Conflict

Conflict is present everywhere in the world around us. We experience conflict on a daily basis,
and it can be minor (a disagreement with a friend about where to have lunch) or major (countries at
war). In stories, conflict is the result of competing desires or the presence of obstacles that need to be
overcome. Conflict is necessary to propel a narrative forward; no conflict means there is no story.
Most stories show a character arc from the beginning of the end, displaying development or
transformation of the main character(s) nature or opinions. Most of this development and
transformation occurs due to conflict. Conflict challenges a character’s convictions and brings out
their strengths and/or weaknesses, much as it does in real life. Note that conflict is not necessarily
“bad” and often it is not obvious which side is right or wrong, just that it presents difficulties to the
protagonist. Most stories contain more than one conflict throughout the course of the plot, though
often there is one overriding conflict that is lasts the duration of the story. Types of conflict include:

1. Human versus man: A situation in which two characters have opposing desires or interests. The
typical scenario is a conflict between the protagonist and antagonist. This is an external conflict.
Most thrillers have this type of conflict, such as Avatar: The Last Airbender and Iron Man.
2. Human versus nature: In this type of conflict, a character is tormented by natural forces such as
storms or animals. This is also an external conflict. Examples of this type of conflict include
Looney Tunes cartoons in which a character is trapped by a blizzard and tries to escape.
3. Human versus self: This conflict develops from a protagonist’s inner struggles, and may depend
on a character trying to decide between good and evil or overcome self-doubts. This conflict has
both internal and external aspects, as obstacles outside the protagonist force the protagonist to
deal with inner issues. Kagome in Inu Yasha struggles internally to make choices before she acts.
4. Human versus machine: This situation results from humans struggling with manmade machines.
This is an external conflict. Example of this includes stories in which the Justice League or Young
Justice must defeat Brainiac, Professor Ivo's Amazo android, T.O. Morrow's Red Tornado family
(Red Torpedo, Red Inferno, Red Volano), or when the Avengers must defeat Ultron.
5. Human versus society: In this type of conflict, a character must take on society itself, and not a
single person. The character stands at odds with societal norms and realizes the necessity to
work against these norms. This is an external conflict. Harry Potter must break the rules of
Hogwarts in order to achieve his goals, for example.

Test Your Knowledge of Conflict

Part I: Three Questions

1. Choose the correct conflict definition from the following statements:

A. Two people who are angry at each other.
B. One character who is in the right and the other character who is in the wrong.
C. Obstacles that need to be overcome and/or competing desires.

2. In a story, a woman begins to realize the extent of the town council's power and the unfairness
with which they rule. She tries to fight against the council by educating herself and teaming up
with a few other people to change the system. Which type of conflict does this demonstrate?
A. Man versus man
B. Man versus society
C. Man versus self
 3. Which of the following plots represents a man versus nature conflict?
A. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: A man is shipwrecked and must build a life for
himself on an island.
B. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: A woman is scorned by her village for
having a child out of wedlock.
C. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding: A group of boys is stranded on an island and
start to form a dystopian hierarchy.

Part II: A little story

Write a story that has only five or ten sentences. It should have a beginning, middle, and ending. The
beginning should introduce the conflict, the middle should include the protagonist addressing the
conflict, and the end should have the result of the struggle.
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