Understanding Conflict

3.3 Analyze interactions between characters in a literary text by focusing on internal and external conflicts.

What is CONFLICT?

Conflict means tension between characters

A conflict can be. . .

a struggle

a personal war

a clash of ideas

a problem

Every conflict needs a resolution

Without a resolution, bad

thingstend to happen

There aretwo typesconflict

of

An external

conflict is a

struggle between

a character and

an outside force

In The Dark Knight, the Joker

initiatesan external conflict

with Batman

is the “outside

force”

The Joker

that Batman

has to overcome

In Star Wars, Darth Vaderis the source

external conflict of the

In movies like28 Days Later

andResident Evil,

zombies are

for the externalresponsibleconflict

An external conflict is. . .

beyond the character’s control something the character encounters face to facea physical force that keeps the character from achieving his or her goals

An external conflict is NOT. . .

a simple misunderstanding

that can be

resolvedover a cup of

coffee

For many characters, an external

conflictis a matter oflife and

death

Think about the effects of an external conflict

Who do they

What kind of IMPACT do they

have on the story?

In The Dark Knight, the Joker inflicts death, doom, and destruction on Gotham City—all effects of the external conflict he creates

In the Harry

Potter series,

Lord Voldemort creates a similar external conflict, whose effects include murder, mayhem, and

genuine fear

Why is external conflict important?

Without external conflict,

there is no action

no drama

no tension

no story

External conflict is

what forces a character

to make tough

decisions

Without external conflict, the protagonist will always be a static character, without an opportunity

to change, grow, or discover something new about life

There are FIVE external conflicts

that are popular in fiction and movies

Man vs. man

Man vs. society

Man vs. nature

Man vs. the

unknown

Man vs. machin

e

Now for INTERNAL conflict

An internal conflict

is a struggle that

takes place in a

character’s mind

An internal conflict can be. . .

a belief

a need or desire

a personal problem

a fear

In The Dark Knight, Batman’s internal conflict is his unwillingness to kill the Joker

Another one of Batman’s internal conflicts is that he often makes choices that are dangerous and outside the law

Internal

are psychological conflictsExternal conflicts are

physical

An internal conflict is

often the RESULT of

an external conflict

In The Dark Knight, the Joker triggers one of Batman’s biggest internal conflicts: his refusal to disclose his identity as Bruce Wayne.

When thinking about a story’s conflict, ask yourself these

questions: What’s at stake for the

protagonist?

What happens if the conflict isn’t

resolved?

In The Wizard of

Oz, the Wicked Witch is Dorothy’s external conflict.

Dorothy’s internal conflict is that she feels as if she doesn’t belong in the Land of Oz.

Dorothy resolves her conflicts by killing the witch and by learning that

there really is no place like home.

Little Red Riding Hood’s external conflict is the Big Bad Wolf.

Little Red Riding Hood’s internal conflict is that she has mixed feelings about the Big Bad Wolf.

Little Red Riding Hood resolves her

conflicts by escaping the Big Bad Wolf and

by learning that she shouldn’t talk to

strangers.

As you read a story. . .

decide what conflicts they face look for steps they take to resolve their conflicts identify the main characters

see if these steps cause other conflicts

An important idea

related to conflict

is character

motivation

Motivation is the reason characters behave the way they do—it’s what drives their actions

To be motivated means to be moved to do something

There are two types of motivation

Intrinsic motivation comes from within

It means doing something because it’s fun

Extrinsic motivation comes from outside

It means doing something for an outcome

There are different factors

that motivate characters

REVENGE is

what motivates

Two-Face

In The Dark Knight,

In the movie Scarface, three things motivate Tony Montana:

power, money, and his desire to move

up in the world.

A sense of justice and a need to help others is what motivates most

superheroes.

Antagonists like the Joker use fear

and the threat of death or violence

to motivate people.

Love is a source of motivation for many characters

allows you

Understandinga character’s motivation

to understand the character

So what motivates

YOU?