Christopher Booker is a scholar who wrote that every story falls into one of seven basic plot structures: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, the Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. Shmoop explores which of these structures fits this story like Cinderella’s slipper.
Plot Type : Rags to Riches
Initial Wretchedness at Home and 'The Call'
First things first: we're introduced to Jim Dixon, who isn't in all that great a situation, because he totally has to curry the favor of Professor Welch, a boss he basically hates. Oh yeah, and Jim also hates Welch's son Bertrand, Welch's wife, and a girl named Margaret Peel, who's guilted Jim into having a relationship with her.
Basically, Jim's an independent young guy who feels totally trapped by people he doesn't like or respect. A ray of sunshine comes into his world, though, when he meets Bertrand's girlfriend Christine. And it isn't long before Jim decides he wants to be with her.
Out Into the World, Initial Success
So Jim might not like his life, but he does have a little bit of success in winning Christine over. While hanging out at a boring spring party at the university, Jim boldly walks up to Christine and asks her to leave in a cab with him. After some hesitation and hijinks, the two of them take a cab back to the Welch's house and kiss on the sofa. Jim tells Christine he likes her, and finds out she likes him, too. But just in case it looks like things are coming too easily for Lucky Jim, don't worry. He'll face a little adversity before this whole thing's over.
The Central Crisis
Well, where to begin? Mrs. Welch is out for Jim's blood because he burned up her nice bed sheets with a cigarette and because he keeps calling her and pretending he's other people (hoping that Christine will pick up the phone). Bertrand, on the other hand, tries to beat Jim up for stealing Christine. Jim wins the fight, but not the war, since he ends up totally botching a public lecture and getting fired for his trouble.
As if that weren't enough, Jim and Christine realize that they can't be together. Jim can't bear the guilt of dumping Margaret Peel (whom he still thinks is suicidal), and Christine feels like she's been with Bertrand too long to do anything about it. So Jim is jobless, Christine-less, and not all that optimistic about his future.
Independence and the Final Ordeal
After he gets fired, Jim starts to gain a new sense of his independence. He might not have a job, but at least he doesn't have to put up with the nonsense of all the folks at the university. And as it turns out, Christine's uncle is pretty impressed with Jim's independent streak, and offers him a job. Now all Jim has to do is rush to the train station and sweep Christine off her feet before she leaves for London. It's not the most intense "final ordeal," but hey, this is a comic novel.
The problem is that Jim happens to rush to the station on the busiest traffic day in history. It all looks pretty much like a lost cause. But at the last moment, he realizes that Christine has missed her train, and she's standing right there in the station.
Final Union, Completion, and Fulfillment
Jim tells Christine that he wants to be with her, and that he's moving to London (where Christine lives). Basically, it all totally works out. And just to rub some salt in the wounds of his enemies, Jim passes the Welch family outside the train station. He's got Christine on his arm, and he laughs in all of their dumb, Welchy faces. And for Jim, there's nothin' better than some romance served with a side of revenge.