Final answer:
The rising action of a story includes events that increase tension and build toward the climax by introducing secondary conflicts and challenges faced by the characters.
Step-by-step explanation:
The rising action in a story is most clearly the series of events that build up to the climax, introducing secondary conflicts and creating tension within the narrative. It is where the characters encounter various obstacles and challenges that escalate the central conflict, propelling the story towards the climax. A scene that depicts the rising action typically involves the characters on a journey, meeting new characters, or facing conflicts that complicate the situation. The rising action should not be mistaken for the exposition, which is the setting of the scene, nor the climax, which is the peak of the action, nor the falling action, which resolves the story after the climax. An example of the rising action could be when a character like Twain, who at first is confident, begins to face a series of events that increasingly challenges that confidence, such as not being able to find an important character like Mr. Bixby, thereby escalating the tension and moving the story forward.