LITERARY ELEMENT: CONFLICT

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LITERARY ELEMENTCONFLICT

• October 4th, 2010

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By the end of this lesson, you will be able to

• identify conflict as it appears in literature
• distinguish between Internal conflict and
  External conflict
• place conflict in one of three subcategories

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(No Transcript)
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What is Conflict?

• A struggle between two opposing forces in a
  novel, short story, or play.
• Essence of drama

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Conflict Continued

• Conflict is necessary for every story
• Conflict adds suspense and excitement

• Before Climax All of the events that lead up to
  the conflict
• After the Climax Events that occur to resolve
  the conflict

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Internal Conflict

• Definition
• A struggle that takes place in a characters mind
  or heart is called internal conflict.
• A strong internal conflict can make a good story
  great

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Internal Conflict is..

• a character dealing with his or her own mixed
  feelings or emotions
• Example a character may have to decide between
  right and wrong or between two solutions to a
  problem.

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Internal Conflict SubcategoryMan vs. Self

• The struggle is inside ones head/ the struggle
  is between the character and his/her conscience

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External Conflict

• Definition
• A struggle between a character and an outside
  force is an external conflict.

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Examples of External Conflict

• Characters may face several types of outside
  forces.
• The outside force may be another character. It
  may be the character and the community.
• The outside force may also be forces of nature.
  For example, a story might be the main character
  struggling against the arctic cold.

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External Conflict Subcategories Man vs. Man

• Two characters against each other.
• Can be represented by a group of people.
• It does not have to be a physical confrontation
  it can be a battle between two ideas.
• Example The Three Little Pigspigs vs. wolf

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External Conflict Subcategories Man vs. Nature

• Anything surrounding a person.
• Weather, objects, activities, time, geography,
  etc.
• Basically anything external EXCEPT people.
• Example Gary Paulsens Hatchet puts the young
  boy against nature when he finds himself to be
  the sole survivor of a plane crash that lands him
  in the wilderness

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External Conflict Subcategories Man vs. Society

• Main source of conflict is social traditions or
  concepts with the protagonist and the society of
  which the protagonist are included
• Occurs when a character disagrees with societal
  values, laws, or beliefs.

Example Mark Twains Tom Sawyer is put against
society in his adventures as he tries to live
outside of the rules of his aunt and his
community.
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• Conflict Centers for Tuesday!!

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Childrens Literature

• The Three Little Pigs by David Wiesner
• The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
• Grandfathers Journey by Allen Say
• The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
• The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss
• Lilys Cupboard by Shulamith Levey Oppenheim
• King of the Playground by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

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Finding Conflict in Current Book

• Identify the conflict in the current book you are
  reading
• Fill out the Finding Conflict sheet
• Circle what type of conflict it is and what sub
  category of conflict it is as well

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Conflict in Movies

• Twilight
• Remember the Titans
• Mean Girls
• Harry Potter
• The Blind Side
• Finding Nemo

• Sisterhood of Traveling Pants
• Up
• 17 Again
• Shrek
• High School Musical
• Toy Story

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Conflict Skit

• A teenager is torn between ditching school with
  her friends and staying to take a test in a class
  she is failing.
• A man is chased by a wild animal in the forest.
• A husband and wife disagree about how their money
  should be spent.
• A woman is in a hurry and runs a red light.
• A teenager breaks the curfew set by his/her
  parents.