Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice.
Exposition (Initial Situation): All Aboard—Watch Your Step and Watch Your Stuff
We arrive on a ship, and the first thing we notice are the crowds. People to the left of us, people to the right—it's a frenzy. It's also exciting, because it looks like there's someone from everywhere. There's a clear divide between those who meld into the crowd (like the barber), and those who don't (like Guinea and the man who can't hear). We spot a hiccup: this crowd is not easy to please, and heaven forbid you need a helping hand around here…
Rising Action (Conflict, Complication): Do You Have Confidence in Me, Stranger?
Okay, we've been on board for a while, and it looks like the magic word for getting yourself some easy cash is "confidence." Evoke this notion, and people are eventually cajoled into sharing a little dough. This is the longest section of the text, and the many characters we're exposed to spend their time begging and borrowing from each other—or get antsy about being pressed for coin.
Climax (Crisis, Turning Point): Enough is Enough
Use the word "confidence" sparingly, though: it could backfire. At the point of greatest emotional intensity, we see the cosmopolitan getting seriously ticked off at a young man's failure to have confidence in his fellow man.
Falling Action: Let's Make a Deal
The cosmopolitan tries, tries, again. His headlong approach is paved with one last sociable contract. This contract ends in tears: after the cosmopolitan stiffs the barber on his bill, the barber tears up a contract in which he had promised to extend credit to strangers.
Resolution (Denouement): I'll Tuck You In
The last chapter is a downbeat: we're below deck in the sleeping cabins. It's quiet time. The cosmopolitan helps an old man get to his room. We're not sure what exactly we're supposed to worry about, but we do know that this is not a happy ending.