Freytag's Triangles in a Strange Land.

In stranger in a strange land, Mike valentine smith, aka the man from mars, comes to earth to learn from humans, but ends up teaching us a lot more than we bargained for. Mike's introduction to the story begins in the first chapter, (as most introducti0ns do). Mike is brought to earth from mars in a space shuttle. He is the first human to be raised by martians. The story rises (rising action) as Mike escapes from the hospital they had him enprisoned in, and travels with Jillian (his nurse) to a Dr. Jubal Harshaw, Attorney at Law. They stay with jubal in his mansion and explore mike's budding ... eccentricities, such as the ability to levitate, go into complete cataconic withdrawal, and the ability to make things completely cease to exist by thinking about it. This is Mike's "learning phase", much as luke was trained by yoda. But in this case, Mike teaches the others just as much as they teach him. The climax of the book is acheieved when mike leaves jubals house with jill and, after a bit of adventuring and a brief stay with the circus, he founds his own religion . He has visited a new church based on the idea of heavenly happiness through sex, alchohol, and gambling. His church is based on a loose idea of communal sharing, and contentment acheived through self-reflection and meditation. He tea ches his followers martian, and with it, his abilities. People "think" themselves into better shape by acute muscle control. All of this is coupled with a living atmosphere of nudity and communal sex followed with "water rituals" (water is sacred to martians), and big bowls of cash. The falling action is a fire tht destroys the church and sends mike and his followers into hiding from persecution by other religions. The resolution is when mike is stoned to death in front of his own hotel while he is trying to give his message to the world. Mike takes the blows and rocks with a smile and shouts out his divine purpose all the while, finishing with "thou art God". He then discorporates an go on to bigger and better things in spirit.