ABSTRACT
If a focus on the narrator leads to characterization, then a focus on the setting of that self leads to story and plot. Strictly speaking Ecclesiastes gives no evidence for the usual plot structures. There is no dramatic encounter of particular characters, leading to complex episodes with a final conflict, followed by a closure of the original situation. In telling stories which make up the overall narrative, Qohelet is offering a social commentary on two levels: the symbolic society into being; and a narrative commentary on that same, created social environment. It is obvious to state that Ecclesiastes is made up of words, but this statement does touch upon an important focus for story, that of the link between continuous text and its individual verbal components. Ordering a story involves setting short sequences into a broader frame, frequently one of time. The concept of time plays a major part in the structuring of thought in Ecclesiastes.
