Kurt Vonnegut inSPIRED: The Shape of Stories

It’s pretty cool how Kurt Vonnegut explains this whole concept that stories have a shape to them. He is correct, because many stories follow this model, moving from beginning to end, with a main character usually fluctuating on the “Good-Ill” spectrum, depending on the plight of that character, and the events that unfold within the story. Kurt uses humor to really lock the audience in, and I find that this is an effective way to communicate with people.

The story I would like to demonstrate by using this model is from the movie Tangled. 

At the beginning of the story, Rapunzel is shown as a slave to the witch, her step-mother that kidnapped her when she was a little girl. Basically, her life is terrible, and she dreams of getting outside and experiencing the world. This brings me to the next phase of the shape of this story. When prince Charming shows up at her tower, she is extremely shocked and scared, and proceeds to bashing him with a frying pan. However, as she spends more time with him and his horse, she realizes what a great guy that he is.

The next phase is where my drawing shows the second dip in the scale. During this phase the witch mother is trying to get these two goons to capture Rapunzel and take her back to live in the tower. The reason why the witch mother is so obsessed over Rapunzel is because her hair has magical powers and allows her to stay young forever. For this to work though, the hair has to stay long, and cannot be cut. Anyways, moving on, when the witch mother’s efforts are thwarted, Rapunzel and prince Charming live happily ever after together and she is happy as can be.