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)
The Story of Them
As we noted in the plot overview, The Adventures of Augie March doesn't have a plot in the traditional sense. Events happen, usually in chronological order, but the only tie binding them is Augie himself. This makes a classic plot analysis difficult, but we'll work with what we have.
Augie's initial situation is the situation of his whole life—he wants to define himself, but he doesn't know the words to use. In his childhood, this is understandable. He's only a kid, after all, living in poverty and in a broken home. When basic sustenance and other life necessities are a constant concern, you don't have much time or energy to use finding yourself.
Augie begins his "story" by telling us about the earliest influences on him, particularly his older brother Simon and their boarder, Grandma Lausch. These initial anecdotes and descriptions set the tone for the novel—Augie will tell us more about others than he will about himself. Directly speaking, that is. His words and actions speak all on their own.
Rising Action (Conflict, Complication)
He's Got a Blank Space, Baby
In this section, we're including everything from the time Augie enters adulthood until the moment he runs off to Mexico with Thea. His adventures during this time include continual searches for steady employment, never satisfied; a variety of spicy love affairs; his employment and friendship with Einhorn; his courting of Lucy Magnus; and his dangerous work as a union organizer. Fun times!
During these stages of his life, Augie knows that he wants something great for himself, but he just doesn't know what. He knows one thing: it's definitely not about wealth. He refuses an offer by a rich family to adopt him and he forsakes a potential marriage with an heiress by accompanying a good friend while she gets an illegal abortion, which seems like a bit of an overreaction—it's not like it was his pregnancy or anything.
Augie regularly comes close to choosing a course in his life that would permanently define him, but he always refuses because he wouldn't be defined on his terms. The trouble is, he doesn't exactly know what his terms are, so he moves constantly from job to job and lover to lover. These opportunities and ultimate refusals form the central conflict of the tale.
Climax (Crisis, Turning Point)
They Are Never Getting Back Together
Augie's life doesn't really have a climax. Spoiler alert: he doesn't ever discover who he is or exactly what he wants. But he doesn't give up, and in the end that's what really matters.
The closest thing to a turning point his life has is his trip to Mexico with Thea. It's the first time he's intended to leave Chicago long term, and he goes with Thea with the intent to marry her. Like most of his choices, this one is made on a whim with little to no reflection. He doesn't stop to think what he'll do if this adventure with Thea goes badly. When it does go badly (as everyone told him it would), he's back to where he was, only now with a serious head injury.
Of all of his failures, this one affects Augie the most, both physically and emotionally. We don't ever see him as filled with anger and bitterness as we do when Thea leaves him. If there was a time we expected him to just give up, this was it.
Falling Action
Two Is Better Than One
Augie doesn't fall too far after breaking up with Thea. In fact, he meets Stella, who soon becomes his wife. Then he's off to war. His life with Stella isn't the rollercoaster he had with Thea, but it has its sharp turns and sudden drops. Stella hasn't been entirely honest with Augie about her past or her present. We don't know whether they'll eventually split up, but signs (and Augie's whole way of life) point to yes. Marriage might not be "til death do us part" for dear old Augie.
Resolution (Denouement)
Augie Shakes It Off
The question we're asking at the end of his story is whether Augie has achieved anything or gained anything. We think so, but it's hardly a resolution to his life's central conflict. It's more of an understanding. Augie sees some serious humor in the fact that his failed adventures haven't taken away his hope. He may not find himself or find a way to suitably define who he is, but he won't let go of that dream. He'll go on believing that there's an answer, whether he finds it or not. He's either commendably optimistic or incredibly dull—jury's still out.