Conflict, Them e, Suspense

Conflict Types: Internal Conflict …takes place within the character’s own mind External Conflict …a character struggles with an outside force

Conflict Types: Person vs. Self (internal)  Character struggles with a moral dilemma, worry, fear, etc. Person vs. Person (external)  Character struggles with an opposing person (both are aware they are in conflict)

Conflict Types: Person vs. Technology (external)  Character struggles against something man made  Not just computers! Person vs. Environment (external)  Character struggles against his/her physical surroundings

Conflict Types: Person vs. Society (external) Character struggles against a group, majority, or the “norm”

THEME: The general insight or truth about life that a work of literature reveals.

Theme vs. Subject  Theme is not the same as subject!  (love, childhood, death, family, innocence, greed)  Theme is the idea or message that the writer wishes to convey about that subject  What is the story trying to reveal/say about love, childhood, death, greed, etc.?

Stated Theme vs. Implied Theme Stated Theme  Directly stated  Child’s story or parable (“The moral of the story is…”)  Song lyrics Implied Theme  Not stated directly  The reader must think about all elements of the work and use them to make an inference about what the themes are

How to pinpoint conflict and theme:  1. What does the protagonist want?  2. What force or person is standing in the way? Label that force person, society, environment, self, technology, etc.  3. What lesson could the protagonist have used OR use going forward to better avoid or make peace (resolve) with this conflict?

Suspense  Feeling of growing tension and excitement by the reader  Makes the reader curious about the outcome of the story  Foreshadowing is one way writers create suspense

Foreshadowing Foreshadowing: Use of clues or hints to suggest events that will occur later in the plot. It is used to build suspense or anxiety in the reader Can you think of an example of foreshadowing from a book or movie?

Little Red Riding Hood  Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived with her mother. Her mother asked her to take her old and lonely grandmother some food one day. "Don't stop along the way. Go straight to your Grandma's house and back. Don't talk to any strangers and watch out for the wolf in the woods! Now get along !" Foreshadowing

 The set of underlined words is an example of foreshadowing. Little Red Riding Hood’s mother is warning her about the wolf in the woods, which hints at what may happen next.

The Landlady – Conflict & Theme  1. What does the protagonist (Billy Weaver) want?  2. What is standing in his way?  3. What could he have done to avoid this? Or, if you had to give him advice about how to conduct himself in future, similar situations, what would it be?