What do you see. What problems will you face What do you see? What problems will you face? Imagine you are on the boat; what are you thinking? Take 3 minutes to jot down ideas

Literary Conflict

What's a Conflict? A conflict is a problem that the main character or characters face. Examples An arctic adventurer struggles to survive hunger and cold. A brother and sister fight over control of the television. Every story worth reading has a conflict. If there is no conflict, there is no tension. Some stories has multiple conflicts.

External vs. Internal External External Conflict takes place outside of the body Internal Internal Conflict takes place inside of the body/mind

There are five types of external conflict

External Man vs. Man The central character faces opposition from another person or group of people. Examples Two girls compete for the same role in the school play. A ninja warrior fights a rival clan to avenge his master's death.

External Man vs. Nature The central character struggles against animals, the elements, or other natural forces. Examples A castaway washes up on an island and must learn to survive with the available resources. A ship captain pursues a great white whale through stormy seas.

Man Against Society External In many stories, the protagonist battles an unjust element of government or culture. Examples A student takes his fight against the school dress code all the way to the Supreme Court. A group of students protest in front of a university known for its unfair and racially motivated admission practices.

External Man vs. Supernatural The central character is challenged by forces that are not of this world. Examples A boy wizard must use his powers to protect his community from evil monsters. A group of teenagers sleep in a haunted house and begin disappearing one by one.

External Man vs. Technology The central character struggles with or against the forces of technology. Examples A group of strangers gets stuck in an elevator. A teenage boy is pursued by robots from space that transform into cars.

There is one type of internal conflict

The central character faces an internal struggle. Man vs. Self The central character faces an internal struggle. Some literary conflicts take the form of a character struggling to overcome fear, addiction, emotional damage or other crippling personal issue. Examples A young man goes through hard times after losing his father in a car accident. An Olympic athlete pushes his performance to the limit despite his physical disability

Practice Decide what type of conflict is being illustrated in the following pictures

1. Man vs. ?

2. Man vs. ?

3. Man vs. ?

4. Man vs.

5. Man vs. ?

6. Man vs. ?

7. Man vs. ?

8. Man vs. ?

Now that you have mastered pictures, let’s try some text! Practice Now that you have mastered pictures, let’s try some text!

9. Man vs. ? “If she had only proceeded more slowly. If she had only taken the Southerly route, avoiding the icebergs. If only the watch had had a pair of binoculars.” (news story about the Titanic)

10. Man vs. ? Charles decided to break all the rules the day he decided to steal that car. He was immediately arrested and sent to jail to await his trial. He should have known better than to mess with the “rules.”

11. Man vs. ? “I don’t care who you talk to!” screamed Sarah to West. “I just wish I had never met you!”

12. Man vs. ? After lowering himself into the damp and dark cave Tom began to reprimand himself for not having replaced his flashlight batteries. Tom’s terror slowly began to take over as the light around him grew dimmer and dimmer and dimmer.

13. Man vs. ? After the light in the cave was completely gone Tom began to stumble through the cave blindly cutting his hands on what appeared to be sharp rocks.

14. Man vs. ? Tom found a dry spot to sit down in the dark and began to obsess over an argument he had had earlier in the day with his mother in which he had said, “I hope I never see you again!”

15. Man vs. ? Tom’s mother was upset that he wanted to skip going to college in order to go spelunking in all of the world’s greatest caves before he turned thirty. Tom didn’t understand the big deal, he didn’t really believe in structured “learning” anyway.