understanding conflict
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Understanding Conflict. 3.3 Analyze interactions between characters in a literary text by focusing on internal and external conflicts. What. is. CONFLICT?. Conflict means tension between characters . A conflict can be. . . . a problem . a struggle . a personal war . - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Understanding Conflict
3.3 Analyze interactions between characters in a literary text by focusing on internal and external conflicts.
What is CONFLICT?
Conflict means tension between characters
A conflict can be. . .
a struggle
a personal war
a clash of ideas
a problem
Every conflict needs a resolution
Without a resolution, bad
thingstend to happen
There aretwo typesconflict
of
An external
conflict is a
struggle between
a character and
an outside force
In The Dark Knight, the Joker
initiatesan external conflict
with Batman
is the “outside
force”
The Joker
that Batman
has to overcome
In Star Wars, Darth Vaderis the source
external conflict of the
In movies like28 Days Later
andResident Evil,
zombies are
for the externalresponsibleconflict
An external conflict is. . .
beyond the character’s control something the character encounters face to facea physical force that keeps the character from achieving his or her goals
An external conflict is NOT. . .
a simple misunderstanding
that can be
resolvedover a cup of
coffee
For many characters, an external
conflictis a matter oflife and
death
Think about the effects of an external conflict
Who do they
What kind of IMPACT do they
have on the story?
In The Dark Knight, the Joker inflicts death, doom, and destruction on Gotham City—all effects of the external conflict he creates
In the Harry
Potter series,
Lord Voldemort creates a similar external conflict, whose effects include murder, mayhem, and
genuine fear
Why is external conflict important?
Without external conflict,
there is no action
no drama
no tension
no story
External conflict is
what forces a character
to make tough
decisions
Without external conflict, the protagonist will always be a static character, without an opportunity
to change, grow, or discover something new about life
There are FIVE external conflicts
that are popular in fiction and movies
Man vs. man
Man vs. society
Man vs. nature
Man vs. the
unknown
Man vs. machin
e
Now for INTERNAL conflict
An internal conflict
is a struggle that
takes place in a
character’s mind
An internal conflict can be. . .
a belief
a need or desire
a personal problem
a fear
In The Dark Knight, Batman’s internal conflict is his unwillingness to kill the Joker
Another one of Batman’s internal conflicts is that he often makes choices that are dangerous and outside the law
Internal
are psychological conflictsExternal conflicts are
physical
An internal conflict is
often the RESULT of
an external conflict
In The Dark Knight, the Joker triggers one of Batman’s biggest internal conflicts: his refusal to disclose his identity as Bruce Wayne.
When thinking about a story’s conflict, ask yourself these
questions: What’s at stake for the
protagonist?
What happens if the conflict isn’t
resolved?
In The Wizard of
Oz, the Wicked Witch is Dorothy’s external conflict.
Dorothy’s internal conflict is that she feels as if she doesn’t belong in the Land of Oz.
Dorothy resolves her conflicts by killing the witch and by learning that
there really is no place like home.
Little Red Riding Hood’s external conflict is the Big Bad Wolf.
Little Red Riding Hood’s internal conflict is that she has mixed feelings about the Big Bad Wolf.
Little Red Riding Hood resolves her
conflicts by escaping the Big Bad Wolf and
by learning that she shouldn’t talk to
strangers.
As you read a story. . .
decide what conflicts they face look for steps they take to resolve their conflicts identify the main characters
see if these steps cause other conflicts
An important idea
related to conflict
is character
motivation
Motivation is the reason characters behave the way they do—it’s what drives their actions
To be motivated means to be moved to do something
There are two types of motivation
Intrinsic motivation comes from within
It means doing something because it’s fun
Extrinsic motivation comes from outside
It means doing something for an outcome
There are different factors
that motivate characters
REVENGE is
what motivates
Two-Face
In The Dark Knight,
In the movie Scarface, three things motivate Tony Montana:
power, money, and his desire to move
up in the world.
A sense of justice and a need to help others is what motivates most
superheroes.
Antagonists like the Joker use fear
and the threat of death or violence
to motivate people.
Love is a source of motivation for many characters
allows you
Understandinga character’s motivation
to understand the character
So what motivates
YOU?