Short Story – Leiningen versus the Ants (Intro – Plot)

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photo courtesy of Hays Cummins, Miami University

Short Story Plot Leiningen versus the Ants by Carl Stephenson

“Leiningen versus the Ants” is lengthy (over 8000 words) and filled with challenging vocabulary. But it’s a classic. With many thanks to Dr. Hays Cummins from Miami University, I am able to show you what Leiningen and his men faced – 20 square miles of an “elemental” who were looking for the Full Meal Deal.

I used this story to teach “Rising Action” because it is filled with what I call the “Good-Bad” events that lead the reader to the climax. On the student handout, these become G and B. I had tried calling these events “Fortunate” and “Unfortunate” events as one considered how the protagonist would fare but the abbreviations just weren’t appropriate.

For today’s blog entry (and I had to learn how to build a table to make it happen; special thanks to my big brother the computer whiz), I will offer simply the main gist of the plot outline. More will come with suggestions regarding vocabulary, visualizing (the river, weir, outer and inner moat,etc.), use of figurative language, and more in future blogs.

I. Introduction:

A. Setting:

1. Time:

Past X

Present

Future

2. Specific time: summer

3. Place: plantation in Brazil

4. Mood (Atmosphere): tension, fear, suspense

B. Characters:

NameLeiningen

Physical Descriptionbristling gray hair, bulky nose, lucid eyes, had the look of an aging and shabby eagle

Character Traitsstubborn, smart, bold

C. Antecedent Action: Leiningen had been on the plantation for three years and had prepared for anything and everything – “including your ants.”

II. Initial Incident:

A. Type(s) of conflict: Man versus Nature

B. Problem (in question form): Who will win the struggle – Leiningen or the ants?

C. 1st event that shows the problem: District Commissioner tells Leiningen that a column of ants that’s 10 miles long and 2 miles wide will soon attack his plantation.

III. Rising Action:

- the events which begin after the Initial Incident and that make us wonder about the answer to the problem.

Good – Leiningen says he won’t run from the antsGood – Leiningen has fought other drought, flood, plague, etc. and won Good – Leiningen calls men together and prepares them before panic sets in Bad – the ants arrive. Their approach is announced by a stampede Good – Leiningen has a water-filled ditch around three sides of the plantation Good – Leiningen has built a dam to control the water in the ditch Good – tree branches that hung over the water on one side have been removed Good – women and children were taken across the river to safely Good – Leiningen has also built an inner moat and connected it to gasoline lines Bad – when Leiningen’s men see the ants they scream and carry on Bad – Leiningen wonders if he hasn’t taken on more than he can manage Bad – ants move around and seem to be intelligent, communicating with one another and so on . . . and so on . . .

IV. Climax

V. Epilogue/Resolution

Be sure to see the other entries about “Leiningen versus the Ants.”