Conflict:
Mark has
never met his birth parents. He was raised in foster care, and has spent his
life working in menial jobs, without a solid income. He has no family, but has
decided he wants to make enough money to visit his parents on the Island of
Hawaii. Mark has no real skills that would make him much money, but he feels
that if he can become a juggling performer, it may fund his trip. Mark has
never juggled, and does not have very good hand-eye coordination, so he will have
to work very hard to become a good juggler, so people will watch him, and give
him money. The problem is that where he lives, street act are not uncommon, so
Mark will have lots of competition, and will have to work very hard if he wants
to stick out as an elite performer in his neighbourhood.
Theme:
Mark has
never grown up with much, he never has had any money to spare, and has barely
been able to make ends meet most months, however, he believes his parents may
be able to help him now, as they were not able to raise him when he was born.
Mark is determined to work hard and show dedication to his goal of becoming a
great juggler. He knows he has given up on too many things in his life, and he
is determined not to let this opportunity pass him by. Mark will need to
incorporate practise time into his already hectic life, working two part time
jobs. He will need perseverance, and discipline if he has a shot of making any
money as a juggler, with all the competition around.
Setting:
Set in Mark’s
home of Phoenix, Arizona, present day. Mark lives in a small single bedroom
apartment by himself. He is single, and has never been married. He enjoys his
life, but is not content with the fact he has never met his birth parents. This
bothers Mark greatly, and has caused him to look for a way to fly himself to
Kauai, Hawaii, where his parents live. Mark is determined to accomplish this
goal, and his dream of going to meet his birth parents gives him hope for the future,
and determination to complete his task.
Basic Plot events:
Initial action: Mark is not content with his
uneventful life, and after being abandoned by his parents at birth since they
were not able to take care of him, he has decided he wants to find go meet and
visit them, in their home of Hawaii.
Rising action: Mark begins practising juggling and becomes very good. He
picks a place to perform his act, but soon after, realizes he has lots of
competing acts standing in his way. Mark feels unwelcome by the other
performers around him, as they are making his money making scheme very
challenging to accomplish.
Climax: Mark realizes that the competing
jugglers and he are not getting along, and it is not working for them to share
the corner space, so they mutually decide to have a juggling competition,
judged by the public, in order to decide which juggler will be able to remain
on the corner, and who will have to leave.
Falling Action: The jugglers compete, and to his
amuse, Mark puts on an excellent performance, and wins the competition, giving
him sole access to the prime performing corner in his neighbourhood.
Resolution: Mark continues his juggling work in front
of much larger audiences, providing him with the money to go on his trip to
Hawaii. Mark buys his ticket, and flies to Hawaii. He meets his parents, and
they are overjoyed to see him.
Protagonist:
-
Fairly tall (5 ft. 10 in.)
-
Silvery Grey full head of hair
-
Independent
-
Timid
Antagonist:
-
The
antagonist is Marks timidness, shy nature, and lack of confidence. This is what
is holding him back from being recognized by the public as a great juggler. He
doesn’t enjoy confrontation, and because of this has missed job opportunities
and promotions in the past. Part of this stems from Marks harsh foster care
upbringing, but part of this is simply Marks personality. These are issues that
are preventing Mark from achieving his goal, and are standing in his way.
