Conflict (narrative)

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Conflict is a necessary element of fictional literature. It is defined as the problem in any piece of literature and is often classified according to the nature of the protagonist or antagonist, as follows:

Common Examples of Conflict

Man vs. Self

Man vs. Self is when the central conflict of a story is internal to the main character, and is often portrayed as a conflict between the characters beliefs and a temptation to act against them.

Man vs. Man

Man vs. Man is when, in a novel, there is a conflict of two forms of like beings. An example is the hero's conflicts with the central villain of a work, which may play a large role in the plot and contribute to the development of both characters. There are usually several arguments/disagreements before the climax is reached. The conflict is external. Person vs. Person can usually be expressed by when a child is being ridiculed by a bully. An example is the conflict between Judah and Messala in Ben-Hur.

Man vs. Society

Man vs. Society is a theme in fiction in which a main character's, or group of main characters', main source of conflict is social traditions or concepts. In this sense, the two parties are: a) the protagonist(s); b) the society of which the protagonist(s) are included. Society itself is often looked at as single character, just as an opposing party would be looked at in a Man vs. Man conflict. An example in literature would be Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, The Odyssey by Homer, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, or Holden Caulfield's struggle in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

Man vs. Nature

Man vs. Nature is the theme in literature that places a character against forces of nature. Many disaster films focus on this theme, which is predominant within many survival stories. It is also strong in stories about struggling for survival in remote locales, such as the novel Hatchet or Jack London's short story "To Build a Fire". Also A Separate Peace is a good example with Leper not wanting to jump out of the tree. Some are not so remote such as Banner in the Sky.

Man vs. Supernatural

Man vs. a spirit.spirits are very dangerous

Man vs. Machine/Technology

Man vs. Machine/Technology places a character against robot forces with "artificial intelligence". I, Robot and the Terminator series are good examples of this conflict.

History

As with other literary terms, these have come about gradually as descriptions of common narrative structures. Conflict was first described in ancient Greek literature as the agon, or central contest in tragedy. According to Aristotle, in order to hold the interest, the hero must have a single conflict. The agon, or act of conflict, involves the protagonist (the "first fighter") and the antagonist (a more recent term), corresponding to the hero and villain. The outcome of the contest cannot be known in advance, and, according to later critics such as Plutarch, the hero's struggle should be ennobling.

Even in contemporary, non-dramatic literature, critics have observed that the agon is the central unit of the plot. The easier it is for the protagonist to triumph, the less value there is in the drama. In internal and external conflict alike, the antagonist must act upon the protagonist and must seem at first to overmatch him or her. For example, in William Faulkner's The Bear, nature might be the antagonist. Even though it is an abstraction, natural creatures and the scenery oppose and resist the protagonist. In the same story, the young boy's doubts about himself provide an internal conflict, and they seem to overwhelm him.

Similarly, when godlike characters enter (e.g. Superman), correspondingly great villains have to be created, or natural weaknesses have to be invented, to allow the narrative to have drama. Alternatively, scenarios could be devised in which the character's godlike powers are constrained by some sort of code, or their respective antagonist.

See also

• Theme
• Deus ex machina
• Problem of evil
• Misfortune
• Misotheism
• Theodicy

References

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External links

• Literary terms Dictionary Online. [1]