Page 4 Conflict

Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty. ~ William Archer

Suspense


The elements you provide or the order in which you place them in, should hold your attention.

Suspense is a technique used to make the reader anxious to learn how the characters will respond to something unexpected.

Conflict or Problem


Conflict refers to the problems or struggles that characters deal with inside the story.

You continue to read the story because to see how the problem or conflict is resolved.

A reader becomes interested in a story when the main character faces conflict when trying to achieve a goal.


Conflict may be outside, or external to, the main character or it may be an internal struggle with confidence or values.

External conflict

Person versus person

  • In "The Hockey Sweater," the external conflict is the expectation for the narrator to look like Maurice Richard; yet the adults in his life make this impossible.

Person versus environment

  • A character struggles against nature, for example plants, animals, the weather, or the terrain.

Internal conflict

Person versus him or herself


  • In "The Hockey Sweater," the internal conflict occurs when the narrator wants to fit in with his friends and look like Maurice Richard, but must wear a Toronto Maple Leaf sweater. His disappointment results in catastrophe: he loses his temper, which is misinterpreted as his believing he is better than everyone else.



  Please contact your teacher if you have questions.