension the reader, away from the correct answer or from the site of pertinent clues or action. The Indian murder mystery film Gupt: The Hidden Truth cast many veteran actors who had usually played villainous roles in previous Indian films as red herrings in this film to deceive the audience into suspecting them.

In the bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code, the misdeeds of a key character named "Bishop Aringarosa" draw attention away from the true master villain ("Aringarosa" literally translates as "pink herring"). In the William Diehl novel Primal Fear (also adapted into a film), a defendant named Aaron Stampler is accused of brutally murdering the Archbishop of Chicago. He is revealed to have a dissociative identity disorder, and is not executed on plea of insanity. Near the end, Aaron's lawyer discovers that he feigned his insanity to avoid the death penalty. Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None is another famous example and includes the term as well in a murder ploy where the intended victims are made to guess that one of them will be killed through an act of treachery.

The complete second timeline of the sixth season of the television series Lost is a red herring: initially, this second timeline seems to be an alternate timeline in which Oceanic 815 never crashes (the main timeline revolves around the crashing of such plane on an island). However, one of the last scenes reveals that this timeline is "a place" where the characters of the series meet after they have died, similar to the Bardo or Limbo concept. A red herring can also be used as a form of false foreshadowing.

False protagonist

A false protagonist is a character presented at the start of the story as the main character, but then disposed of, usually killed to emphasize that they will not return. An example is Psycho's Marion Crane (portrayed by Janet Leigh), who is brutally murdered about halfway through the film. Another instance is the film Executive Decision, in which the special-forces team leader, played by highly-billed action star Steven Seagal, is killed shortly after the mission begins. The character of Casey Becker (played by then A-list actress Drew Barrymore) in Scream is killed in the first fifteen minutes. An example in literature and television is Ned Stark in the Game of Thrones franchise, who is killed before the end of the first book/season, despite receiving the most focus of the ensemble of characters.

Non-linear narrative

A non-linear narrative works by revealing plot and character in non-chronological order.^[18] This technique requires the reader to attempt to piece together the timeline in order to fully understand the story. A twist ending can occur as the result of information that is held until the climax and which places characters or events in a different perspective. Some of the earliest known uses of non-linear story telling occur in The Odyssey, a work that is largely told in flashback via the narrator Odysseus. The Aeneid, another epic poem, uses a similar approach; it begins with the main protagonist, Aeneas, telling stories about the end of the Trojan War and the first half of his journey to Dido, queen of Carthage. The nonlinear approach has been used in works such as the films Mulholland Drive, Sin City, Saw IV, Premonition, Arrival, Pulp Fiction, Memento, Babel, the television shows Lost, How to Get Away with Murder, How I Met Your Mother (especially in many episodes in the later seasons), Heroes, Westworld, the book Catch-22, and WandaVision.^[19]^[20]

Reverse chronology

Reverse chronology works by revealing the plot in reverse order, i.e., from final event to initial event.^[21] Unlike chronological storylines, which progress through causes before reaching a final effect, reverse chronological storylines reveal the final effect before tracing the causes leading up to it; therefore, the initial cause represents a "twist ending". Examples employing this technique include the films Irréversible, Memento, Happy End and 5x2, the play Betrayal by Harold Pinter, and Martin Amis' Time's Arrow. Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along and the 1934 Kaufman and Hart play that inspired it both tell the story of the main characters in reverse order.

References

^ Ralph Stuart Singleton; James A. Conrad; Janna Wong Healy (1 August 2000). Filmmaker's dictionary. Lone Eagle Pub. Co. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-58065-022-9. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
^ Judith Kay; Rosemary Gelshenen (26 February 2001). Discovering Fiction Student's Book 2: A Reader of American Short Stories. Cambridge University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-521-00351-3. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
^ Jonah Lehrer, Spoilers Don't Spoil Anything. Wired Science Blogs.
^ Marzolph, Ulrich (2006). The Arabian Nights Reader. Wayne State University Press. pp. 240–2. ISBN 0-8143-3259-5.
^ Pinault, David (1992). Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights. Brill Publishers. pp. 93, 95, 97. ISBN 90-04-09530-6.
^ Chris Baldick (2008). The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford University Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-19-920827-2. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
^ John MacFarlane, "Aristotle's Definition of Anagnorisis." American Journal of Philology - Volume 121, Number 3 (Whole Number 483), Fall 2000, pp. 367-383.
^ Pinault, David (1992). Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights. Brill Publishers. pp. 95–6. ISBN 90-04-09530-6.
^ Marzolph, Ulrich (2006). The Arabian Nights Reader. Wayne State University Press. pp. 241–2. ISBN 0-8143-3259-5.
^ Chris Baldick (2008). The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-19-920827-2. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
^ Chris Baldick (2008). The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford University Press. p. 347. ISBN 978-0-19-920827-2. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
^ "The ubiquitous unreliable narrator". My.en.com. 1996-03-26. Archived from the original on 2001-12-24. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
^ Maier, Emar (2022). "Unreliability and Point of View in Filmic Narration". Epistemology & Philosophy of Science. 59 (2): 23–37. doi:10.5840/eps202259217. S2CID 237579037. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
^ Michael Payne; Jessica Rae Barbera (31 March 2010). A Dictionary of Cultural and Critical Theory. John Wiley & Sons. p. 689. ISBN 978-1-4443-2346-7. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
^ Joseph Twadell Shipley (1964). Dictionary of World Literature: Criticism, Forms, Techniques. Taylor & Francis. p. 156. GGKEY:GL0NUL09LL7. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
^ Baldick, Chris (2004), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-860883-7
^ Linus Asong (2012). Detective Fiction and the African Scene: From the Whodunit? to the Whydunit?. African Books Collective. p. 31. ISBN 978-9956-727-02-5. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
^ Josef Steiff (2011). Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy: The Footprints of a Gigantic Mind. Open Court. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-8126-9731-5. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
^ Adrienne Redd, Nonlinear films and the anticausality of Mulholland Dr., Prose Toad Literary Blog
^ "Plots Inc. Productions". Plotsinc.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
^ John Edward Philips (2006). Writing African History. University Rochester Press. p. 507. ISBN 978-1-58046-256-3. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

[SingletonConrad2000-1] Ralph Stuart Singleton; James A. Conrad; Janna Wong Healy (1 August 2000). Filmmaker's dictionary. Lone Eagle Pub. Co. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-58065-022-9. Retrieved 27 July 2013.

[KayGelshenen2001-2] Judith Kay; Rosemary Gelshenen (26 February 2001). Discovering Fiction Student's Book 2: A Reader of American Short Stories. Cambridge University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-521-00351-3. Retrieved 27 July 2013.

[3] Jonah Lehrer, Spoilers Don't Spoil Anything. Wired Science Blogs.

[4] Marzolph, Ulrich (2006). The Arabian Nights Reader. Wayne State University Press. pp. 240–2. ISBN 0-8143-3259-5.

[5] Pinault, David (1992). Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights. Brill Publishers. pp. 93, 95, 97. ISBN 90-04-09530-6.

[Baldick2008-6] Chris Baldick (2008). The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford University Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-19-920827-2. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

[7] John MacFarlane, "Aristotle's Definition of Anagnorisis." American Journal of Philology - Volume 121, Number 3 (Whole Number 483), Fall 2000, pp. 367-383.

[Pinault-8] Pinault, David (1992). Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights. Brill Publishers. pp. 95–6. ISBN 90-04-09530-6.

[Marzolph-9] Marzolph, Ulrich (2006). The Arabian Nights Reader. Wayne State University Press. pp. 241–2. ISBN 0-8143-3259-5.

[10] Chris Baldick (2008). The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-19-920827-2. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

[11] Chris Baldick (2008). The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford University Press. p. 347. ISBN 978-0-19-920827-2. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

[12] "The ubiquitous unreliable narrator". My.en.com. 1996-03-26. Archived from the original on 2001-12-24. Retrieved 2012-12-10.

[13] Maier, Emar (2022). "Unreliability and Point of View in Filmic Narration". Epistemology & Philosophy of Science. 59 (2): 23–37. doi:10.5840/eps202259217. S2CID 237579037. Retrieved September 19, 2023.

[PayneBarbera2010-14] Michael Payne; Jessica Rae Barbera (31 March 2010). A Dictionary of Cultural and Critical Theory. John Wiley & Sons. p. 689. ISBN 978-1-4443-2346-7. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

[Shipley1964-15] Joseph Twadell Shipley (1964). Dictionary of World Literature: Criticism, Forms, Techniques. Taylor & Francis. p. 156. GGKEY:GL0NUL09LL7. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

[16] Baldick, Chris (2004), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-860883-7

[Asong2012-17] Linus Asong (2012). Detective Fiction and the African Scene: From the Whodunit? to the Whydunit?. African Books Collective. p. 31. ISBN 978-9956-727-02-5. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

[Steiff2011-18] Josef Steiff (2011). Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy: The Footprints of a Gigantic Mind. Open Court. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-8126-9731-5. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

[19] Adrienne Redd, Nonlinear films and the anticausality of Mulholland Dr., Prose Toad Literary Blog

[20] "Plots Inc. Productions". Plotsinc.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2012-12-10.

[Philips2006-21] John Edward Philips (2006). Writing African History. University Rochester Press. p. 507. ISBN 978-1-58046-256-3. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Narrative technique}}
-A '''plot twist''' is a change ("twist") in the direction or expected outcome of the [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] of a [[film]], [[television series]], [[video game]], [[novel]], [[comic]] or other fictional work.  It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation.  Some "twists" are [[Foreshadowing|foreshadowed]] and can thus be predicted by many viewers, whereas others are a complete shock.
+{{other uses|Plot Twist (disambiguation)}}
+A '''plot twist''' is a [[literary technique]] that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] in a work of fiction.<ref name="SingletonConrad2000">{{cite book|author1=Ralph Stuart Singleton|author2=James A. Conrad|author3=Janna Wong Healy|title=Filmmaker's dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1JcYAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA229|access-date=27 July 2013|date=1 August 2000|publisher=Lone Eagle Pub. Co.|isbn=978-1-58065-022-9|page=229}}</ref> When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a '''twist ending''' or '''surprise ending'''.<ref name="KayGelshenen2001">{{cite book|author1=Judith Kay|author2=Rosemary Gelshenen|title=Discovering Fiction Student's Book 2: A Reader of American Short Stories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A7Wov3lQ4K8C&pg=PA65|access-date=27 July 2013|date=26 February 2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-00351-3|page=65}}</ref> It may change the audience's perception of the preceding events, or introduce a new conflict that places it in a different context. A plot twist may be [[Foreshadowing|foreshadowed]], to prepare the audience to accept it, but it usually comes with some element of surprise. There are various methods used to execute a plot twist, such as withholding information from the audience, or misleading them with ambiguous or false information. Not every plot has a twist, but some have multiple lesser ones, and some are defined by a single major twist.
+Since the effectiveness of a plot twist usually relies on the audience's not having expected it, revealing a plot twist to readers or viewers in advance is commonly regarded as a [[spoiler (media)|''spoiler'']]. Even revealing the fact that a work contains plot twists – especially at the ending – can also be controversial, as it changes the audience's expectations. However, at least one study suggests that this does not affect the enjoyment of a work.<ref>Jonah Lehrer, [https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/spoilers-dont-spoil-anything/ Spoilers Don't Spoil Anything]. ''Wired Science Blogs''.</ref>
-When a plot twist happens near the end of a story, especially if it changes one's view of the preceding events, it is known as a [[twist ending]].
+Many television series, especially in [[crime fiction]], use plot twists as a theme in every episode and some base their whole premise on the twist; for example, [[The Twilight Zone]] and [[Tales of the Unexpected (TV series)|Tales of the Unexpected]].{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}
-Revealing the existence of a plot twist often [[spoiler (media)|spoils]] a movie, since the majority of the movie generally builds up to the plot twist.
+==Early examples==
-A device used to undermine the expectations of the audience is the [[false protagonist]]. It involves presenting a character at the start of the film as the main character, but then disposing of this character, usually killing them. It is a [[red herring]].
+An early example of the romance genre<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Arabian Nights Reader|first=Ulrich|last=Marzolph|publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]]|year=2006|isbn=0-8143-3259-5|pages=240–2}}</ref> with multiple twists<ref>{{Cite book|title=Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights|first=David|last=Pinault|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|year=1992|isbn=90-04-09530-6|pages=93, 95, 97}}</ref> was the ''[[One Thousand and One Nights|Arabian Nights]]'' tale "[[The Three Apples]]". It begins with a fisherman discovering a locked chest. The first twist occurs when the chest is broken open and a corpse is found inside. The initial search for the murderer fails, and a twist occurs when two men appear, separately claiming to be the murderer. A complex chain of events finally reveals the murderer to be the investigator's own slave.
+==Mechanics==
-== Examples of Plot Twists ==
+{{section refimprove|date=September 2014}}
+Literary analysts have identified several common categories of plot twists, based on how they are executed.
+===Anagnorisis===
-In the popular [[Halo series]], the whole story revolves around plot twists. The first game starts off when the ship (Pillar of Autumn) and her crew find a mysterious ring world. At first, their only objective is to survive on the ring world and defend themselves against alien enemies called [[The Covenant]]. However, it is revealed that The Covenant are looking for a 'control room', which is said to unlock mysterious powers inside the ring world. Much later, it is also revealed that the ring world is a weapon, made to destroy all life in the galaxy (both humans and aliens). A mysterious [[Flood (race)| Flood]] race survives by eating all sentient lifeforms. The ring world starves them to death by killing all possible prey they can devour. The only way to save life in the galaxy is to destroy the ring world (even though it allows the Flood to survive).
+''[[Anagnorisis]]'', or discovery, is the protagonist's sudden recognition of his or her own or another character's true identity or nature.<ref name="Baldick2008">{{cite book|author=Chris Baldick|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mp0s9GgrafUC&pg=PA12|access-date=23 July 2013|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-920827-2|page=12}}</ref> Through this technique, previously unforeseen character information is revealed. A notable example of anagnorisis occurs in ''[[Oedipus Rex]]'': [[Oedipus]] [[Patricide|kills his father]] and [[Incest|marries his mother]] in ignorance, learning the truth only toward the climax of the play.<ref>John MacFarlane, "Aristotle's Definition of Anagnorisis." ''American Journal of Philology'' - Volume 121, Number 3 (Whole Number 483), Fall 2000, pp. 367-383.</ref> The earliest use of this device as a twist ending in a [[crime fiction|murder mystery]] was in "[[The Three Apples]]", a medieval ''[[One Thousand and One Nights|Arabian Nights]]'' tale, where the protagonist [[Ja'far ibn Yahya]] discovers by chance a key item towards the end of the story that reveals the culprit behind the murder to have been his own slave all along.<ref name=Pinault>{{Cite book|title=Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights|first=David|last=Pinault|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|year=1992|isbn=90-04-09530-6|pages=95–6}}</ref><ref name=Marzolph>{{Cite book|title=The Arabian Nights Reader|first=Ulrich|last=Marzolph|publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]]|year=2006|isbn=0-8143-3259-5|pages=241–2}}</ref>
+===Flashback===
-In [[The Lord of the Rings]] book series, the story start off with [[Frodo Baggins]], who inheirates a mysterious ring from his uncle. However, he learns that the rings is the property of a dark lord who needs it to regain all of his lost power. Frodo sets off on a quest to destroy the ring, accompanied by eight friends who help him in his quest. (The ring can only be destroyed with lava from Mount Doom.) Near the end of the first book, Frodo believes he must destroy the ring alone, so leaves his friends to continue by himself. The three remaining characters ([[Aragorn]], [[Legolas]] and [[Gimli]]) agree to continue south on their own. Even though the dark lord doesn't have his ring, he is still planning a war, which the characters must fight.
+[[Flashback (narrative)|Flashback]], or analepsis, a sudden, vivid reversion to a past event,<ref>{{cite book|author=Chris Baldick|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mp0s9GgrafUC&pg=PA13|access-date=23 July 2013|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-920827-2|page=13}}</ref> surprises the reader with previously unknown information that solves a mystery, places a character in a different light, or reveals the reason for a previously inexplicable action. The [[Alfred Hitchcock]] film ''[[Marnie (film)|Marnie]]'' employed this type of surprise ending. Sometimes this is combined with the above category, as the flashback may reveal the true identity of one of the characters, or that the protagonist is related to one of the villain's past victims, as [[Sergio Leone]] did with [[Charles Bronson]]'s character in ''[[Once Upon a Time in the West]]'' or [[Frederick Forsyth]]'s ''[[The Odessa File]]''.
+===Cliffhanger===
-In the seven books of the [[Harry Potter]] series, the books have twisting plots. In the first three books, [[Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter]], believes the dark lord, Voldemort, is planning to return and conquor the world. Before the start of the series, Lord Voldemort was supposedly killed and nobody heard from him for years. Harry manages to keep the dark lord from returning, but in the fourth book, Voldemort rises up to his former glory. In the last three books in the series, Harry makes plans to stop Voldemort once and for all.
+A [[cliffhanger]] or cliffhanger ending, is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction. A cliffhanger is hoped to incentivize the audience to return to see how the characters resolve the dilemma. A notable example is in the 1980 [[Star Wars]] film ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' where protagonist [[Luke Skywalker]] who initially believed that the antagonist [[Darth Vader]] had killed his father, Anakin after [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]] told it to him in ''[[A New Hope]]'' is shocked and horrified when the latter tells him that he himself is his father Anakin, with the revelation eventually being fully dealt with and resolved in ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'' (1983).
+===Unreliable narrator===
-In the [[Indiana Jones]] film series, plot twists are made around the archeological expeditions and relics Dr. Jones uncovers. In [[Raiders of the Lost Ark]], Jones believes he's discovered the location of the [[Ark of the Covenant]]. However, the [[Nazis]] have found the location too, so Jones tries his best to find the ark first. He finds the ark, but the Nazis discover him and steal it away from him. Jones manages to find the same Nazis a little while later, and must make plans to steal the ark back.
+An [[unreliable narrator]] twists the ending by revealing, almost always at the end of the narrative, that the narrator has manipulated or fabricated the preceding story, thus forcing the reader to question his or her prior assumptions about the text.<ref>{{cite book|author=Chris Baldick|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mp0s9GgrafUC&pg=PA347|access-date=23 July 2013|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-920827-2|page=347}}</ref> This [[Motif (literature)|motif]] is often used within [[noir fiction]] and [[Film noir|films]], notably in the film ''[[The Usual Suspects]]''. An unreliable narrator motif was employed by Agatha Christie in ''[[The Murder of Roger Ackroyd]]'', a novel that generated much controversy due to critics' contention that it was unfair to trick the reader in such a manipulative manner.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://my.en.com/~mcq/unreliable.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011224193140/http://my.en.com/~mcq/unreliable.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2001-12-24 |title=The ubiquitous unreliable narrator |publisher=My.en.com |date=1996-03-26 |access-date=2012-12-10 }}</ref> Another example of unreliable narration is a character who has been revealed to be insane and thus causes the audience to question the previous narrative; notable examples of this are in the [[Terry Gilliam]] film ''[[Brazil (1985 film)|Brazil]]'', [[Chuck Palahniuk]]'s ''[[Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club]]'' (and [[David Fincher]]'s [[Fight Club|film adaptation]]), [[Gene Wolfe]]'s novel ''[[Book of the New Sun]]'', the second episode of ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'', ''[[List of Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes#Season 1 (1955–56)|Premonition]]'', the 1920 German silent horror film ''[[The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]]'', [[Iain Pears]]'s ''[[An Instance of the Fingerpost]]'', ''[[Shutter Island (film)|Shutter Island]]'' and [[Kim Newman]]'s ''[[Life's Lottery]]''. The term "unreliable narrator" is sometimes applied to films (such as the aforementioned ''Brazil'' and ''Shutter Island'') which do not feature any [[voice-over|voice-over narration]] in a conventional sense, but whose protagonists are still considered "narrators" in the sense that the film is presented from their perspective and the audience mainly encounters the narrative and [[diegesis]] through that character's point of view.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maier |first1=Emar |date=2022 |title=Unreliability and Point of View in Filmic Narration |url=https://www.pdcnet.org/eps/content/eps_2022_0059_0002_0023_0037 |journal=Epistemology & Philosophy of Science |volume=59 |issue=2 |pages=23–37 |doi=10.5840/eps202259217 |s2cid=237579037 |access-date=September 19, 2023}}</ref>
+===Peripeteia===
-One of the biggest plot twists in history occured in the [[Star Wars]] series. In the films, [[Luke Skywalker]] discovers that he possesses Jedi powers. He chooses to join a rebel group so he can save the corrupt galaxy from the evil empire. He believes he must eventually fight and kill the story's antagonist, [[Darth Vader]]. However, in the second film, Luke drastically learns that Darth Vader is his father, and that [[Princess Leia]] is his sister. Following these revelations, Luke becomes conflicted with fighting Darth Vader and must decide whether to join his father's side or save the galaxy.
+[[Peripeteia]] is a sudden reversal of the protagonist's fortune, whether for good or ill, that emerges naturally from the character's circumstances.<ref name="PayneBarbera2010">{{cite book|author1=Michael Payne|author2=Jessica Rae Barbera|title=A Dictionary of Cultural and Critical Theory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZjSl5y_i8TEC&pg=PA689|access-date=23 July 2013|date=31 March 2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-2346-7|page=689}}</ref> Unlike the ''[[deus ex machina]]'' device, peripeteia must be logical within the frame of the story. An example of a reversal for ill would be [[Agamemnon]]'s sudden murder at the hands of his wife [[Clytemnestra]] in [[Aeschylus]]' ''[[The Oresteia]]'' or the inescapable situation [[Kate Hudson]]'s character finds herself in at the end of ''[[The Skeleton Key]]''. This type of ending was a common twist ending utilised by ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', most effectively in the episode "[[Time Enough at Last]]" where [[Burgess Meredith]]'s character is robbed of all his hope by a simple but devastating accident with his eyeglasses. A positive reversal of fortune would be Nicholas Van Orton's suicide attempt after mistakenly believing himself to have accidentally killed his brother, only to land safely in the midst of his own birthday party, in the film ''[[The Game (1997 film)|The Game]]''.
+===''Deus ex machina''===
-Another plot twist can be found in the Season three finale of the television Series [[Lost]]. Before that finale, the TV series would tell it's plot line in a form of present events that take place on the island, where all the characters were stranded, and in the form of flashback sequences which reveal information about certain characters pasts before they were on the island. It was revealed at the end of the Season three finale that the flashback sequences of that episode were in fact not flashback sequences, but rather a flash forward into the future. Because audiences had gotten so used to Lost's form of storytelling, this plot twist was unexpected and unidentifiable until the very last scene when it was revealed that certain characters had finally gotten off the island.
+''[[Deus ex machina]]'' is a Latin term meaning "god from the machine." It refers to an unexpected, artificial or improbable character, device or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction to resolve a situation or untangle a plot.<ref name="Shipley1964">{{cite book|author=Joseph Twadell Shipley|title=Dictionary of World Literature: Criticism, Forms, Techniques|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AlUVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA156|access-date=23 July 2013|year=1964|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=156|id=GGKEY:GL0NUL09LL7}}</ref> In [[Theatre of ancient Greece|Ancient Greek theater]], the "deus ex machina" ('ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός') was the character of a Greek god literally brought onto the stage via a crane (μηχανῆς—''mechanes''), after which a seemingly insoluble problem is brought to a satisfactory resolution by the god's will. The term is now used pejoratively for any improbable or unexpected contrivance by which an author resolves the complications of the plot in a play or novel, and which has not been convincingly prepared for in the preceding action; the discovery of a lost will was a favorite resort of Victorian novelists.<ref>{{ citation | last1 = Baldick | first1 = Chris | title = The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms | location = Oxford | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0-19-860883-7 }}</ref>
-== References ==
+===Red herring===
+A [[red herring]] is a false clue intended to lead investigators toward an incorrect solution.<ref name="Asong2012">{{cite book|author=Linus Asong|title=Detective Fiction and the African Scene: From the Whodunit? to the Whydunit?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DGH1BpSyI2AC&pg=PA31|access-date=23 July 2013|year=2012|publisher=African Books Collective|isbn=978-9956-727-02-5|page=31}}</ref> This device usually appears in [[detective fiction|detective novels]] and [[mystery fiction]]. The red herring is a type of [[wikt:misdirection|misdirection]], a device intended to distract the [[protagonist]], and by extension the reader, away from the correct answer or from the site of pertinent clues or action. The Indian murder mystery film ''[[Gupt: The Hidden Truth]]'' cast many veteran actors who had usually played villainous roles in previous Indian films as red herrings in this film to deceive the audience into suspecting them.
-{{Unreferenced|date=October 2007}}
+In the bestselling novel ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]'', the misdeeds of a key character named "Bishop Aringarosa" draw attention away from the true master villain ("Aringarosa" literally translates as "pink herring"). In the [[William Diehl]] novel ''[[Primal Fear (novel)|Primal Fear]]'' (also adapted into a [[Primal Fear (film)|film]]), a defendant named [[Aaron Stampler]] is accused of brutally murdering the Archbishop of Chicago. He is revealed to have a [[dissociative identity disorder]], and is not executed on plea of insanity. Near the end, Aaron's lawyer discovers that he feigned his insanity to avoid the death penalty. Agatha Christie's classic ''[[And Then There Were None]]'' is another famous example and includes the term as well in a murder ploy where the intended victims are made to guess that one of them will be killed through an act of treachery.
-[[Category:Narratology|Plot twist]]
-[[Category:Fiction]]
-[[Category:Plot]]
+The complete second timeline of the sixth season of the television series ''[[Lost (2004 TV series)|Lost]]'' is a red herring: initially, this second timeline seems to be an [[Alternate history|alternate timeline]] in which [[Oceanic 815]] never crashes (the main timeline revolves around the crashing of such plane on [[Island (Lost)|an island]]). However, one of the last scenes reveals that this timeline is "a place" where the characters of the series meet after they have died, similar to the [[Bardo]] or [[Limbo]] concept. A red herring can also be used as a form of false [[foreshadowing]].
-{{lit-stub}}
+=== False protagonist ===
+A [[false protagonist]] is a character presented at the start of the story as the main character, but then disposed of, usually killed to emphasize that they will not return. An example is ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'''s Marion Crane (portrayed by [[Janet Leigh]]), who is brutally murdered about halfway through the film. Another instance is the film ''[[Executive Decision]]'', in which the [[Special forces|special-forces]] team leader, played by highly-billed action star [[Steven Seagal]], is killed shortly after the mission begins. The character of [[Casey Becker]] (played by then A-list actress [[Drew Barrymore]]) in ''[[Scream (1996 film)|Scream]]'' is killed in the first fifteen minutes. An example in literature and television is [[Ned Stark]] in the ''[[A Game of Thrones (disambiguation)|Game of Thrones franchise]],'' who is killed before the end of the first book/season, despite receiving the most focus of the ensemble of characters.
+===Non-linear narrative===
+{{Also|Time travel in fiction}}
+A [[non-linear narrative]] works by revealing plot and character in non-chronological order.<ref name="Steiff2011">{{cite book|author=Josef Steiff|title=Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy: The Footprints of a Gigantic Mind|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vq24xAyfoq0C&pg=PA96|access-date=23 July 2013|year=2011|publisher=Open Court|isbn=978-0-8126-9731-5|page=96}}</ref> This technique requires the reader to attempt to piece together the timeline in order to fully understand the story. A twist ending can occur as the result of information that is held until the climax and which places characters or events in a different perspective. Some of the earliest known uses of non-linear story telling occur in ''[[The Odyssey]]'', a work that is largely told in flashback via the narrator [[Odysseus]]. ''[[The Aeneid]]'', another [[epic poem]], uses a similar approach; it begins with the main protagonist, [[Aeneas]], telling stories about the end of the [[Trojan War]] and the first half of his journey to [[Dido]], queen of [[Carthage]]. The nonlinear approach has been used in works such as the films ''[[Mulholland Drive (film)|Mulholland Drive]]'', ''[[Sin City (film)|Sin City]]'', ''[[Saw IV]]'', ''[[Premonition (2007 film)|Premonition]]'', ''[[Arrival (film)|Arrival]]'', ''[[Pulp Fiction (film)|Pulp Fiction]]'', ''[[Memento (film)|Memento]]'', ''[[Babel (film)|Babel]]'', the television shows [[Lost (2004 TV series)|''Lost'']], ''[[How to Get Away with Murder]]'', ''[[How I Met Your Mother (TV series)|How I Met Your Mother]]'' (especially in many episodes in the later seasons), ''[[Heroes (U.S. TV series)|Heroes]]'', ''[[Westworld (TV series)|Westworld]]'', the book ''[[Catch-22]]'', and ''[[WandaVision]]''.<ref>Adrienne Redd, [http://prosetoad.blogspot.com/2006/01/nonlinear-films-and-anticausality-of.html Nonlinear films and the anticausality of Mulholland Dr.], '' Prose Toad Literary Blog''</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.plotsinc.com/sitenew/column_art_02.html |title=Plots Inc. Productions |publisher=Plotsinc.com |access-date=2012-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012225908/http://www.plotsinc.com/sitenew/column_art_02.html |archive-date=2017-10-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
+===Reverse chronology===
+[[Reverse chronology]] works by revealing the plot in reverse order, i.e., from final event to initial event.<ref name="Philips2006">{{cite book|author=John Edward Philips|title=Writing African History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq5wGaae5qkC&pg=PA507|access-date=23 July 2013|year=2006|publisher=University Rochester Press|isbn=978-1-58046-256-3|page=507}}</ref> Unlike chronological storylines, which progress through causes before reaching a final effect, reverse chronological storylines reveal the final effect before tracing the causes leading up to it; therefore, the initial cause represents a "twist ending". Examples employing this technique include the films ''[[Irréversible]]'', ''[[Memento (film)|Memento]]'', ''[[Happy End (1966 film)|Happy End]]'' and ''[[5x2]]'', the play ''[[Betrayal (play)|Betrayal]]'' by [[Harold Pinter]], and [[Martin Amis]]' ''[[Time's Arrow (novel)|Time's Arrow]]''. [[Stephen Sondheim]] and [[George Furth|George Furth's]] ''[[Merrily We Roll Along (musical)|Merrily We Roll Along]]'' and the [[Merrily We Roll Along (play)|1934 Kaufman and Hart play]] that inspired it both tell the story of the main characters in reverse order.
+==See also==
+* [[Climax (narrative)]]
+* [[MacGuffin]]
+==References==
+{{reflist|2}}
+{{Narrative modes}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Plot Twist}}
+[[Category:Narratology]]
+[[Category:Fiction]]
+[[Category:Plot (narrative)|Twist]]
+[[Category:Television terminology]]

v t e Narrative
Character	Antagonist Archenemy Character arc Character flaw Characterization Confidant Deuteragonist False protagonist Focal character Foil Gothic double Hamartia Hero Anti Byronic Tragic Narrator Protagonist Stock character Straight man Supporting character Title character Tritagonist Villain
Plot	Ab ovo Action Backstory Origin story Chekhov's gun Cliché Cliffhanger Conflict Deus ex machina Dialogue Dramatic structure Eucatastrophe Foreshadowing Flashback Flashforward Frame story In medias res Kishōtenketsu MacGuffin Pace Plot device Plot twist Poetic justice Red herring Reveal Self-insertion Shaggy dog story Stereotype Story arc Story within a story Subplot Suspense Trope
Setting	Alternate history Backstory Crossover Dreamworld Dystopia Fictional location city country universe parallel Utopia Worldbuilding
Theme	Irony Leitmotif Metaphor Moral Moral development Motif Deal with the Devil Conflict between good and evil Self-fulfilling prophecy Time travel
Style	Allegory Bathos Comic relief Diction Figure of speech Imagery Mode Mood Narration Narrative techniques Hook Show, don't tell Stylistic device Suspension of disbelief Symbolism Tone
Structure	Act Act structure Three-act structure Freytag's Pyramid Exposition/Protasis Rising action/Epitasis Climax/Peripeteia Falling action/Catastasis Denouement/Catastrophe Linear narrative Nonlinear narrative films television series Premise Types of fiction with multiple endings
Form	Drama Fabliau Flash fiction Folklore Fable Fairy tale Legend Myth Tall tale Gamebook Narrative art Narrative poetry Epic poetry Novel Novella Parable Short story Vignette
Genre (List)	Fiction Action fiction Adventure Comic Crime Docu Epistolary Ergodic Erotic Historical Western Mystery Nautical Paranoid Philosophical Picaresque Political Pop culture Psychological Religious Rogue Romance Chivalric Prose Saga Satire Speculative fiction Fantasy Gothic Southern Horror Magic realism Science Hard Utopian and dystopian Underwater Superhero Theological Thriller Urban Nonfiction Autobiography Biography Novel Creative
Narration	Diegesis First-person Second-person Third-person Third-person omniscient narrative Subjectivity Unreliable narrator Multiple narrators Stream of consciousness Stream of unconsciousness
Tense	Past Present Future
Related	Dominant narrative Fiction writing Continuity Canon Reboot Retcon Parallel novel Prequel / Sequel Genre List Literary science Literary theory Narrative identity Narrative paradigm Narrative therapy Narratology Metafiction Political narrative Rhetoric Glossary Screenwriting Series of works Storytelling Tellability Verisimilitude