Conflicts

in

Literature

What is “conflict” in a story?

*problem*good vs. evil

Why is CONFLICT important? Without conflict, there is no plot!

The plot is created around the conflict…

The conflict is introduced in rising action…

Is faced head-on during climax…

Begins to work itself out during falling

action…

Is resolved during resolution.

EXTERNAL CONFLICT An external conflict is between a

character and an outside force.

Man vs. Man

Man vs. Nature

Man vs. Society

Man vs. Man

The character has an issue, disagreement, or

problem with another character in the story.

The character does not see “eye to eye”

with the other character.

Often the character will try and solve the

problem during the story.

Example of

Man vs. Man Conflict

Little Red Riding Hood vs. the Big Bad Wolf

Man vs. SOCIETY

The character has an issue or problem with

something that is happening in the world.

This may be rules, laws, cultural values,

traditions, politics, or groups of people.

An example may be a character

disagreeing with a certain law that is

passed.

Example of Man vs. Society Conflict:

Anne in The Diary of Anne Frank against

the Nazis.

Man vs. NATURE

The character has an issue or problem

with something that is happening in

nature.

An example may be a natural disaster

such as an earthquake or forest fire.

Another example could be a snowstorm

that is causing problems for the

character.

Example of

Man Versus Nature Conflict

Dorothy being swept up by tornado in

Wizard of Oz

INTERNAL CONFLICT

An internal conflict is between a

character and his/her self.

Man vs. Self

Man vs. SELF The character has an issue or problem

with themselves personally.

This could be a goal they are having

trouble accomplishing or something they

are trying to work on.

Often the character will find strategies to

solve their problem.

Example of Man vs. Self Conflict:

Deciding whether you want to cheat or not to cheat on a test.

Let's Practice.....

Read each passage.

Think about the conflict.

Man vs. Man

Man vs. Nature

Man vs. Society

Man vs. Self

Support your answer with evidence.

Angela is having the time of her life on a

cruise ship with food and fun all around

her. Just as she is preparing for the limbo

competition, the ship crashes into an

iceberg, which punctures the hull and

causes the ship to sink. Now she and a

group of strangers must fight for survival

on a life raft deep in the ice-cold ocean

waters with limited supplies. Can she stay

alive until a rescue team arrives?

Man vs. Self, Man, Society, Nature?

Man vs. Nature Conflict

Ronny has won second place in the science fair

for the last two years, and Henry Wallace has

taken first. Ronny hated how Henry bragged

about how smart he was and how Henry always

told everyone that he would win first place every

year. This year, Ronny will stop at nothing to beat

Henry. He has even enlisted the help of his

neighbor who is a well known scientist at the local

university. Can Ronny and his scientist friend win

against the undefeated Henry at this year's

science fair?

Man vs. Self, Man, Society, Nature?

Man vs. Man Conflict

Beth wanted to look just like the famous pop star

Lady Goo-goo, so she went to the hair stylist and

requested a drastic new haircut, one that

required her shaving half of her head. When she

left the hair stylist, it looked pretty good, but now

it is the morning of a school day and she finds

that she cannot recreate the look. Can Beth pull

off the Lady Goo-goo look? Will she be able to

muster the courage to go to school if she

cannot?

Man vs. Self, Man, Society, Nature?

Man vs. Self Conflict

Jason has moved to the Oklahoma territory in

hopes of starting a new and better life for his family

as a farmer. There's just one problem: Jason can't

get any crops to grow on his land. He's tried using

fertilizers, rotating crops, and praying, but the land

remains barren. Just as Jason's dream is about to

end, he is assisted by a Native American medicine

man who teaches Jason how to properly nurture

his crops on this land, but is it too late?

Character vs. Self, Man, Society, Nature?

Character vs. Nature Conflict