Plot
The story concerns a nation that constructs a deadly amusement park to remedy its overpopulation problems. In charge of this operation is the Populace Control. People who win a ticket are sent to the carnival on a bus; cars would become a problem as many visitors do not return. Passengers who die are placed in black plastic bags and thrown into a mass burial pit. It focuses on a young boy (Jerry) who wins a ticket to the titular Carnival, much to his mother's grievance. It is revealed that Jerry is obnoxious and has a sense of invulnerability knowing that the possibility of living that day was 1 in 8. After he arrives, he realizes the park's true nature while on a ride called the "Thunder Clapper" that electrocutes some of its passengers, including the person next to him. The story ends as the protagonist is being thrown off a ride called the "Whirl-Away" to his death and the body is caught in one of the black bags.
Read more about this topic: The Carnival (short Story)
Famous quotes containing the word plot:
“After I discovered the real life of mothers bore little resemblance to the plot outlined in most of the books and articles I’d read, I started relying on the expert advice of other mothers—especially those with sons a few years older than mine. This great body of knowledge is essentially an oral history, because anyone engaged in motherhood on a daily basis has no time to write an advice book about it.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“The plot! The plot! What kind of plot could a poet possibly provide that is not surpassed by the thinking, feeling reader? Form alone is divine.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“Morality for the novelist is expressed not so much in the choice of subject matter as in the plot of the narrative, which is perhaps why in our morally bewildered time novelists have often been timid about plot.”
—Jane Rule (b. 1931)