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 : Tragedy
Anticipation Stage
Danny, our hero, is unfulfilled when gets back from the army, and he's not too happy about having to settle down and be a homeowner. He offers to rent one of the houses he's inherited from his grandfather to Pilon: it seems like a good way to help out a friend and make use of the property at the same time.
Dream Stage
When one of the houses burns down, Danny lets Pilon, Pablo, and Jesus Maria move into the house he lives in. This means that he'll never have to collect rent (not that he would ever have got any rent from these dudes, anyway) and lets him live footloose and fancy free with his pals.
Frustration Stage
After a period of living in the house and going on all kinds of adventures and escapades with his buddies, Danny starts to get bored and restless. No matter what he does, he just doesn't feel right. He's frustrated and goes a little bit crazy, running away into the woods and coming back into town to commit random violent acts.
Nightmare Stage
Danny finally comes back home, but he's not himself. He's deeply depressed, and nothing can cheer him up. Nothing seems to be going right, though no one can quite figure out why. The friends are very worried about him, and they decide to throw a party to finally snap him out of it.
Destruction or Death Wish Stage
At the party, Danny gets wild and violent. He runs out, drunk, into the night. He falls off a cliff and ends up dying from the impact. This is not just the end of Danny: the gang of friends disbands at the end of the novel as well.