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Difficulty: EasyPlot Structure and Narrative Devices

Read the following extract carefully:

"The rain beat relentlessly against the thatched roof, but inside the council hall, heavy silence fell upon the villagers. Just as the village head was about to pronounce the banishment sentence on Obi, an unknown traveler rushed into the assembly holding an old sealed scroll that miraculously proved Obi's innocence and resolved the entire dispute instantly."

Which narrative plot device is illustrated by the sudden, unexpected resolution of the conflict in this passage?

  1. Deus ex machinaAnswer
  2. B
    Dramatic irony
  3. C
    Climax
  4. D
    Flashback

Answer

Deus ex machina is the plot device demonstrated when an unheralded external event or character suddenly resolves a desperate crisis.
Deus ex machina is the correct term for a plot device in which a seemingly unsolvable difficulty is suddenly and abruptly resolved by the unexpected intervention of a new event, character, or object.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the central action in the prose excerpt
An unexpected traveler arrives with a sealed scroll that instantly clears Obi and resolves the village dispute.
Identifying how the conflict is resolved is essential to determining the specific narrative technique.
2
Compare the action against standard narrative plot devices
The arrival of an unheralded, miraculous solution right at the point of crisis fits the definition of deus ex machina.
Deus ex machina explicitly refers to an improbable or convenient plot intervention that settles a story's conflict.

Key Concept

Deus ex machina as a narrative plot device
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Topics

Plot Structure and Narrative Devices

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