Conflict is defined as a struggle of opposing forces. In
literature, the conflict is the problem. There is usually more than one conflict in a
story. We divide conflict into two types: internal conflict and external conflict.
Internal conflict is a character’s struggles within himself. Any character can have an
internal conflict External conflict is a struggle with an outside
force.
Jonas is the main character in The
Giver. The overarching conflict in the story is an external conflict between
Jonas and the structure and rules of his community. We call this a
character vs. society external conflict. After Jonas
becomes Receiver of Memory, he begins to question the society’s rules and methods, for
example killing the newborn twin.
Jonas also has many
internal struggles throughout the book. These character vs.
self internal conflicts include his fears that he is different, and his
struggle to make decisions such as to rescue baby Gabriel and flee the
community.
The most common external conflict is a conflict
between two characters. The main character vs. character
conflicts are fights, arguments or just disagreements. Jonas begins to separate himself
physically and emotionally from his friends and parents. He has a conflict with Asher
when he tells him not to play a war game, for example.
A
struggle with a force of a technological or supernatural nature is known as
character vs. supernatural. This usually involves monsters
or mythical beings, but Jonas’s special powers definitely fall into this category.
Jonas struggles to accept his new abilities because they cause him pain and make him
different.
Finally, when Jonas and Gabriel run away they
face many character vs. nature conflicts. These include
the hills they have to struggle up, and the snow and cold. Hunger can even fall into
this category, because the land wasn’t proving them with substance and was slowing them
down.
As you can see, there usually is more than one
conflict in a story, and good stories have many!
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