CONFLICT

A literary element

FIVE TYPES OF CONFLICT ARE

RECOGNIZED THROUGHOUT
LITERATURE

Man vs. Man

A
conflict
betwee
n two
or more
people.

Example: two friends get in an

argument and stop speaking to
each other.

Man vs. Nature

A
conflict
betwee
na
person
and an
element
of the
natural
world.

Example: a hiker gets lost in

the mountains.

Man vs. Self

A
conflict
within
a
person
.

Example: an alcoholic struggles

to overcome his addiction.

Man vs. Society

A
conflict
betwee
na
person
and the
laws or
beliefs
of a
group.

Example: a person goes to the

capital and protests a new law.

Man vs. Fate

A
conflict
betwee
na
person
and
God or
the
gods.

Example: a ancient Greek hero

fights Poseidon, the god of the
sea.

What kind of conflict is it?

A family loses its home in a

hurricane.

Man vs.
Nature

What kind of conflict is it?

A person running from the police

is caught and arrested.

Man vs. Man

What kind of conflict is it?

A man blames God for the death

of his wife, so he stops attending
church and praying.

Man vs. Fate

What kind of conflict is it?

A recent high-school graduate is

struggling to decide which
college to go to.

Man vs. self

What kind of conflict is it?

A teenager disagrees with her

schools dress code, so she
organizes a letter-writing
campaign against it.

Man vs. Society