Professors Boots-Ebenfield and Branscomb

Rebekah Kerr

Digital Storytelling

Professors Boots-Ebenfield and Branscomb

ENG 833

1 Aug 2010

Story Core+Story Map

Core

1.  Challenge/Obstacle- The challenge is that there is not enough land anymore for the animals and they have begun fighting each other in order to survive

The other challenge within the story is that the squirrels are faced with a highly intelligent yet “scary” human, old man Stevens.

2.  Character transformation that facilitates response-Don Pigeone realizes that the squirrels and the humans are not worth fighting at the risk of losing his family

Old man Stevens also realizes after a short battle that he can protect his home without harming the animals

3.  Resolution of the challenge-The Pigeones and the other pigeon families decide that they will move on to places where there is, for now, more space. Old man Stevens decides he will not tell anyone that he has decided to make messing with the squirrels a game with no harm intended, but pretend to be hunting them down for his entertainment purposes only.

Story Map

“Beginning/Setting”

The story takes places in a small subdivision of Wilmington Delaware. Here, space has become limited for the wildlife, in particular the squirrels and pigeons, who happen to be mafia families. They begin battling each other to take the land for themselves and seek to hurt each other in the process.

--The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim’s belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim);

The villain is Don Pigeone. After one of his younger family members is hurt during a squirrel attack, he decides to take the ultimate revenge on the squirrels. He tricks several squirrels into believing that one of the houses, owned by old man Stevens, has been abandoned, when in fact he and his wife have only gone on a long vacation. Don knows that they will return, so he tells the squirrels that they should go live in the comfortable house and there will be plenty of space for them there. The squirrels believe that the pigeons are turning over a new leaf and want to help instead of hurt them. Don is an older and wiser pigeon and has heard of what happens when you go into humans’ homes.

Call to Adventure/Problem

Villain causes harm/injury to family member +Hero leaves home;

-The most brave and gangsta squirrel (Tupac Shasquirrel?), or a kind/heroic squirrel? (Squirrlysses) in all of Alapacas decides that he believes Don has changed his ways and he will take his family into the Stevens home in order to start a new life…..but once he and his family get into the home, they realize they are trapped with no way out.

Quest Tale

1.  Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, uses adversary’s powers against them);

2.  Hero and villain join in direct combat

3.  Hero is branded (wounded/marked)

4.  Villain is defeated ( defeated in contest)

Once (Tupac or Squirrlysses) and his family get inside the home they realize that it is trap set by Don Pigeone! They at first think that maybe they can live there and survive and start a new squirrel colony inside the home, but quickly realize the resources are scarce and they will not last long. The parents try to go back through how they got in, but when they did, the wife fell down the chimney to her death. Or they will try that later and she will die?? So he decides he must escape for his children? He and his oldest start chewing their way out, window by window, destroying the home. The father even gets stuck on a nail when crossing one of the high beams in the home and loses his paw! They do manage to send out a signal through an opening to get a message to the most vicious squirrels in town to get back at Don. Death, war, etc. occur.

Resolution

5.  Hero returns

6.  Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill hero)

7.  Hero unrecognized, arrives home or in another country;

8.  Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, test of strength/endurance, other tasks)

The father figures out he can escape through the mail slot and so he and his family get out just as the Stevens pull in the driveway. Squirrlysses returns to the local social clubhouse where no one could recognize him because of all the weight he had lost (he fed his children with the cabinet food and house plants and starved) and his missing paw. He had to convince the body-squirrels at the door that it was him by telling them a secret that only they knew about their old boss Nutty, so he was let in. He was told by the squirrel members that attacks had been made on the Pigeone family. Now they all had a problem though because old man Stevens could be heard from 5 blocks away screaming at the top of his lungs that he would get even with those damn squirrels. A chase ensues with Stevens setting traps, shooting bee-bee guns, etc. at all of the squirrels, but also any other wildlife he saw. The muscle squirrels and Ulysses have to go back for one more mission to get Stevens to stop, and they get him, and Ulysses returns a hero.

Solution/Closure

9.  Task is resolved;

10.  Hero is recognized (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her)

11.  Villain is punished/changed

Old Man Stevens had been tricked once again by the squirrels and secretly gave them credit for being cleverer than he had originally thought. He decided to continue messing with the squirrels, but not to do any more major harm to them. Squirrlysses decided to move his family to the squirrel burbs, a nicer area near the Winterthur Museum so he and his wounded paw and his children, and soon to be born grand-squirrel could live peacefully.

Don, having watched this whole event, and suffering many losses himself, decided to call it quits on the family business. He told all of the pigeons that there had to be a better way than this, and convinced them all to move out to the country side, where hopefully they could live in peace….at least for a while.