Dec 6 ELA class notes:
We continued discussion of conflict by identifying examples of the 4 kinds of conflict on the handout
below. Students should add some or ALL of the examples given in class, if not done during class
discussion. Review to see if another class thought of a great example that did not come up in your
class.
Notes added from student discussion added Dec 6 are in red and in comic
sans font.
Literary Terms to Memorize Related to Plot and Conflict
Plot: The sequence of events in a story. What happens. Sequence means order.

Plot includes ALL of the conflicts from the exposition with the inciting conflict (first problem), through the
rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
Conflict: The struggle between opposing forces that moves the plot forward
2 Types of Conflict: Internal conflicts often lead to external conflicts
1. Internal conflict: character struggles against his or her own feelings or personality. When
we are in conflict over whether to do what our conscience tells us is right or to do
something that is easier—that is internal conflict.
o
When describing an internal conflict, remember to think about the 2 choices inside
a character’s head or heart.
o
Not always “good” choice vs. “bad choice”—sometimes the tension is between 2
choices that might both lead to trouble. (i.e. rat out a friend about to do something
dangerous and seem disloyal but keep them safe; or keep friend’s secret, but risk
them hurting self or others.)
o
The internal choice the AUTHOR makes for the character tips the scales to
MOVE THE PLOT in a certain direction.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. External conflict: conflicts in which the character struggles against another character, nature,
or society.
o
3 types of External Conflicts: Draw a picture (and label) examples of each of the
THREE types of External conflict
a. Character vs. character (character vs. human or “thinking” animal)
Yoda vs. Count Dooku; Harry Potter vs. Voldemort; Katniss vs.
President Snow (in Hunger Games) ; Dorothy vs. Wicked Witch of the
West; Bumble vs. Rudolph; Big Bad Wolf vs. pigs;
b. Character vs. nature/environment (character vs. fate, weather, a non-thinking
force) A citizen in New Orleans vs. Katrina; Dorothy vs. tornado; NASA trying to master
atmosphere to explore Mars; Santa vs. the Blizzard: Man vs. Wild; Brian vs. mosquitoes
in Hatchet; Foxborough vs. Irene; Rudolph, Hermie and Cornelius vs. blizzard;
c. Character vs. society (character vs. what a GROUP thinks, vs. what the majority
considers moral or right) Another way to say character vs. society is a character vs. the
STATUS QUO. Status Quo is Latin for “What Stays as it is” --It’s the idea that “it’s what
is expected, what is accepted as normal, just how it always has been. Challenging the
status quo is shaking things up.
Luke Skywalker vs. The Evil Empire; Reindeer society vs. Rudolph; Elf Society vs.
Hermie the Dentist Elf; Katniss vs. the Capital (Hunger Games); Casino operation
vs. Foxborough; Vegetarian shark vs. predator sharks (Finding Nemo); Edward (in
Twilight) vs. vampire society that wants him to be like other vampires and prey
on human beings; Charlotte Doyle vs. society that said girls can’t do hard
physical work, or show courage—like being crew on a ship or climbing rigging;
Dr. King vs. society that said keeping a minority separate and oppressed was OK;
Moses vs. Egyptian society that said Jewish people were born to be slaves.
Occupy Wall Street protesters vs. the current tax structure and financial business
practices.
New Notes NOT on handout
IMPORTANT: Why examine Conflict?

Great writers weave LOTS of different types of conflicts together. They do
not just have a series of weather disasters, nor would they follow a character with
72 internal conflicts that never cause any EXTERNAL action.

Internal conflicts often cause external conflicts, which spark MORE internal
conflicts, and so on. This is a chain of events that makes an interesting story that
BUILDS tension and keeps your interest.

Notice the many kinds of conflicts when you read and APPRECIATE how hard it is
for an author to line everything up so the pieces fit perfectly, but aren’t so
obvious that you know the ending from the beginning and lose interest.

When YOU write, don’t neglect to develop INTERNAL conflicts—these are
often the richest story elements. Seventh grade writers are often very good at
imaginative external conflicts (action, explosions, disasters, fights…) but forget to
give the characters REASONS or motivations (internal conflicts).
How Conflicts Link causes and effects in Rudoph—Up Close and Personal
Looking at that masterpiece of fiction, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, (the TV versionnot the song) we find EVERY type of conflict. The tension builds to the climax (Rudolph in
cave about to be reindeer dinner for Bumble) with a BELIEVABLE solution (resolution)
because the writers created internal and external conflicts that flow together.
External: Rudolph vs. society (he doesn’t fit in due to nose color) :
→CAUSES
INTERNAL conflict: (2 sides, should I stay and cover up true self
and be unhappy, or go away, be myself, but lose family, home, and future role in
North Pole society.
External: Character vs. Society: Hermie vs. elves that say you are born to be an
elf and cannot be different. No elf dentists.
→INTERNAL conflict: 2-sides, should Hermie stay and be a miserable elf
or go and risk loneliness and possible failure ever finding dental patients.
→EFFECT:
Both Rudolph and Hermie join Yukon and strike out alone.
External: Character vs Character (possibly character vs. nature/environment is you believe
Abominable Snowmen are just naturally meant to eat other creature) Bumble chases the 3 run
aways.
→CAUSES them to flee into blizzard.
External Conflict: Character vs. Nature: Rudolph’s nose lights up—he has not
control over it—
→Effect:
→CAUSES
Rudolph attracts Bumble so group can’t hide.
Internal Conflict: 2 sides—Rudolph can stay with friends and have company
and help against Bumble or Rudolph can leave friends and lessen their risk of being spotted
and eaten by Bumble.
→Effect: External Conflict:
Rudolph leaves and is captured by Bumble
and taken to cave for food prep. Reunites with family and girlfriend, all slated
for dinner, who had their own internal and external conflicts along the way.
→CAUSES
Internal Conflict: Internal Conflicts for Hermie and Yukon who
must choose between staying safe and helping friend.
→Effect: External Conflict: Character vs. character
Yukon and Hermie vs. Bumble. Hermie removes teeth of monster to end
threat
This could not have happened believably if the writer had
Hermie be a misfit who wanted to be a chiropractor or a
teacher—the earlier conflict helps all the pieces come together
so story can resolve and all live happily ever after…The dominos
line up and fall in order, leading to an endpoint.
EVEN the toothless BUMBLE has a character vs. society conflict—when
all the residents of Christmas town want to exclude him based on his prior
offenses before Yukon risks society rejecting him too by defending his new friend
as the “star” who can put the star on the highest tree.
→Effect: even Bumble lives happily ever after and decades of young
children viewing the show are less frightened of Abominable Snowmen.