Plot is essential to fiction because it organizes the parts of a story and creates its overall structure. As you probably remember, the standard plot diagram that can be used to outline almost any story is shaped like a pyramid or a mountain. On its left side are events that build upon one another until they reach a point where the conflict must be resolved in some way.
Within a story’s rising action, plot and conflict are linked in a way that helps drive the story forward. Events occur as characters encounter conflicts and try to work them out, and the results of their efforts often introduce new conflicts. In a classic novel like Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, each event may represent multiple conflicts of different types.
What kinds of conflict are developed by each of these events in the novel? When you think you know, click the event to check your answer.
Little Man’s conflict with Miss Crocker is an example of character vs. character conflict. However, Little Man also finds himself in conflict with a social order, or society, that views him as naturally inferior. |
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The children’s struggle to maintain their dignity each day, in the face of bullying by the bus driver and his passengers, is another example of a character vs. society conflict. However, it also suggests a more specific character vs. character conflict between the Logan children and the bus driver. |
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Cassie’s struggle to cope with her growing fear and apprehension is a classic example of a character vs. self conflict. |
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Both of these rising action events are examples of character vs. character and character vs. society conflicts. Each time, Cassie is in conflict with another character, but the actions of the other characters—and Cassie’s options for responding to those actions—are affected by society’s limits and expectations. |
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Stacey already feels intimidated by many of the white people living in the community, and he does not want to be singled out among his peers as well. His conflict is mainly internal (character vs. self) although it includes elements of a character vs. society conflict. |
Now test your understanding of types of conflict by completing the matching activity below. Match each situation with the type of conflict it represents.
