SirenaWritten by Donna Jo Napoli

Literary concepts from plotline PowerPoint made by Claire

EXPOSITION

• Love of a human men will make a mermaid live forever. Just like gods. That’s every mermaids wish.

• One day, a ship from Troy came. Mermaids broke their promise to Oenone, a nymph to satisfied their own ambitions. Except for one mermaid.

• That mermaid is called Sirena. She swam away to hide from her own power and the truth of what she is like.

• She one day found a man left on the shore, bitten by a snake and cursed by the queen of gods, Hera.

RISING ACTION

• Sirena helped him in silent even though she knew she will be cursed too if she helped him.

• The man wanted to know her so he invited her to light a fire with stones. Sirena agreed and had a great time, also exchanging names.

• One day, an angry bear came to the shore. Threatening to hurt her, she sang and the bear left them in peace.

• Philocetes heard her sing. Sirena and Philocetes began to know each other better. They fell in love. She became immortal.

CLIMAX

• She was then told one day by Philocetes that he was building a ship and wanted to sail away with Sirena as he began to grow old.

• But the “Hateful Hera” disagreed as she caused angry waves and wrecked their boats as revenge for Sirena helping Philocetes. Once again they are back to the island of Lemnos.

FALLING ACTION

• Days passed countlessly and Sirena became to notice the changes in Philocetes. His black hair now gray and the strong shoulder now weak.

• She wants to make him immortal. So she takes off to find ways for that to happen.

• Sirena went to find Mother Dora, a nymph goddess, but she won’t help because she know her queen, Hera will curse her too.

• So she left to go back to Lemnos as she noticed a ship coming to her island. She thought about them taking Philocetes and leaving her.

RESOLUTION

• Sirena told Philocetes to go back to the humans because she wants what's better for him.

• He gives her his beloved arrows, giving her his honor. Then leaves with the ship back to the humans.

THEME

• Love come with consequences

Sirenas price to pay is watching her lover grow old while she stay forever young.

• Ambition obscure everything else

Determined mermaids who seek immortality are blinded to notice what it meant for human men to achieve their goal.

CONFLICT

• Person v. Self: Sirena struggle against herself about letting Philocetes go back to the humans or not.

• Person v. Supernatural: The cursed Philocete by Hera was bitten by a snake and was saved by Sirena. Therefore, cursed by Hera, making life difficult for both of them on the island of Lemnos.

• Person v. Fate: Sirena fight her actions from her half fish self. Her mother is the pet fish her father’s wife owned. Making her half god, blessed with beauty and voice, half fish, careless and selfish.