Conflict is the engine of narrative, propelling the plot and deepening character development. Whether internal, stemming from within a character, or external, arising from the environment or other characters, conflicts are essential for creating compelling stories. This article delves into how conflicts shape characters, their evolution throughout a story, the importance of highlighting them, common types of conflicts, and examples to illustrate the wide range of conflicts and their treatment in narrative writing.
Defining Conflict in Narrative
Conflict in literature refers to the challenge main characters need to solve to achieve their goals. It creates tension and interest in the story and provides a mechanism through which characters are tested and must grow or change. There are two primary types of conflict:
Internal Conflict: This type of conflict occurs within the character, involving emotional struggles, ethical dilemmas, or choices between conflicting desires.
External Conflict: This involves the character’s external struggles against other characters, society, nature, or technological obstacles.
How Conflicts Shape Characters
Conflict reveals the core of a character's identity by forcing them to make choices and take actions that reflect their values, desires, and abilities. It is through conflict that a character's strengths, weaknesses, fears, and desires are laid bare. For instance, a character may desire safety but must confront danger to protect a loved one, revealing their courage and self-sacrifice.
Evolution of Conflict in the Story
Conflict in storytelling is not a static element but a dynamic force that evolves and deepens as the narrative unfolds. This evolution is crucial as it keeps the story engaging and ensures that the plot remains compelling throughout. An initial conflict, often straightforward at the beginning, grows in complexity, introducing new challenges that test the characters and force them to evolve or face consequences.
Progressive Complexity: As the story advances, conflicts often grow more intricate, involving multiple characters or intersecting with subplots. This complexity can change the nature of the initial conflict, adding layers that the characters must navigate. For example, a simple conflict like a feud between neighbors over a boundary dispute might evolve into a complex legal battle involving issues of inheritance, community laws, and personal history that reveal the characters’ values, biases, and past experiences.
Increased Stakes: Alongside growing complexity, the stakes of the conflict typically increase. What might start as a personal dilemma or minor inconvenience can escalate to a life-changing decision or a high-stakes confrontation. The rising stakes push characters to their limits, compelling them to make difficult choices and, often, to grow and change in significant ways.
Internal and External Convergences: Often, external conflicts mirror or exacerbate a character's internal struggles, leading to a convergence where the character must confront both external obstacles and their own internal conflicts. This convergence is a crucial point in the character’s arc, providing a moment of intense drama and character development.
Example of Evolving Conflict: In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield’s conflict initially appears to be with the perceived phoniness of those around him. This external conflict is relatively straightforward, driving his disdain and alienation from others. However, as the story progresses, it becomes evident that this conflict is a surface manifestation of deeper, internal struggles. Holden's ongoing grief over the death of his younger brother Allie and his fears about growing up transform his external disdain into a profound internal battle with acceptance and loss. These themes gradually reveal themselves through his interactions and his increasing disconnection from society, culminating in a psychological crisis that forces him to confront his grief and fear directly.
Pivotal Moments and Resolution: The evolution of conflict typically leads to pivotal moments in the story where characters face the ultimate consequences of their earlier decisions and conflicts. These moments are critical for character development and plot resolution. They are the points at which the narrative’s tension reaches its peak and the conflict must find some resolution, whether through a dramatic external showdown or a significant internal realization and change.
Continuing with The Catcher in the Rye: The climax of Holden’s story, where he watches his sister Phoebe ride the Central Park carousel, represents a pivotal moment of internal resolution. It symbolizes his acceptance of his inability to protect Phoebe and other children from the complexities of adult life, reflecting his coming to terms with his own transition from childhood to adulthood.
By examining how conflicts evolve within a narrative, writers can craft stories that are not only more engaging and challenging but also more reflective of the complex nature of human experience. Each phase of the conflict’s evolution is an opportunity to explore different facets of the characters involved, making the resolution more satisfying and meaningful.
Importance of Highlighting Conflicts
Highlighting conflicts in a story is crucial for several reasons:
Driving the Plot: Conflict introduces the central tension and keeps the story moving forward as characters face and attempt to overcome these obstacles.
Engaging the Reader: Well-crafted conflicts create suspense and keep readers engaged. Readers become invested in the characters’ struggles and eager to see how these conflicts will be resolved.
Enhancing Character Development: By forcing characters to deal with conflicts, writers can explore and develop their personalities, motivations, and growth throughout the story.
Common Types of Conflict
Man vs. Self: This is the internal conflict a character experiences within his psyche, such as moral dilemmas or emotional challenges.
Man vs. Man: The classic conflict between characters, often involving a protagonist and an antagonist.
Man vs. Society: This occurs when a character stands against a societal norm or law, challenging cultural or legal aspects of their world.
Man vs. Nature: Here, characters face natural disasters or the wilderness, testing their survival skills.
Man vs. Technology: Characters battle against scientific advancements or artificial intelligences, often in science fiction.
Examples of Conflict and Their Treatment
Internal Conflict: In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the titular character’s indecision about whether to avenge his father’s murder is a central internal conflict that drives the narrative and his character development.
External Conflict: In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch faces substantial societal pushback as he defends a black man accused of raping a white woman in the racially charged environment of the American South during the 1930s.
Man vs. Nature: In The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, Santiago battles a giant marlin in the Gulf Stream, a conflict that tests his perseverance, skill, and spirit.
Man vs. Technology: In Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, characters struggle to survive in a theme park where genetically engineered dinosaurs have gone loose, showcasing a conflict with the consequences of human overreach and technological meddling.
Conclusion
In conclusion, conflict is fundamental to storytelling, offering a rich vein of material for writers to explore character, plot, and theme. By understanding the different types of conflict and how to effectively integrate them into their narratives, writers can enhance their stories' emotional and thematic depth. Each conflict, whether internal or external, serves as a powerful tool for character development, driving the narrative forward and engaging readers by showcasing the complexities of the human condition.
