Literature Notes 2 Types of Conflict Ms. White’s Language Arts Classes

Types of Conflict outside  External conflict – a struggle between a character and something outside the character Examples: another character, group, monster, or hailstorm inside  Internal conflict – a struggle that takes place inside a character’s mind or heart. Examples: fears, loneliness

External or Internal?  A dangerous animal escapes its pen and tries to attack its handlers.  A = external  B = internal

External or Internal?  Two best friends compete in a track event.

External (A) or Internal (B)?  A singer keeps forgetting the words to a song because of her incredible stage fright.

External (A) or Internal (B)?  Astronauts trapped in a space station are running out of air.

External (A) or Internal (B)?  A student wants to play basketball but has to study for a math test.

Man vs. Man  A struggle between two or more characters  Character vs. character

Man vs. Nature  A run-in with the forces of nature. Tornado Hurricane Earthquake Flood Drought

Man vs. Society  The values and customs by which everyone lives is being challenged. Peer pressure Racism Sexism Religious values

Man vs. self  Inner turmoil  Self-destructive behavior  Hard choices

Man Vs. Technology  A character struggles with something electronic.  Example: runaway robots, computer crash, controller malfuntion

Man vs. ???  Spider-man must face his deadly nemesis, the Green Goblin.  A. man  B. nature  C. society  D. self  E. technology

Man vs. ???  In the book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, Tally Youngblood must decide between turning her friends in to the secret police or being ugly forever.  A. man  B. nature  C. society  D. self  E. technology

Man vs. ???  A baby is trapped inside a burning building, and Johnny decides to rescue her.  A. man  B. nature  C. society  D. self  E. technology

Man vs. ???  A young boy stole a loaf of bread to feed his family.  A. man  B. nature  C. society  D. self  E. technology

Man vs. ???  Your cell phone drops your very important conversation. Now your boss thinks you hung up on him.  A. man  B. nature  C. society  D. self  E. technology

Theme  What the story reveals to us about life;  LESSON ABOUT LIFE  Central message  Applies to everyone  NOT retelling the plot or subject

Can you find the theme? Beni loves to watch baseball, but he has used up all his money on this game. Now the game is over. As he gets up to leave, he finds a wallet on the bench. It has $10 in it. That’s enough to get him a ticket to another game! He could keep the money and leave the wallet. But that wallet and money belong to someone else. He would feel guilty. He looks inside the wallet for a name.

Continued… “Oliver! Oliver Randall!” he shouts. Oliver Randall is down by the exit, but he comes back. Oliver is surprised to see his wallet. “I didn’t even know I lost it!” he says. “I’m so happy to get it back.” He pulls something from his pocket. He says, “I want you to have my extra tickets to the rest of the games.”

What is the theme?  Think about the central message…

Possible themes…which do you think is the best theme?  A. Ballgames are only for the rich.  B. Sporting events are exciting.  C. Cheating can get you more tickets.  D. Honesty is more rewarding than cheating.

Suspense  The uncertainty a reader feels about what will happen next  Page-turner quality

What makes this suspenseful?

Foreshadowing  Hints or clues about what will happen later in the story  In the novel Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, Archie foreshadows change when he says, “The trouble with miracles is, they don’t last long.”

What does this image foreshadow? Possible predications: -Rain -Stormy marriage

What is this picture foreshadowing? In Star Wars, Anakin will become Darth Vader.

What do you think this picture is foreshadowing?