Recap
A conflict is a struggle between opposing forces: within one character (internal), between characters (interpersonal), between a character and a society (social), or between a character and circumstance. Its function is double: it drives the plot (tension, escalation, delay, release) and it develops meaning, because the sides of a conflict usually stand for values. Things not shown, such as an unseen character or an earlier action, can cause present conflict. The resolution of the central conflict may bring catharsis, an emotional release; some plots end unresolved, and the lack of resolution can itself contribute to interpretation. The full explanation, with worked examples from Frankenstein and Great Expectations, is in the study guide.
Key relationships
| Step | Question | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Opposing forces | What stands against what, and for what? | Creature (maker’s duty) versus Victor (disowning the act) |
| Stakes | What is won or lost? | Belonging; safety and reputation; who is to blame |
| Development | What escalates, complicates or delays? | Each refusal escalates violence and guilt |
| Unseen causes | What is hidden in the past or off-stage? | Miss Havisham’s jilting; Pip’s kindness to the convict |
| Ending | Resolved, released or open? | Open: the creature “lost in darkness and distance” |
| Kind | Quick test |
|---|---|
| Internal | Two pulls inside one character |
| Interpersonal | Two characters’ aims collide |
| Social | Character against class, institution or convention |
| Circumstantial | Character against fate, nature or situation |
Conditions to remember
- Conflict does not need violence; quiet struggle counts.
- An open ending is an interpretive choice, not a flaw.
- Catharsis is release, and it can follow a tragic ending.
- What the narrative reports can be as powerful as what it shows.
Mistakes to avoid
- Naming the conflict and stopping.
- Treating all conflicts as external.
- Forgetting the unseen causes.
- Assuming every plot resolves.
- Calling any ending “catharsis”.
Worked mini-example
Take Frankenstein. Forces: the creature, who claims a maker’s duty, against Victor, who disowns the act. Stakes: belonging, safety and blame. Development: each refusal escalates the violence and deepens Victor’s guilt. Ending: the creature is “lost in darkness and distance”, so the argument stays open. In one line: the conflict drives the chase and, by giving the creature a moral case, unsettles the reader’s sense of who the monster is.
Quick self-check
- Name the four kinds of conflict.
- What does it mean to say conflict develops meaning?
- How can an unseen event cause conflict?
- What is catharsis?
- What does the end of Frankenstein leave open?
Answers.
- Internal, interpersonal, social and circumstantial.
- The sides of a conflict usually stand for values, so the way they collide and end is part of the work’s argument.
- It may produce present consequences (like Miss Havisham’s stopped clocks and her training of Estella) without ever being dramatised.
- An emotional release after built-up tension, usually when the central conflict is resolved.
- The moral question of responsibility, since the creature vanishes before the end he promises is seen.
Next: the practice questions.