Plot and structure

“Flotsam and Jetsam” by Alan Bissett is an account of a Scottish tourist's experiences in Zanzibar. The story is structured in two parts, signalled by a change of setting.

At first, the protagonist is on the beach where she reflects on her life and on the beauty of Zanzibar. On the beach, Kate is eventually approached by several local people selling snorkelling trips. Then, the protagonist moves to a restaurant where she engages in a conversation with the owner about life in Britain and life in Zanzibar.

Typically, short stories are organised in a sequence of events, called the plot, which includes five elements: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

What is interesting about “Flotsam and Jetsam” is that the story does not include all the typical elements of a plot. If you pay close attention, you will notice that the text does not have a climax, a falling action, or even a resolution. It is merely an account of one episode from a Scottish woman’s experience in Zanzibar. There is almost no tension building up to a climax. However, we can identify the first elements of the plot as follows:

Exposition

We are introduced to the protagonist and the setting: “The sails of the dhows waved on the horizon, a lazy flotilla of canvas sharkfins. Kate shielded her eyes to gaze at them” (ll. 1-2)

The action starts ...