Christopher Booker is a scholar who wrote that every story falls into one of seven basic plot structures: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, the Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. Shmoop explores which of these structures fits this story like Cinderella’s slipper.
Plot Type : Voyage and Return
Anticipation Stage
The anticipation is killing us here. Right from the book's opening pages, Slocum fears that something's going to happen either to him or to someone he knows. He makes very clear his fears and anxieties, and we are left to decide which vignette he tells is indeed the something that happened to him.
Dream Stage
Slocum frequently revisits his past in an effort to understand what's happened to him. His vignettes appear somewhat dreamlike, and sometimes they even blur with reality to the point where even he doesn't know which is which.
Frustration Stage
Slocum is dissatisfied in all areas of his life, from his home to his work to who he has become. He is especially frustrated with his son because he doesn't try in gym class and allows people to walk all over him. His son seems helpless at times, much as Slocum seems helpless when his boss Jack Green does not allow him to speak at the company convention. Sheesh, frustration just seems to abound in all areas of Slocum's life.
Nightmare Stage
Slocum hints earlier in the book that he's afraid of suffocating, among other things. It seems his nightmare finally transforms into reality when his son dies tragically in a freak car accident. That something we have been waiting for to happen is nightmarish, and yet it seems to change Slocum and his family for the better.
Thrilling Escape
Ascending into Kagle's job offers Slocum a much-needed escape from reality. It serves as a distraction from the tragedy that's occurred in the family, and Slocum is able to find success in his new role and continue on with his life well after the loss of his son.