ConflictWhat’s the Problem?

Four Conflicts

We know that the conflict is the problem in a story. Can you list all four types of conflict?

Character vs. Self

Character vs. Nature

Character vs. Character

Character vs. Society

Character vs. Self

An INTERNAL conflict that involves the struggle between a character and his/her conscience.

A woman is tempted to steal money from her employer in order to feed her family.

A man tries to decide whether to stay with his family or move to another state to take a better paying job.

A teenager is torn between ditching school with her friends and staying to take a test in a class she is failing

Character vs. Nature

An EXTERNAL conflict that involves a struggle between the character and the elements of nature that are beyond his/her control.

A family is stranded in a snowstorm.

A woman is unable to function because of an illness or condition.

A man is stalked by a wild animal in a forest

Character vs. Character

An EXTERNAL conflict that involves a struggle, mental or physical, between two characters in the story.

A husband and wife disagree about how they should spend their money.

Two little boys get into a fistfight.

A boss fires an employee.

Character vs. Society

An EXTERNAL conflict that involves the struggle between a character and the rules or laws that govern the society in which he or she lives.

A woman is in a hurry and runs a red light.

A teenager breaks the curfew set by his parents.

A young woman stands up against a corrupt government.

Internal vs. External

Internal conflicts happen INSIDE a character’s mind. They are unique to character vs. self conflict. Why?

External conflicts happen outside of a character’s mind. Any conflict other than character vs. self will be an external conflict. Why?

Conflict in SpongeBob

What was the conflict in the SpongeBob episode we watched last week? Was it: Character vs. Self, Character vs. Nature, Character vs. Character, or Character vs. Society? Be ready to defend your answer.

Was this an internal or external conflict? How do you know?

Your Turn

Imagine you are going to write a story. Create a

conflict of your own. It must fit into one of the four types of conflict, and it must be

original.