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A twist ending or surprise ending is an unexpected conclusion or climax to a work of fiction, and which often contains irony or causes the audience to reevaluate the narrative or characters. A twist ending is the conclusive form of plot twists.

Mechanics of the twist ending

Literary devices

Anagnorisis, or discovery, is the protagonist's sudden recognition of his own or another character's true identity or nature. Through this technique, previously unforeseen character information is revealed. A notable example of anagorisis occurs in Oedipus Rex: Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother in ignorance, learning the truth only toward the climax of the play.^[1]

Flashback, or analepsis, is a sudden, vivid reversion to a past event. It is used to surprise the reader with previously unknown information that provides the answer to a mystery, places a character in a different light, or reveals the reason for a previously inexplicable action. The TV show Lost utilizes this technique frequently, as the show's mythos relies heavily on flashbacks. The finale of its third season added a new twist to a flashback revelation; a flashforward revelation. See also Racconto.

An unreliable narrator twists the ending by revealing, almost always at the end of the narrative, that the narrator has manipulated or fabricated the preceding story, thus forcing the reader to question his prior assumptions about the text. This motif is often used within noir fiction and films, notably in the film The Usual Suspects (which, in turn, produced multiple imitators such as The Rich Man's Wife). An unreliable narrator motif was employed by Agatha Christie in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a novel that generated much controversy due to critics' contention that it was unfair to trick the reader in such a manipulative manner ^[2].

Peripeteia is a sudden reversal of the protagonist's fortune, whether for good or ill, that emerges naturally from the character's circumstances. Unlike the deus ex machina device, peripeteia must be logical within the frame of the story. An example of a reversal for good would be the transition of Wart from subservience to sovreignty in The Sword and the Stone. An example of a reversal for ill would be Agamemnon's sudden murder at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra in Aeschylus' The Oresteia. Peripeteia is an extreme type of plot point.

Deus ex machina is a Latin term meaning "god out of a machine." It refers to an unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction to resolve a situation or untangle a plot. In Ancient Greek theater, the "deus ex machina" ('ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός') was literally a "god" lowered onto the stage from a machine to save the characters. In its modern, figurative sense, the "deus ex machina" creates a twist ending to a narrative because it unexpectedly resolves what appears to be an unsolvable situation. This device is often used to end a bleak story on a more positive note. For example, in William Golding's Lord of the Flies, a ship arrives on the island to rescue the boys just in time to prevent the band of "hunters" from killing the protagonist, Ralph.^[3]

Irony creates a gap or incongruity between what is the writer presents and what is understood. This often works in narratives to create a twist of fate, in which an eventual event reverts back on a previous one.

Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished in such a way that the reward or punishment has a logical connection to the deed. In modern literature, this device is often used to create an ironic twist of fate in which the villain gets caught up in his own trap. For example, in C.S. Lewis' The Horse and His Boy, Prince Rabadash climbs upon a mounting block during the battle in Archenland. Upon jumping down again, crying, "The bolt of Tash falls from above," his hauberk catches on a hook and leaves him hanging there, humiliated. A more recent example of poetic justice is in the film The Departed, in which Sullivan (Matt Damon) is ultimately and unexpectedly killed for his crimes.

Chekhov's gun refers to a situation in which a character or plot element is introduced early in the narrative, then not referenced again until much later. Often the usefulness of the item is not immediately apparent until it suddenly attains pivotal significance. A perfect example of this is the tapir trap in Apocalypto, which serves as a way to fool and stop the Holcane leader from chasing Jaguar Paw for good. A similar mechanism is the "plant," a preparatory device that repeats throughout the story. During the resolution, the true significance of the plant is revealed. Both Chekhov’s gun and plants are used as elements of foreshadowing.

A red herring is a false clue intended to lead investigators toward an incorrect solution. This device usually appears in detective novels and mystery fiction. The red herring is a type of misdirection, a device intended to distract the protagonist, and by extension the reader, away from the correct answer or from the site of pertinent clues or action.^[4] A red herring can also be used as a form of false foreshadowing.

A cliffhanger is an abrupt ending that leaves the main characters in a precarious or difficult situation, creating a strong feeling of suspense that provokes the reader to ask, "What will happen next?" Cliffhangers often frustrate the reader, since they offer no resolution at all; however, the device does have the advantage of creating the Zeigarnik effect. A cliffhanger is often employed at the end of an installment of serialized novels, movies, or television shows.

In medias res (Latin, "into the middle of things") is a literary technique in which narrative proceeds from the middle of the story rather than its beginning. Information such characterization, setting, and motive is revealed through a series of flashbacks. This technique creates a twist when the cause for the inciting incident is not revealed until the climax. This technique is used effectively within the film The Prestige in which the opening scenes show one of the main characters drowning and the other being imprisoned. Subsequent scenes reveal the events leading up to these situations through a series of flashbacks. In media res is often used to provide a narrative hook.

Nonlinear storylines work by revealing plot and character in a random, non-chronological fashion. This technique requires the reader to attempt to piece together the timeline in order to fully understand the story. A twist ending can occur as the result of information which is held until the climax and which places characters or events in a different perspective. The nonlinear approach has been used in works such as the films Highlander, Sin City and Pulp Fiction and the book Invisible Monsters.^[5]^[6]

Reverse chronology works by revealing the plot in reverse order, i.e., from final event to initial event. Unlike traditional chronological storylines, which progress through causes before reaching a final effect, reverse chronological storylines reveal the final effect before tracing the causes leading up to it; therefore, the initial cause represents a "twist ending." Examples employing this technique include the film Irréversible and the color sequences from the film Memento.

Narrative elements

Amnesia (particularly retrograde amnesia, the inability to recollect long-term memories) is often used to create mysteries in which the protagonist must attempt to recover his identity. Usually his quest leads him to surprising revelations about himself and others. The protagonist may also experience strong feelings of paranoia, since he is unsure who he can trust. The film Memento alters the standard technique slightly, using reverse chronological order to portray a character with anterograde amnesia. Repressed memory, Alzheimer's disease, and Lacunar amnesia may also be employed in a similar fashion.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]

The android element is similar the puppet element, in that an apparently human character is ultimately revealed to be a robot. Due to the advanced technology needed to produce an android, this element is almost exclusively utilized within science fiction. Examples of films which feature the android element include Alien and its sequel .

In a narrative with multiple antagonists, the reader is led to believe there is one villain when in fact there are two or more, a fact which is usually not revealed until the climax. The first Scream film is a notable example of this. Agatha Christie utilized this ploy several times in her mysteries by revealing the murderer (through her detective/narrator), then by going on to reveal the murderer's accomplice(s).

Betrayal, also called the "double cross," can become more complex when the writer chooses to have the character who was double-crossed betray the other character as well, then referred to as a "triple cross." Writers rarely employ more counter-betrayals, as it is considered overly complex (such as in the films Employee of the Month (2004) and Circus (2000) in which the characters cross one another several times). Betrayal is often coupled with the con artist motif, since trust must be initially present in order for a scam to be successful.

Blackout, similar to amnesia, is used to withhold information from both the protagonist and the reader. However, instead of the loss of the character's entire memory, only a short portion is missing. A blackout is often the result of a blow to the head, a medical disorder, or excessive alcohol consumption. A blackout contributes to a twist ending when a key event occurs during the missing moments and is not revealed until the conclusion. For example, in the film noir classic Black Angel, a character is unable to remember the night of a murder due to excessive alcohol consumption.

The dispelling of a character shield through the death of a major character almost always shocks the audience because it is relatively uncommon for the protagonist or other major character to die. For example, in The Departed, both Sullivan and Costigan are ultimately bereft of character shields. Scream featured a known star, Drew Barrymore, being killed off after the initial sequence. The later novels of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling also readily dispelled the shields of a number of major characters, some quite unceremoniously.

A twist in chronology may occur at the end of a film. For example, in Saw II, two storylines are shown as if occurring simultaneously, one in which several people trapped inside a house die one after another while in the other police observe the events on security camera monitors. However, it is later revealed that the events inside the house occur two hours before the police view the footage.

When cloning, often an element of science fiction, is used, the protagonist ultimately discovers that he is either a clone of another character or that he has been genetically altered in some manner (such as in the film The 6th Day). Alternately, cloning may be used by the antagonist to create multiple copies of himself. This plot element has become more commonly used in contemporary literature to illustrate the ethical issues surrounding the advances in technology that make human cloning theoretically possible. See also Doppelgänger and Evil twin.

A con artist intentionally misleads another character (known as a "mark"), usually for the purpose of financial gain. In a twist, the con artist first tricks the mark into believing that they will work together to con a third party, while, in reality, the mark himself has been conned. The writer most often associated with this tactic is David Mamet, whose films such as House of Games con both the characters and the audience with a clever scam. In Matchstick Men, one con artist successfully cons another, further twisting the plot.

Conspiracies use rumors, lies, cover-ups, propaganda, and counter-propaganda to frustrate the characters and to obscure the truth and reality. Conspiracies in fiction can be similar to simulated reality in that hidden organizations manipulate what the characters perceive to be true and factual. Conspiracies are often used in political thrillers as means to provide commentary upon a governmental system (such as John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate and Alan J. Pakula's The Parallax View). False perception of conspiracy is one form of paranoia. A double-twist on the conspiracy element is used in the Richard Donner film, Conspiracy Theory, in which the viewer is challeged to determine which of the conspiracies are real.

Cults can be used similarly to conspiracies. In a work of fiction, the cult is often a secret, sinister organization or group that is not revealed until the climax, usually in order to explain how characters are connected or how events and characters have been manipulated. Ira Levin's novel Rosemary's Baby is a notable example of the use of cults in fiction. It is parodied in Hot Fuzz, in which the antagonists are revealed to be members of a murderous cult rather than of a real estate conspiracy as implied.

Dissociative identity disorder (formerly "multiple personality disorder" and often incorrectly called schizophrenia) typically involves the protagonist's ultimate discovery that the killer he has been searching for is in fact himself, a fact of which his disorder made him unaware. This disorder often manifests in the protagonist's perception of other characters who are not really there. Dissociative identity disorder is used most notably in Robert Bloch's Psycho, which was so effective in its execution of the twist ending that it inspired a stream of imitations (such as William Castle's Homicidal and several Hammer Film Productions such as Maniac and Nightmare). Other examples include Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club, Steven King's Secret Window, Secret Garden, and Joel Schumacher's The Number 23. For more examples, see DID/MPD in fiction.

A dream sequence can be used to create a twist ending when the writer reveals that a significant portion of the previous narrative was actually a dream, a combination of flashbacks, fantasies, and visions that created a sort of simulated reality initiated by the character's own mind. Film director David Lynch is known for utilizing this element, most notably within his film Mulholland Drive. Another example would be the television series St. Elsewhere, which created controversy when the final episode revealed that the entire series occurred only in the imagination of Tommy Westphall. When used in this manner, the dream sequence can be considered anticlimatic.

Gender confusion creates a twist ending by revealing at a pivotal moment that a particular character is not of his or her apparent sex, as when a woman has been masquerading as a man, or vice versa. This motif is notably used in The Crying Game and in the Italian giallo genre. See also Transsexualism and Transgender.

Imitation is an element by which one character pretends to be another character, thereby tricking both the other characters and the reader, until his true identity is ultimately revealed. In the murder mystery The Last of Sheila, one character imitates the voice of another in order to mask his identity. In Anthony Shaffer's Absolution, a student fools a priest into believing that he is a different student. A variation on imitation is ventriloquism, in which a character manipulates his voice to make it appear to come from elsewhere. A famous example is the ending of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, in which Donald Sutherland is revealed to have been converted by the aliens and points out the non-transformed Veronica Cartwright in the film's final seconds. See also Impressions.

Incest can be an effective twist ending, since it violates the expectation that sexual activity should not be performed among members of the same family. Sexual relationships among closely-related members (such as mother and son) are especially shocking. Examples of this element include Roman Polanski's Chinatown and Park Chan-wook's Oldboy.

Multiple births can create a twist ending when a character is revealed to have an identical twin or even identical triplets. Often the conclusion reveals that the siblings were working together throughout the narrative, unbeknownst to the other characters. Examples include The Prestige and The Crimson Rivers. See also Evil twin.

Pseudocide, essentially the opposite of the undead twist, is a situation in which a character thought to be dead is revealed to be alive. Examples include the of the classic television series and the first Saw film.

In the puppetry twist, the protagonist discovers that another character is only a puppet being controlled by a puppeteer, rather than the actual human being he appears to be. This element is most often found within horror fiction. An episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents entitled The Glass Eye twisted this further, revealed that the story's puppeteer was the puppet, while the puppet was the actual puppeteer. A more recent example is the horror film Dead Silence, in which a character who appears to be alive is revealed to be dead, his corpse having been turned into a puppet.

A quibble occurs when a character discovers a crucial flaw or technicality that changes an expected outcome. For example, in A Merchant of Venice, Shylock's triumph appeared certain until Portia observed that his bargain called only for flesh, effectively preventing him from shedding Antonio's blood. In Ruddigore, the baronets of a certain line are doomed to die if they do not commit a horrible crime every day; however, by failing to commit a crime, they are effectively committing suicide, which is a horrible crime.

The Rashomon effect (named after Akira Kurosawa's film Rashōmon), refers to the way that the subjectivity of perception affects recollection; i.e., multiple observers produce substantially different but equally plausible accounts of the same event because they perceive the event in different ways. This concept works in film and literature by altering key elements and details to present a single event as unfolding in different ways, according to the perceptions of different characters. Some more recent examples include Basic, Courage Under Fire, A Very Long Engagement, The Outrage, and Hero.^[11]

In a sexual orientation twist, a character is presumed to be heterosexual until he is ultimately revealed to be homosexual, or vice versa. Examples include the films Heights and Clue.

Simulated reality describes a situation in which a hypothetical environment is experienced as real but is actually a highly-detailed simulation of reality and not reality itself. Narratives that utilize this plot element usually present the simulated world as a real setting, not revealing its true nature until the end. This motif is often found within science fiction literature (most notably in Philip K. Dick's works) and science fiction films (such as The Thirteenth Floor or the Matrix films), as the simulated world is usually created through technological means.

Species reversal creates a twist ending by leading the audience to believe that a character is human until the climax, at which point he is revealed to be an animal, supernatural being, or alien, or vice versa. The character's true nature is revealed through metamorphosis (biological change), shapeshifting (supernatural or magical change), or mere costuming (such as in Men In Black, in which some humans are simply aliens wearing disguises). Species reversal is a common motif of Gothic fiction, such as Ann Radcliffe's A Sicilian Romance in which apparently supernatural events have rational explanations, and science fiction, such as Edmond Hamilton's story "The Dead Planet."

Spiritual possession is used to create twist endings in horror and fantasy fiction by revealing late in the narrative that a character is acting under control of spiritual forces rather than his own free will. An example is the Asian horror film Dead Friend. Less often, the twist is that a presumably possessed character is in fact not under paranormal coercion, such as in the film Vertigo.

An undead character is one who is presumed alive but is ultimately revealed to be a member of the "living dead." This device has seen a recent resurgence due to the success of M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense. Other examples include Dead & Buried and Giuseppe Tornatore's A Pure Formality.

Caveats

Suspension of disbelief must exist for a twist ending to be accepted by the reader. Extreme implausibility or may cause an audience to become frustrated or lose interest.

The reader may experience confusion if the twist ending is unnecessarily complex, possibly providing too many twists or a twist that does not make sense within the context of the story. As a result, the reader will not understand what has occurred and will be left unsatisfied.

Actions which are out of character, i.e., inconsistent with a character's previously established characterization, are usually seen as negative, possibly destructive to the narrative's credibility and foundation, and possibly indicative of the writer's lack of focus.

Plot holes may emerge when a twist ending is utilized at the story's conclusion. Narratives may have a twist ending purely for shock value and may, as a result, become inconsistent with events that occurred earlier in the story. This also causes disruptions in continuity.

The use of a cliffhanger may lead to the lack of any resolution, creating an anticlimax to a story in which the reader has already invested much time. The horror film genre frequently employs cliffhangers—often by revealing that the villain is not dead—in order to ensure material for sequel films.

A red herring may cause readers to feel cheated, as it may be considered a trick perpetrated on the reader for cheap shock value.

Notes

1. ^ John MacFarlane, "Aristotle's Definition of Anagnorisis." American Journal of Philology - Volume 121, Number 3 (Whole Number 483), Fall 2000, pp. 367-383.
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ Janra, Common plot errors: deus ex machina, Write On!
4. ^ WordReference.com - Red Herring
5. ^ Adrienne Redd, Nonlinear films and the anticausality of Mulholland Dr., Prose Toad Literary Blog
6. ^ [2]
7. ^ [3]
8. ^ [4]]
9. ^ [5]
10. ^ [6]
11. ^ [7]

References

The climax (or "turning point") of a narrative work is its point of highest tension or drama in which the solution is given.

Classical works

In classical culture, perhaps reflecting in part low literacy levels, analysis of fictional narratives focused on drama, and
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Fiction is the telling of stories which are not entirely based upon facts. More specifically, fiction is an imaginative form of narrative, one of the four basic rhetorical modes.
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Irony is a literary or rhetorical device, in which there is a gap or incongruity between what a speaker or a writer says and what is generally understood (either at the time, or in the later context of history).
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An audience is a group of people who participate in an experience or encounter a work of art, literature, theatre, music or academics in any medium. Audience members participate in different ways in different kinds of art; some events invite overt audience participation and others
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A plot twist is a change ("twist") in the direction or expected outcome of the plot of a film, television series, video game, novel or comic. It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation.
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Anagnorisis (IPA: /ˌænəgˈnɒrɨsɨs/; ancient Greek: ἀναγνώρισις), also known as discovery,
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Oedipus the King

Antigone Leads Oedipus out of Thebes by Charles Francois Jalabert
Written by Sophocles
Chorus Theban Elders
Characters Oedipus
Priest of Apollo
Creon
Tiresias
Jocasta
Messenger from Corinth
Herdsman of Laius
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Oedipus (Οἰδίπους - Oidĭpous [pronounce^[1]], meaning "swollen-footed") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes.
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In history, film, television and other media, a flashback (also called analepsis) is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached.
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A 'flashforward' (or prolepsis, also sometimes known as flash-forward or flash-ahead) in a narrative occurs when the primary sequence of events in a story is interrupted by the interjection of a scene representing an event expected, projected, or
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In literature, Racconto and flashback mean almost the same thing. However, the Racconto doesn't take the narrative back in time so suddenly, and it's longer and more detailed than a flashback.