Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice.
Exposition (Initial Situation)
Cake! (And Other Stuff That Might Be Important)
This stage of the story is all about giving readers the background information they need to understand what they're about to read. In some novels, that information can take up chapters and chapters of story telling (we're looking at you, Charles Dickens), and sometimes that information comes in the form of some quick catch-up text, such as the iconic Star Wars text crawl. In other cases, a character we like to call 'the exposition guru' conveniently hands us all the background information we need to know.
"Eleven" favors that last kind of exposition, as Rachel goes all guru on us at the story's outset by directly addressing the reader. Rachel tells us it is her birthday, lets us know what it means to be eleven, and foreshadows the upcoming conflict she'll have with Mrs. Price over a mysterious and dreadful sounding red sweater.
Since this short story is super short, the exposition stage only takes place from paragraphs one to five, but it's enough to pique our interest so we keep on reading.
Rising Action (Conflict, Complication)
The Fashionista Faux Pas
During the rising action stage, the conflict kicks it into to cruising speed. Things start to go bad when Mrs. Price holds up a nasty red sweater and demands its owner step forward. Everyone denies the sweater belongs to them, and Sylvia Saldívar says it's Rachel's. Rachel protests that it isn't hers, but Mrs. Price doesn't listen and sets it on her desk without a word.
Although it may seem a simple thing, this little incident is the source of the story's central conflict. Rachel knows the sweater isn't hers but no one else believes her—especially Mrs. Price. It's a double-whammy, too, because the sweater is straight up hideous. As Rachel tries to remove the embarrassing stigma of the ugly sweater, Mrs. Price only becomes more frustrated with her, leading to a sort of battle of wills between the two characters. Unfortunately, Mrs. Price is the teacher and an adult, so Rachel faces an uphill battle to reveal the truth about the sweater.
The rising action stage takes place between paragraphs six and seventeen.
Climax (Crisis, Turning Point)
A Germaphobe's Worst Nightmare
When Mrs. Price forces Rachel to wear the nasty, sticky sweater, we reach the story's climax—the point where everything changes. Before now, Rachel might have been able to dump the sweater on the playground and salvage what was left of her birthday. But not now. The stigma of the sweater and its faint odor of cottage cheese are stuck with her for the rest of the day.
Paragraph eighteen contains the story's climax.
Falling Action
Just the Worst Day Ever
The falling action comes when we discover the results of the climax. In this short story, that means we learn who will win in the battle of wills between Rachel and Mrs. Price. And it does not turn out well for poor Rachel.
After being forced to put on the sweater, Rachel is overcome with how ugly and smelly it is and how unfair it is that everyone believes the sweater belongs to her. She finally breaks down and begins to cry in front of everybody like a three year old. This is, of course, a terribly embarrassing moment for Rachel, made even worse by the fact that it's her birthday. Mrs. Price has won; Rachel has lost. We just hope that teacher is happy with herself because we sure aren't happy with her.
Paragraph nineteen contains the falling action.
Resolution (Denoument)
My Bad!
And so we come to the resolution, the end of the story. Here, the story wraps up, telling us what happened as a result of all we've read before.
We learn the sweater actually belongs to Phyllis Lopez, but unfortunately for Rachel, the truth comes a little too late. She has already broken down and cried in front of the whole class, and the embarrassing situation with the sweater has already come to pass. As a result, her birthday has been ruined. The candles and presents and well wishes won't be able to undo what has happened at school, and Rachel wishes she could just run away and disappear.
Hey, we didn't say it would be a happy ending, but it's a resolution nonetheless—at least she didn't have to take the sweater home.