Todorov and The Typology of Plots

Tzvetan Todorov states in his essay "Structural Analysis of Narrative" that structural analysis "seeks no longer to articulate a paraphrase, a rational resume of the concrete work, but to propose a theory of the structure and operation of the literary discourse, to present a spectrum of literary possibilities, in such manner that the existing works of literature appear as particular instances that have been realized." Structuralists, according to Todorov, search out in a near-scientific manner those elements that compose the underlying systems upon which the body of literature operates. Rather than narrowing their critical focus to the thing in and of itself as the Formalists demand, the Structuralists are not so much interested in specific works of literature but in the larger schema into which these works fit. Todorov illustrates Structuralist critique through his assertions about the plot structure of Boccaccio's Decameron. After summarizing the plot sequence of four tales within the Decameron, Todorov constructs an outline of the basic plot that he believes repeats itself in each story: "X violates a law-- Y must punish X-- X tries to avoid being punished--either A) Y violates a law or B) Y believes that X is not violating the law-- consequently, Y does not punish X." Having established this schema, Todorov continues with a more detailed structural analysis of what meaning could be understood from this structure. Ultimately, he makes clear that, "Our goal is not a knowledge of the Decameron (although such analysis will also serve that purpose), but rather an understanding of literature, or, in this specific instance, of plot."

In Todorov's structural analysis of the Decameron, he boils down the essential plot structure from his initial, specific outline of characters "X" and "Y" navigating the violation of laws and the (non) consequences of those actions to what he calls "the shift from one equilibrium to another." Defining an equilibrium as "the existence of a stable but not static relation between the members of a society," Todorov classifies the basic plot structure of the Decameron as two equilibriums separated by a period of imbalance, "which is composed of a process of degeneration and a process of improvement." Cannot all plots be simplified to a shift in equilibriums? As the embodiment of a change in character's lives? Essentially that "stuff happens" and things change? I remember a friend once telling me that she had learned that there were only two basic plot structures behind every story: 1) Someone leaves town and everything changes. 2) A new person comes to town and everything changes. (Some might even argue that the two are one in the same) At the time, I thought that many of the books and movies that I was familiar with could be reduced to that schema. Let's examine this further with a look at some of the top 10 movies that Messiah students list as their favorites on facebook.com (I can only include the ones I have seen, of course):

2). Anchorman- Christina Applegate's character joins Will Ferrell's news team and everything changes.
3) Remember the Titans- Denzel Washington's character is the new coach in town who changes the spirit and attitude of the town's beloved football team.
7) Hitch- I'm not sure that either of the main characters definitively enter or leave town, but both Will Smith and Eva Mendes' characters are changed by the presence of a "new" type of person-- for Smith, it is a woman who he cannot charm with his typical tricks, for Mendes, a man who proves halfway decent.
10) Beauty and the Beast- Belle and her father move to a French Provincial village, and Belle is perceived by all to be a strange, eccentric beauty. When she leaves town to search for her father who has become lost while travelling, she encounters the Beast and everything does indeed change for them both.

I'm not sure if trying to categorize recent films under this "someone comes, someone goes" schema can be considered structural analysis in the same vein that Todorov promotes, but it is interesting to conceive of the idea of a universal plot structure. Here are some links that provide further insight into the matter and perhaps affirm the verse in Ecclesiastes which says, "There is nothing new under the sun":

The Movie Site
Four Common Plot Structure
1, 3, 7, 20, 36?