 Drama: March 08, 2017 Issue [#8158] |
  Drama
This week: Moral Argument through Dialog Edited by: Joy  
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“I think that the difference right now between good art and bad art is that the good artists are the people who are, in one way or another, creating, out of deep and honest concern, a vision of life in the twentieth century that is worth pursuing. And the bad artists, of whom there are many, are whining or moaning or staring, because it's fashionable, into the dark abyss.”
John Gardner
“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.”
Albert Camus
We must choose each step we take with utmost caution, for the footprints we leave behind are as important as the path we will follow. They’re part of the same journey — our story.”
Lori R. Lopez, Dance Of The Chupacabras
Hello, I am Joy , this week's drama editor. This issue is about the importance of dialogue in starting or strengthening the moral argument of a story.
Thank you for reading our newsletters and for supplying the editors with feedback and encouragement.
Note: In the editorial, I refer to third person singular as he, to also mean the female gender, because I don't like to use they or he/she.
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Welcome to the Drama newsletter
All fiction says something, gives a message, or argues a point, good or bad, right or wrong. Even if some messages and arguments can be black and white, it is not the writer’s job to force the reader to take sides but to present the facts and ideas as thoroughly as possible. For this end, although it is not the only one, dialog is a good tool to use.
Dialog as a stylistic and narrative device can be rich and versatile. It is helpful not only in launching, clarifying, and illuminating the moral arguments branching out from the main theme but also in progressing the story. In addition, it holds a brighter light into the characters, showing the reader how and why they make moral, ethical, or immoral, unethical choices. Through these functions, a well-written dialog provides a refinement and an emotional power to the story’s structural design.
Let’s look at the ways the dialog reveals the subtle points of a moral argument through the conversations of primary characters.
1. A most impressive way is when the antagonist defends his actions or opposes the protagonist while justifying his own behavior or he talks in such a way that his words highlight the protagonist’s strengths and weaknesses. This puts emphasis on the antagonist as a human being and deepens his character rather than showing him as a totally one-sided person. In most conflicts, no good or bad clearly exists, and successful stories show all characters having good reasons for their thinking and acting. By having the antagonist give strong, though wrong, justification, the hero-villain cliché can be avoided.
Example: In Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Robert Cohn is the antagonist, however a rather nice one. This part of the dialog is after Cohn and Jake (the protagonist) discuss a woman (Brett) they both like.
Well,” I said, “don’t ask me a lot of fool questions if you don’t like the answers.”
“I didn’t ask you that.”
“You asked me what I knew about Brett Ashley.”
“I didn’t ask you to insult her.”
“Oh, go to hell.”
He stood up from the table his face white, and stood there white and angry behind the little plates of hors d’œuvres.
“Sit down,” I said. “Don’t be a fool.”
“You’ve got to take that back.”
“Oh, cut out the prep-school stuff.”
“Take it back.”
“Sure. Anything. I never heard of Brett Ashley. How’s that?”
“No. Not that. About me going to hell.”
“Oh, don’t go to hell,” I said. “Stick around. We’re just starting lunch.”
Cohn smiled again and sat down. He seemed glad to sit down. What the hell would he have done if he hadn’t sat down? “You say such damned insulting things, Jake.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve got a nasty tongue. I never mean it when I say nasty things.”
“I know it,” Cohn said. “You’re really about the best friend I have, Jake.”
God help you, I thought. “Forget what I said,” I said out loud. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. It’s fine. I was just sore for a minute.”
2. Again, the dialog between the protagonist and the antagonist, usually in a dramatic battle scene, shows which values are at stake.This is when all arms are exposed and the story is nearing or at its end.
Example: Voldemort and Harry Potter facing off in the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
"Is it love again?" said Voldemort, his snake's face jeering. "Dumbledore's favorite solution, love, which he claimed conquered death, though love did not stop him falling from the tower and breaking like an old waxwork? Love, which did not prevent me from stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter – and nobody seems to love you enough to run forward this time and take my curse. So what will stop you from dying now when I strike?"
“Just one thing,” said Harry, and still they circled each other, wrapped in each other, held apart by nothing but the last secret.
“If it is not love that will save you this time,” said Voldemort, “you must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine?”
“I believe both,” said Harry, and he saw shock flit across the snakelike face, though it was instantly dispelled; Voldemort began to laugh, and the sound was more frightening than his screams; humorless and insane, it echoed around the silent Hall.
3. Another good place to use the dialog for moral argument is through the speech of an adversarial ally. When an ally tells the protagonist that he was wrong, the ally forces the protagonist to defend himself or to accept the criticism. Thus, adversarial allies can deepen the conflict and enrich the characterization.
Example: Friar Tuck tries to show Robin Hood that his giving up on the quest is wrong. (From the movie, Robin Hood)
Friar Tuck: Every day it gets worse. Injustice, cruelty, corruption. These people suffer and they starve. And you'll abandon them. [Robin walks away]
Friar Tuck: Robin, where are you going?
Robin Hood: Look. I can't help them. I've got nothing else to give.
Friar Tuck: You will believe in yourself again - I know it.
Robin Hood: I struggled! I fought, I gave everything I had. I even gave the life of the woman I love. Why are you doing this? Why does it matter so much to you?
Friar Tuck: Because I have nothing in my life except my God and my country. I have no family, no wife, yet I have a full heart. That passion must go somewhere, Robin. I'm just saying rest first. Then maybe speak to that scruffy gang of yours…
A significant element in writing a good dialog that will show or enhance a moral argument inside the theme is to give the opposing-view characters the strongest and most convincing arguments and making sure that they think what they believe in is right while making sure that a fatal flaw exists in their logic. Making their views hollow and weak will take away from the depth of the argument and the characterization.
Until next time! 
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 This Issue's Tip: If you use a storyteller inside the plot, make sure that he is personally motivated by a story problem in the present and possibly inside the story, which he is relating.
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Feedback for "How to Avoid Plagiarism"
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Lyn's a Witchy Woman 
Joy,I enjoyed this immensely. I appreciate having a refresher on what the lines really are. I do take pride in my work and the last thing I want is to be accused of plagiarism.
Great T.S. Eliot quote.
Thanks, Lyn  . Surely, you are a respectable writer as just about all of us are in this site, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to look into the matter. Better armed with the know-how than not.
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werden 
Good article
A writer should always make sure he isn't consciously copying someone else's work. I get that. But what about unconscious plagiarism?
Due to the sheer number of writers even in this country is it not possible that two writers, living in completely different areas, with no contact with each other or with each other's work could write the same novel or at least parts of the same novel?
I know that sounds far-fetched but I wonder in this digital age with the sheer number of writers using different sites and some not even using a site at all if this is possible?
What would happen then if this was ever discovered?
Thanks for the input.
The scenario you present is not plagiarism but a coincidence. I can't predict how that could be resolved, but one or both of the writers would probably end up changing a thing or two in that very work.
Unconscious plagiarism, on the other hand, is something different. It is when we read something that we like very much, then forget about it, and our brain recalls it while we write. Thus, we end up writing the very thing we once liked so much, possibly with a different word or sentence or two, and people recognize it immediately. We all have to be very careful with this one.
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Sally 
Thank you so much for featuring my story "Invalid Item"
You're very welcome.
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Feedback for "Creating the Story World"
StephBee 
Joy, it's always a pleasure to read your newsletters. You mentioned "Outlander." For me, "Game of Thrones," came to mind. What these 2 stories have in common is that the character driven aspects and plot driven aspects are well balanced. I think when you find that magical balance, then it makes for an outstanding story.
Thanks, Steph.
You put your finger on an excellent point. Although I love the literary genre, which almost always dwells on characterization, I keep reading "This is boring" comments in the reviews of such books in Amazon and elsewhere. To engage a much larger group of readers, writers have to find that magical balance.
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