In the film, John
Carter, a Colonel who is familiar with Carter’s military prowess arrests
him in order to get his assistance fighting the Apache. Carter not only
outright refuses to join in the battle but repeatedly escapes. The Colonel is
bewildered by the contrast between the description of the heroic man he has
before him and the actual man.
This broken-in-spirit John Carter is now antagonist against
warfare. Yet, when the situation becomes critical for the Colonel, Carter’s instincts
overtake his reluctance and he saves him. He repeats the same scenario once on
Mars, actively resisting interference until his heart engages. The memory of
who he really is becomes stronger than the person he is attempting to be now.
For this plot arc it is obviously a positive impulse that the
instinct enables John Carter to be restored to his real self. However, instinct
can react the other way as well when characters, or ourselves, have broken away
from old detrimental habits and then they find ourselves in a familiar
situation where they revert.
In John Carter’s case though it is the memory of his loss
that clouds his instincts and interferes with the memory of what he believes
and the actions he is willing to take. In fighting against a return to a negative
lifestyle characters can choose the memory of what their life has become now to
resist the lapse into old behaviors.
Instinct as memory can become a powerful instrument for both
good and evil in characterization and plot development.
Journal Prompt:
1.
Choose a key instinct from your character’s
personality and put him in a situation that creates a negative outcome. Then
choose another outcome that is positive. How does he emotionally react before
and after each occurrence?
2.
List ways either can become plot points for conflict
or restoration.
Share: Which
instinct did you use and which outcome worked best?
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