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Climax to resolution: like the punch line of a joke or the answer to a riddle, the narrative climax is the point of highest interest in a story. The climax is often followed by a resolution to the conflict(s) of the story and a conclusion.

On Freytag’s Pyramid the climax is shown as the peak of his PLOT GRAPH. The falling action and conclusion show another horizontal line that is somewhat elevated from the horizontal of the introduction. The idea is that after reading the story you, also, are in a heightened state of awareness or understanding.

Write a paragraph that explains why the book you are reading should leave its readers in a heightened state of awareness or understanding. Consider: thematic relevance; vocabulary; literary expression; literary device; development of character

Remember that your paragraph should contain a hook and clincher (come full circle)!

Ex:       In the throes of intimacy Julia and Winston are ambushed and arrested. In Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four the unexpected climax and eventual resolution of Winston’s conflict with society carry such a strong theme that one cannot help but be intellectually stimulated by the story. The climax is as inevitable as his subsequent torture and the final breaking of his spirit. After their arrest both Julia and Winston visit room 101 where they each betray the other and succumb to the totalitarian power of the state. One learns through the experience of reading this narrative that the power of the state will almost always triumph over the will of the individual.