Types of Conflict in Literature

Standard: 6-1.4TSWBAT Identify types of conflicts in short stories and novels.

Each type of conflict falls into a broader category: Internal or External

Can you use THE POWER OF STEMS to figure out what each of these words means?

Internal (in, meaning inside) is conflict that occurs within a character's mind or heart.

External (ex, meaning outer) is conflict that occurs with a character and an outside force.

As you learn about each of the five basic types of conflict, decide if it is internal or external.

1.Character Struggling Against Another 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.

Ex: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (student against student)Ex. Maniac Magee Maniac v. his neighbors

CHARACTER V. CHARACTER

CHARACTER V. SELF

Character Struggling Internally With Self: When a character struggles with moral dilemmas, emotional challenges or desires he or she deems distasteful, the conflict is with the character's own soul or conscience. Just because conflict is internal does not make the conflict any less compelling or exciting.

Ex. Character has to decide to do the right thing or do the easy thing. (moral dilemma)

Ex. Bella has to decide between Jacob and Edward. She is conflicted about it.

CHARACTER V. NATURE

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.

Ex. In Hatchet, Brian has to survive in the woods after a plane crash.

CHARACTER V. SOCIETY

4. 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. Ex. Katniss against the Capitol in Hunger Games.Ex. Annemarie v. Nazis. Annemarie represents innocent people against the Nazi government.

CHARACTER V. SUPERNATURAL/TECHNOLOGY/FANTASY

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 , 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.

Ex: Percy v. Medusa

Let’s look at some examples:• 1. A boy fights an alien after a UFO lands in his backyard. Character v. ________________________

• 2. A hunter sprains his ankle on a hunting trip. Now heis stuck in the woods with no one to help him. He must survive in the woods overnight.Character v. _________________________

• 3. An animal rights group petitions thegovernment to pass a law against testing products on animals.Character v. _________________________

• 4. A baseball player tries out for a spot on themiddle school team. He is scared because the older boys are so good. One boy, the starting short stop, is especially mean to him. Character v.__________________________

More practice!

1. Lucy is desperate to fit in. Everyone in school is wearing headbands. Lucy doesn't like headbands because they give her headaches, but she does it anyway, so she can feel cool.

2. In the fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, a little boy lies somuch that eventually no one believes him. Hint; (Who is to blame for him lying?)

3.The Misfits is a novel about a group of middle school students who start a political party to run for student council and rid their school of name-calling.

4. A boy has a great day at school and then he loses his school project on the way home when a gust of wind blows it away.

5. Isabelle moves away from her home with her father when he remarries. She suddenly has a wicked stepmother and bratty stepsisters that she can't possibly get along with.

6. Henry experiences all kinds of emotions because he is sick and afraid of death.

7. A cop investigates a murder crime that was supposedly committed by a robot.

8. Huckleberry Finn believes that being alone on the island, separated from everyone, he won't have to deal with the demands/expectations of the others in his town.

9. Karen finds a wallet on the ground. It has $700 in it. The license is in it too, so she could find the person that owned it. Should she keep it or return it?