Pursuit

Disciplines > Storytelling > Plots > Polti's Situations > Pursuit

Description | Discussion | See also

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Description

Elements

• Punishment
• A Fugitive

Summary

A Fugitive is pursued, caught and Punished for some miscreant act.

Variants

A

1. Fugitives from justice pursued for brigandage, political offences, etc

B

1. Pursued for a fault of love

C

1. A hero struggling against a power

D

1. A pseudo-madman struggling against an Iago-like alienist.

Discussion

Chase is a common game with which we are familiar and so easily identify with the pursued, feeling their sense of fear and excitement as they evade capture, at least for a while.

Chase also mirrors a common broader pattern of seeking, where the hero (or someone) goes on a quest after some desired or needed object, so perhaps also evoking excitement from this alternative source.

Struggle is an odd addition to pursuit, although in the broader sense, this reflects the pattern of seeking, in which struggle can be a recurring theme.

'Pursuit' is the 5th of Georges Polti's 36 Dramatic Situations.

See also

Book review: The Two Step, 'Catch me' game