Plot and Structure

Plot and structure in Ballad for the New World

·         Ballad

·         Stories within a story

·         Rhyming scheme

·         Metaphors

·         Repetition (an element within the structure of a Ballad)

·         Calypso

·         Filmic with the use of snapshot photos

·         Flashbacks

·         Line build up that adds to the momentum of action and climax of the narrative.

As mentioned previously, a ballad, which is a narrative poem, incorporates the use of rhyming patterns, with the intention for singing. The subject in this particular narrative constitutes one of the features of a ballad, where the subject matter, is an infusion of legendary value as well as an incident of domestic tragedy. Legendary value stems from the aspect in which the main character is immortalized against the film heroes of that era, and the fascination to which is transmitted to the younger brother, the narrator. The plot, structured to facilitate the crucial features of a ballad, where the characters are usually unknown, transmitted by mouth rather than of a written record.

The story, often told dramatically in a series of brief scenes or in a dialogue. In many ballads, the same stanza repeated throughout, and each time a bit of information is added to advance the action.

According to******, they are of usually a sequential order. However, Scott incorporates into the narrative a filmic style that renders the story to events that move between the past and the present through the utilization of techniques of flashbacks and fast forwarding. The events jump and cuts into different scenes, not when it occurred but how it occurred in relation to the plot of the narrative. The element of pathos is present as also mentioned by the author himself. This derived from Greek mythology of Poetics of Aristotle, signifies suffering, as well as the power of arousing feeling of pity or sorrow. This is evident both at the beginning and at the end of the story, where the younger brother questions his brother’s wish to die young and leaving at the end with a strong sense of guilt and remorse at the end, evoking to the reader an eminent presence of emphatic emotion.

The characters remain unidentified and unnamed with the exception of Baboolal. It is interesting to divulge that the author has mentioned that this does not signify that they have or would amount to nothing but it must be kept in mind that it tells of a domestic tragedy and the relationship is intimate between the brothers that naming is not required as also indicated by the author.

The snapshots, though they are small contribute significantly to the development of the novel. Scott makes mention that they are used to symbolize the time, carrying the reader through the past and moving the narrative’s development of action. This he says was done because in the era of the 50’s, the Hollywood and the era of the film industry was booming, such as evident through the mention of at least 5 cinemas within the first line which again adds to the scenes being cut into each other. The story, as in the movie, has its hero, the villain, and the victim. In this particular story, these three elements are infused into one character, where he is his brother’s idol, starting at the zenith, compared to Brando and Dean, the villain becomes his alcohol abuse and thus falls prey to the consequences of it, being devaluated at the nadir, contributing to the domestic tragedy of the ballad.

In addition to this, the use of Lord Invader’s calypso is used to create the musical effect of the ballad. “rum and coca cola......working for the Yankee dollar...”.

Themes

Immortalization of youth

·         James Dean & Marlon Brando _vs.  Peter Pan& The Changeling Campanion

The element of youth, beauty and death, plays a significant role in the development of characters and the way in which they interact with each other. The narrator’s mother immortalizes him, whereas he immortalizes the youthfulness of his brother through the actors in the film and their fascination of death. The speaker is described as a changeling companion, a lover, a mirror, Peter Pan and a fairy child. However, the main character is immortalized in a realistic way through the famous actors of that era. James Dean and Marlon Brando. He is linked to their youthful and style of flare, the walk, the smile, the wish to die young as well as the rebellion against life and the imagery created that has been associated with beauty and death. It is important to note that both the main characters appear to be be immortalized through the representation of youth, but they achieve these differently and in somewhat we see that one has failed in the achievement of immortalization of youth.

A story within a story.

Scott embeds a narrative within the narrative itself artistically to reinforce the concept where the story tells of a place and a time and an event. The first story is of the main character and the journey of questioning his brother’s present condition and in doing so, infuses the tales of the older brother’s past, the mother’s religious stance, the relationship between the narrator and his mother, as well as the relationship between the narrator and his brother. As the stories that are intrinsically linked, it aids in the development of the novel, the actions and the closure at the end.