The Great Debaters

Plot

Exposition:

            Mel Tolson, a poet and professor at Wiley College feels he has something to prove, and works to build up the school debate team to the highest national standards. After a tough audition process-students are put on the spot and ask to name and quote major historical figures, he had chosen his team of four. Samantha Booke has just transferred to Wiley and the only girl in the team, Henry Lowe,a handsome man who struggles to balance his academic ideals with his ways, and James Farmer Jr.,a 14-year-old son of another Wiley Professor.

Rising Action/ Complication:

             Mr. Farmer, James father is the first African- American who manages to get doctorate degree in Texas. He very much wants his son to follow his path and urges him to study hard. While in the school, Professor Tolson is giving instruction to the debate team. He tells them that the Whites have tried to keep their body, and kill their mind. White people wants to keep them psychologically dependent so that they can never improve and Professor Tolson tells them that they will try to save their righteous mind.

Climax:

          The issues selected for the debate are interesting. The young debaters expounded the issue on school integration, civil disobedience and other big issues. As the team successfully debates local schools, Professor  Tolson puts himself in increasingly danger by acting as a covert labor organizer for local farmers. At the same time, James and his family and as well as the entire team later on are periodically threatened by lynch mobs.

Falling Action/ Denouement:

          Each of the students goes through major life changes as they continue to be successful in every debate they had. James Farmer Jr. is now very eager to prove his intellectual worth to his demanding father. The debaters in the team did their best to prove to all White people that they will stand up and fight for their rights as a person. And now, the team left on their own to prepare themselves for the debate with Harvard University, and fortunately won in the debate. James became one of the leaders of the civil-rights movement and founds the Congress of Racial Equality.

Conflict: 

       Professor Melvin Tolson puts himself in an increasing danger by acting as a covert labor organizer of local farmers. And at the same time, James Farmer and his family and as well as the entire team were threatened by the lynch mobs. There is also some discriminatrion when a black man will own a suit or a car then the white people will attack them. 

Characters:

          The protagonist in the story were James Farmer Jr. who is a 14-yr-old son of another Willey professor, Samantha Booke, who dreams of becoming the State's third-ever black female,  and Henry Lowe, who is devilishly handsome man who struggles his academic ideals with his hedonistic studies.

        The antagonist in the story were the Lynch mobs who had hurt and killed many black people. Sheriff Dozzier who caught Mr. Tolson belongs to the round/dynamic character since he is also favor with the lynch mobs. James Farmer Sr.,Hamilton Burgess, Pearl Farmer, and Ruth Tolson belongs to the flat characters since they stay of being good to the protagonist and their role or behavior in the story did not change.

         James Farmer Jr., Samantha Booke,Henry Lowe, and Professor Tolson are the main and principal characters since the story itself is revolving on their team, they have the greates achievement and role in the story.

       The minor characters were Hamilton Burgess who quited on the team, James Farmer Sr., Pearl Farmer, RuthTolson, and Sheriff Dozier for they have only few roles in the story, though they have only few scenes but they also add color in the story.

Theme:

         The Great Debaters shows how black realize that Education was the key to their success. These will help them to conquer their own justice as a person. Black life is all about segregation and discrimination and the audience have to see that black achievement and victory are not easily obtained. 

Setting:

         The story happened in Marshall, Texas, particularly in Willey College,a school of black people.

Point of View:

          These story is a third person's point of view since it was being related by a narrator from a true story of other people. The Great Debaters was based on the real story of the debating team of Willey College,where it talks about the victory of black people's achievement despite of the discrimination happening in their lives.