Sample Paper
The Fugitive
Protagonist: Dr. Richard Kimball
Antagonists:
- The one-armed man — the murderer,
- Gerard — hunts Kimball, and
- Nichols — orchestrates the murder.
First Major Plot Point:
The first major plot point of The Fugitive is the train wreck. Before that point, the film shows the life of a successful doctor, Richard Kimball. He is very much in love with his wife. On the way home from the fundraiser, when he gets the call to assist in O.R., she says in a reassuring way that she will wait up for him. Unfortunately her life is cut short when a one-armed man murders her. Upon returning home, Dr. Kimble fights the killer, who is able to get away when Kimball turns his attention to his dying wife to try to revive her. The police choose not to believe the story of the one-armed man and Kimball is wrongly accused of murder. On his bus trip to the penitentiary where Kimball is to be executed, a convict causes a fight, which results in the bus rolling onto an oncoming train’s path. Kimble is able to jump out of the bus before the crash and escape to freedom. It is at this point he becomes a fugitive.
Goal:
Dr. Kimball now has the freedom to begin his goal of proving his innocence.
Obstacles and Rising Action:
While Kimball tries to find the one-armed man, the U.S. Deputy Marshal Gerard hunts for Kimball. Kimball changes his appearance, but at the hospital, when communicating to an EMT about the wound of a police officer from the train wreck, he is recognized. Gerard gives pursuit and traps Kimball inside a dam. Kimball tells Gerard he is innocent, and Gerard replies, “I don’t care.” Not wanting to go back into custody, Kimball jumps from the dam. Gerard and his men search for Kimball, but Kimball is able to get back to Chicago. Kimball infiltrates the hospital records to find a short list of men fitted for prosthetics. He begins searching and eventually goes to the house of the murderer. Kimball finds proof that the one-armed man is connected with a pharmaceutical company associated with Kimball’s former hospital. Although he knows the authorities are after him, so cannot be trusted, he leads Gerard to the one-armed man’s residence hoping that Gerard will begin putting the puzzle together. Upon doing more research at the hospital, Kimball discovers that tests on a new drug have been falsified.
Major Crisis and Second Major Plot Point:
Kimball realizes that his fellow surgeon, Dr. Nichols, orchestrated the murder. Dr. Nichols was falsifying the effectiveness of a drug that if sold could bring him wealth. Nichols knew Kimball would stand in the way of the drug’s success. Dr. Nichols hired the one-armed man to murder Kimball, but when Kimball was unexpectedly called into surgery, the one-armed man killed the wife instead. When Kimball learns this knowledge, he makes a decision (the major crisis): he gives up the pursuit of the one-armed man and goes after Dr. Nichols (also the second major plot point). The film now heads into a different direction. Before Kimball can reach Nichols, however, the one-arm man follows Kimball to the L-train. Instead of killing Kimball, the one-arm man shoots and kills an interfering police officer. After a fight, Kimball is able to handcuff the one-armed man to a post before leaving to find Nichols.
Climatic Scene and Climax:
The climatic scene begins when Kimball confronts Dr. Nichols at the hotel where the latter is giving a speech on the value of the drug. They fight on the roof and fall through a window into the laundry room. Nichols gets away from Kimball and is about to shoot Gerard, when Kimball hits Nichols with a pipe — saving Gerard’s life (the climax).
Falling Action:
The one-armed man is arrested, and Gerard leads the handcuffed Kimball into the car. Gerard removes the cuffs, and when Kimball says, “I thought you didn’t care,” Gerard tells Kimball not to let anyone know. Gerard is now convinced that Kimball is innocent. (672 words)