Plaks further shows these Ming novels share formal characteristics. They are almost all over 100 chapters in length; divided into ten chapter narrative blocks which are broken into two to three chapter episodes; arranged into first and second halves which are symmetrical; and arrange their events in patterns which follow seasons and geography. They manipulated the conventions of popular storytelling in an ironic way in order to go against the surface meanings of the story. "Three Kingdoms", he argues, presents a contrast between the ideal, that is, dynastic order, and the reality of political collapse and near anarchy; "Water Margin" likewise presents heroic stories from the popular tradition in a way that exposes the heroism as brutal and selfish; "Journey to the West" is an outwardly serious spiritual quest undercut by comic and sometimes bawdy tone. "Jin Ping Mei" is the clearest and most sophisticated example; the action is sometimes grossly sexual, but in the end emphasizes conventional morality.