CONFLICT

What is conflict in literature? Conflict is essential to plot.  Without conflict there is no plot.  It is the opposition of forces which ties one incident to another and makes the plot move.  Conflict is not merely limited to open arguments, rather it is any form of opposition that faces the main character.

Remember… External Conflict: Internal Conflict: Human vs. Human Human vs. Nature (or circumstances – fate for example) Human vs. Society Internal Conflict: Human vs. Self

“Home-Thoughts, From Abroad” By Robert Browning Oh, to be in England, Now that April’s there, And whoever wakes in England Sees, some morning, unaware, That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf, While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough In England - now! And after April, when May follows, And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows - Hark! where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge Leans to the field and scatters on the clover Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray’s edge - That’s the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over, Lest you should think he never could recapture The first fine careless rapture! And though the fields look rough with hoary dew, All will be gay when noontide wakes anew The buttercups, the little children’s dower, - Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Conflict Word Bank Words for writing about conflict: Internal and/or external struggle Tension Complicated by… Against, versus, between, struggling with problem, complication, struggle Use at least 3 words from this word bank to write a sentence or two about the conflict in Robert Browning’s “Home Thoughts – From Abroad.”

As I Grew Older By Langston Hughes It was a long time ago. I have almost forgotten my dream. But it was there then, In front of me, Bright like a sun— My dream. And then the wall rose, Rose slowly, Slowly, Between me and my dream. Rose until it touched the sky— The wall. Shadow. I am black. I lie down in the shadow. No longer the light of my dream before me, Above me. Only the thick wall. Only the shadow. My hands! My dark hands! Break through the wall! Find my dream! Help me to shatter this darkness, To smash this night, To break this shadow Into a thousand lights of sun, Into a thousand whirling dreams Of sun! Use at least 3 words from this word bank to write a sentence or two about the conflict in Langston Hughes “As I Grew Older.”

Conflict Journal Entry # 6 Define conflict in your own words Anchor Passage: Choose a passage from your book that demonstrates the central conflict in your book. Visual Component Write half a page explaining the central conflict in your book. You must use the words from the word bank in your discussion. Explain how this conflict drives the plot of your book.

You MUST Read 4 Books this Semester! Please record your reading on your sheet at the back of your journal.