Types of Conflict in Literature

Types of Conflict in LiteratureTakes notes on a separate sheet of paper.

The Importance of Conflict.

Conflict is necessary to every story. In short stories, there is usually one major conflict. In longer stories, there could be several conflicts. Conflict adds excitement and suspense to a story. The conflict usually becomes clear to the beginning of a story. As the plot unfolds, the reader starts to wonder what will happen next and how the characters will handle the situation. Many readers enjoy trying to predict the final outcome.

The excitement usually builds to a high point, or climax. The climax is the turning point of the story. Something has happened to resolve the conflict.

External Conflict

A struggle between a character and an outside force is an external conflict. Characters may face several types of outside forces. The outside force may be another character. It may be the character and the community. The outside force may also be forces of nature. For example, a story might be the main character struggling against the arctic cold.

Internal Conflict

Internal conflict is that which exists inside the character. Struggles with morality, fate, desire and belief, to name a few. This form of conflict is central to the character, or characters and must be resolved by the character alone. Every good character suffers from the weight of internal conflict, it lends them an air of complex believability. Internal conflict is also known as man versus self or person versus self. While internal conflict is necessary for good characters, it is the least complicated form of conflict.

Character Struggling Against Another Character:

Man vs. ManCharacter vs. Character

This is the most obvious form of conflict, when a character in a book struggles with another character in the book. This can be in the form of arguments, conflicting desires, opposing goals, physical confrontations or emotional dilemmas.

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Man versus man is the most fundamental type of external conflict. This form of external conflict occurs when a character struggles against another character. These struggles may be born from moral, religious or social differences and may be emotional, verbal or physical conflicts. Man versus man is almost always the conflict present when a hero fights a villain. This form of conflict may present alone, or in conjunction with other external conflicts. Star War's is an excellent example, where Luke Skywalker's fight with Darth Vader is a man versus man conflict that also treads into the realm of man versus fate.

Character Struggling Internally With Self:Sometimes conflict is internal (inside). When a character struggles with moral dilemmas, emotional challenges or desires he or she deems unsavory, the conflict is with the character's own conscience. An example would be the main character struggling with his inability to forgive himself.

Character Struggling Against Forces of Nature:Sometimes all the characters in the book are the good guys and the conflict in the book is between all the people and forces of nature that are out of the characters' control. Examples would be: viruses, storms, violent seas, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters or conditions

Man versus nature conflicts occur when a character, or characters, find themselves at odds with forces of nature. A character struck by lightening, characters whose boat sinks in a storm and a character who struggles against hypothermia in a snow storm are all characters experiencing man versus nature conflicts.

Character Struggling Against Society:When the character is repressed by society and not by a specific character, the conflict takes place between that character and society. The main conflict in this story is between the exploited classes and the segment of society that exploits the main characters.

Character Struggling Against Fantasy/Supernatural/Technology: This type of conflict is usually found in specific genres of literary style, such as fantasy, science fiction, horror and supernatural books. When the character comes up against poltergeists, robots, aliens, divine forces or supernatural villains, the main character must call upon his or her strength to defeat the fantastic enemy confronting him or her.