Unit 3 Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence.pdf
Four types of internal and external conflict in Literature
1. Four Types of Internal and
External Conflict in
Literature
The cool way to think about them
http://classroom.synonym.com/4-types-external-internal-conflict-
literature-10224.html
2. Person vs. Self
• Battling the Inner Demands
• Also known as internal conflict, person vs. self
focuses on a character wrestling with a major
decision.
• This internal conflicts can involve an emotional
decision, such as who to pursue a relationship
with, an intellectual choice, such as choosing to
believe or reject a truth a character was raised
with or a moral dilemma, which requires a
character to choose whether or not to
compromise his ethical standards.
3. Person vs. Person
• Only One Can Win
• Person vs. person is the classic showdown
between the protagonist, the main character of
the story, and the antagonist, the character who
tries to bring about his downfall.
• Throughout the story, the two characters attempt
to outsmart, outdo and outfox each other,
resulting in momentary victories for them both.
• By the conclusion, though, one must emerge
from the battle as the winner
4. Person vs. Nature
• Braving the Elements
• Person vs. nature finds the story's characters in a
struggle against their external environment.
• This can involve adverse weather events like
floods or blizzards, supernatural phenomena,
disease outbreaks or isolated locations like
deserted islands or remote mountains.
• Throughout the story, the characters are often
fighting for their lives against these conditions,
and the survivors typically experience drastic
changes in their views of life.
5. Person vs. Society
• Sticking It to the Man
• In person vs. society conflict, the protagonist is at
odds with a particular ideology or group.
• Willing to advocate what's right rather than
what's popular, he often must suffer
consequences from his position as he works to
change the status quo.
• literature is full of characters who stand up for
their convictions by publicly taking a stand
against external social forces.
