C

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C
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2
External Conflict

• The character is struggling with another
  character or with nature
• Examples
• Phillip and Timothy facing the hurricane and
  being stranded on an island in The Cay
• Calvin and Antsy fighting over Lexie in The Schwa
  Was Here

3
Internal Conflict

• The character is struggling with his or her
  own feelings and emotions.
• That character must be the one to resolve the
  conflict.
• Examples
• Phillip overcoming his prejudice toward Timothy
  in The Cay
• Calvin coming to terms with his
  invisibility in The Schwa
  Was Here

4
External or Internal?
Cass wants to wear her plastic heart-shaped
sunglasses to school, but she is worried that
people will make fun of her. from The Pity Party
Internal!
5
External or Internal?
The boys Cousin Kristina may not make it through
childbirth, and the women are working together to
help her. from The Quilt
External!
6
External or Internal?
Stacy struggles to remember who the man was that
shot her mother. from The Other Side of Dark
Internal!
7
External or Internal?
Robert knows that his father must kill his pet
pig in order for their family to have food to
eat. from A Day No Pigs Would Die
Internal!
8
External or Internal?
Arthur and Dan frantically try to escape the
basement after a tornado destroys the house. from
The Night of the Twisters
External!
9
External or Internal?
All alone after the nuclear bomb attack, Ann is
unsure how to survive. from Z for Zachariah
Internal!
10
Your Turn!
On a white sheet of paper, draw the shape of a
persons head and neck (see example) Inside the
head, write 5 examples of internal conflicts
youve had In the blank space around the head,
write 5 examples of external conflicts youve had