Bible Blossom - Storyteller's Handbook

T HE R EMNANT OF I SRAEL • 125

Setting

The Citadel of Susa

• King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) • Esther • Mordecai • Haman

Major Characters

Plot

Introduction and Rising Action 1. Esther becomes queen of Persia when the former queen is deposed. 2. Haman is an exalted servant of the king. Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, refuses to bow down before Haman. 3. Haman, out of hatred for Mordecai, persuades the king to order the annihilation of the Jews. Climax 4. Mordecai asks Esther to talk to the king about saving the Jews. Esther is afraid to go in before the king uninvited, but Mordecai tells her that it may be for this very time that she has been put in her position as queen. 5. Esther risks her own life to save the Jews by exposing Haman’s evil plot. Falling Action and Resolution 6. Haman dies on the very gallows where he had intended to hang Mordecai. 7. The Jews are delivered by a second kingly decree, warning them of the plot and urging them to defend themselves.