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    Defining Conflict

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    Jelena Tadić

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Defining Conflict

    Uploaded by

    Jelena Tadić
    13 views2 pages

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    13 views2 pages

    Defining Conflict

    Uploaded by

    Jelena Tadić

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Defining Conflict

    Generally speaking, both the surface excitement required in commercial fiction and the significant
    meaning found in literary fiction arise out of some sort 0f conflict.

    Conflict: a clash of actions, ideas, desires, or wills. Types of conflict:

    Internal and External Conflicts

    Careful examination of some conflict examples will help us realize that they may be internal or external.

    An internal or psychological conflict arises as soon as a character experiences two opposite emotions or
    desires – usually virtue and vice, or good and evil – inside him. This disagreement causes the character
    to suffer mental agony, and it develops a unique tension in a storyline, marked by a lack of action.

    Man vs Self or Character vs Self

    Internal conflict is that which exists inside the character. Struggles with morality, fate, desire and belief,

    to name a few. This form of conflict is central to the character, or characters and must be resolved by
    the character alone. Every good character suffers from the weight of internal conflict, it lends them an
    air of complex believability. Internal conflict is also known as man versus self.

    External conflict, on the other hand, is marked by a characteristic involvement of an action wherein a
    character finds himself in struggle with those outside forces that hamper his progress. The most
    common type of external conflict is where a protagonist fights back against the antagonist’s tactics that
    impede his or her advancement.

    Man vs Man

    These struggles may be born from moral, religious or social differences and may be emotional, verbal or
    physical conflicts. This form of conflict may present alone, or in conjunction with other external conflicts.
    Star Wars is an excellent example, where Luke Skywalker's fight with Darth Vader is a man versus man
    conflict that also treads into the realm of man versus fate.

    Man vs Society

    This external conflict exists when characters struggle against the morays of their culture and
    government. Works where character's battle evil, oppressive cultures are characteristic of man versus
    society conflict. One example of man versus society is Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 a novel about a
    fireman who, though it's his job to burn books, secretly collects them. Our hero may convince the
    others he is right, but he might be forced to flee town. He may even lose his life.

    Man vs Nature

    "Man vs. Nature" pits the main character against the forces of nature -- in the form of a natural disaster
    or a similarly dangerous situation -- and is often associated with literary naturalism, which hinges on the
    idea that nature is indifferent to humanity. Stephen Crane's short story, "The Open Boat," is a prime
    example, and demonstrates that the sea can cause shipwrecks easily and without regard for humanity.

    Man vs Technology

    The protagonist must overcome a machine or technology.

    Most often the encounter with the machine or technology is through the character's own doing. For
    example, it may be technology or a machine that they created, purchased, or owned with the
    assumption that it would make their life easier.

    Over time the protagonist must overcome the technology, in some instances, even destroying it before
    it destroys them.

    Man vs Fate

    This type of conflict occurs when a character is trapped by an inevitable destiny; freedom and free will
    often seem impossible in these stories. You'll find this trope in Greek tragedy: Oedipus is fated to marry
    his own mother and Odysseus finds himself sailing throughout the Mediterranean due to the anger of
    Poseidon. What can humans do in the face of the gods and fate? Only endure, it seems. Man versus fate
    conflict breeds internal conflict, while forcing a character to consciously, or subconsciously, act on his or
    her fate.

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