Creativew writing conflict power point

By the end of this lesson,
you will be able to:
Identify Conflict as it appears in literature.
Distinguish between Internal and External
conflict, and their sub categories.


Types of Conflict
Internal Conflict -Man vs. Self
External Conflict– Man vs. Man
– Man vs. Environment or Nature
– Man vs. Society


Internal Conflict
Definition:
A struggle that takes place in a character's mind
is called internal conflict.


Internal Conflict is …
NOT a visual or tangible
opposition.
A character dealing with
his or her own mixed
feelings or emotions.


Example of Internal
Conflict

A character may have to decide between
right and wrong or between two solutions to
a problem.
Ex: The Loisel’s in “The Necklace” try to
decide what to do; they wrestled with the
decision to replace the necklace.


Internal Conflict
Subcategory
Man vs. Self
Internal conflict is
often referred to as
man vs. self because
the struggle is inside
one’s head.


Internal Conflict SelfCheck
Question 1:
Internal conflict is NOT:
a.
b.
c.

visible
difficult
serious

Internal Conflict SelfCheck
Question 2:
Internal conflict is often referred to as:
a.
b.
c.

man vs. man
man vs. himself
man vs. external forces


External Conflict
Definition:
A struggle between a character and an
outside force is an external conflict.


Example of External
Conflict
Characters may face several types of outside
forces.
The outside force may be another character. It
may be the character and/or his or her
community (society).
The outside force may also be forces of nature
or environment. For example, a story might be
the main character struggling against the
arctic cold.

External Conflict
Subcategories
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Environment or Nature
Man vs. Society


Man vs. Man
This is mostly seen in the form of two
characters against each other.
It does not have to be a physical
confrontation; it can be a battle between two
ideas.


Man vs. Man Examples
Rainsford vs. Zaroff
Fortunato vs. Montresor
Harry Potter vs. Lord Voldemort


Man vs. Environment or
Nature
Environment is defined as anything
surrounding a person.
This can include weather, objects, activities.
Basically anything external EXCEPT people.

Man vs. Community or
Society
In societies and communities there are a set
of laws and rules that man must abide by.
Some of these rules are enforced by laws
and some are social rules that are a code of
behavior.
Man must follow these rules and laws in
order to avoid conflict within his or her own
community.


External Conflict SelfCheck
Question 1:
Which is NOT an example of external
conflict?
a.
b.
c.

other characters
forces of nature
decisions


External Conflict SelfCheck
Question 2:
One subcategory of external conflict is:
a.
b.

c.

man vs. man
man vs. himself
man vs. literature


External Conflict SelfCheck
Question 3:
Rainsford being stuck in quicksand is an
example of:
a.
b.
c.

man vs. mud
man vs. environment
man vs. supernatural


External Conflict SelfCheck
Question 4:
A conflict cannot be categorized as man vs.
man when:
a. the struggle is with more than 1
character.
b. there is a physical confrontation.
c. the opposition is not human.

Quick Review
•Internal Conflict
•MAN VS. HIMSELF
*not tangible

*in the mind

*decisions, feelings, emotions, thoughts


Quick Review
•

External Conflicts

MAN VS. MAN

MAN VS. NATURE

*other characters
*not just physical confrontation
surroundings
*opposing ideas

*any outside force
*anything in
*weather, objects, activities

MAN VS. SOCIETY
*rules/codes of conduct that man must follow/obey

*includes laws and social expectations within community


Quiz Time
1. Jim and Mac
disagreed about
where they
should take the
dog they found.

2. Carley struggled
to walk through
the hot, blowing
sand.

A.) internal
B.) external
C.) both

A.) internal
B.) external
C.) both


Quiz Time
3. Sarah couldn't

4. In the high winds,

decide what to do

that night. Should
she study or
should she go
out?
A.) internal
B.) external
C.) both

the crew was
barely able to keep
the ship from
tilting sideways.
A.) internal
B.) external
C.) both


Quiz Time
5. Hector thought,

"Why did I ever
agree to be in this
play? I'll never
have the nerve to
act in front of an
audience."
A.) internal
B.) external
C.) both

6. After Mary's brother
teased her about being
afraid, she decided to
climb the cliff. Now
she stood at the foot of
the cliff, wishing she
could figure out a way
to back out.
A.) internal
B.) external
C.) both