Sharon Flake's The Skin I M In

To everything, there is a beginning and in a plot, it is the exposition. The exposition is the first element of a plot that introduces the characters, settings, and time periods to the readers. In Sharon Flake’s The Skin I’m In, the main characters are revealed as Maleeka Madison and Charlese Jones - the protagonist and antagonist, respectively. Maleeka as a character is dynamic because she is very defined and changes throughout the story, from insecure to self-confident. Char, on the other hand, is a static character because she doesn’t develop, but she does develop the story. The main setting of the novel is McClenton Middle School. The time period of the story is not mentioned but is presumed to be current era. The characters have been introduced and the setting and time period have been revealed. It all boils down to one question: “Now, what?.” This moment is the next element of a plot called the inciting incident. It’s a pretty fancy name for the event that moves the story onward and the revealing of the main conflicts. An external conflict of Maleeka is getting bullied due to her low self-confidence. This Man vs. Man conflict is inflicted by Char, Char’s followers, and bystanders. Maleeka’s low self-esteem leads to an internal conflict described as Man vs. Self. Maleeka does not yet have the

The twist can be described as the climax in a plot. It is usually the most exciting part of the story. The climax is the moment where decisions are made and stories are turned. In Sharon Flake’s novel, Maleeka had to make a decision: walk away from Char’s evil plan to ruin Ms. Saunders’ classroom or become an accomplice of the plan. Maleeka chose the latter, due to her fear of Char. She ended up burning Ms. Saunders’ foreign money. This caused an accidental fire, so destructive, it made matters worse. Because of one fateful decision, Maleeka confronted the consequences that