Skill: Types of Conflict

Types of Conflict

A coloring book style outline image showing examples of the 6 types of literary conflict.

Conflict is the struggle that drives a story. On one side is the central character and whatever that character wants. On the other side is the opposing force, meaning whatever stands in the way. Here you will learn to name the force those characters are up against, because without one, nothing happens. A story with no conflict is just a list of events.

Any conflict can be named by asking three questions in order. Who is the central character? What is the opposing force? Is that force internal or external? The second question is the one that does the work. Naming the force is the whole analytical move. The label is just what you call that force once you have found it.

Read the full Types of Conflict guide

The Three-Step Routine

The steps work on any story, in any genre, at any length.

Step 1: Find the central character. The conflict belongs to whoever the story follows. This character is also called the protagonist, and it may be a person, an animal, or an imagined being.
Step 2: Name the opposing force. Say it out loud in your own words before you reach for a label. The wildfire. The autopilot. Her own guilt. This force is also called the antagonist and it does not have to be a person or a villain.
Step 3: Decide whether the force is internal or external. Internal means the struggle happens inside the character. External means the force sits outside them. This single sort cuts your six options down to one or five.

The Six Types

Once you have named the force, match it to one of six labels. In each label, person means the central character, even when that character is an animal or an imagined being. Only the first one on this list is internal.

Person vs. Self: two wants, beliefs, or fears pull against each other inside one character. This is the only internal type. Feelings alone do not qualify... characters feel afraid, angry, and heartbroken during every kind of conflict. The test is whether the character is arguing with themselves.
Person vs. Person: another character or group stands between the central character and the goal. An antagonist is not the same as a villain. A best friend competing for the same spot, a loving parent, or a mentor can all oppose without meaning any harm. Opposition is structural, not moral.
Person vs. Society: a law, rule, institution, custom, or shared expectation blocks the character. Society means opposition held by many people and backed by rules or tradition. One unfair boss acting alone is person vs. person.
Person vs. Nature: the natural world stands in the way. Nature is not only weather... animals, terrain, distance, illness, thirst, hunger, barren ground, and even a character's own injured body all count. Nature has no intent and does not need any. Indifference blocks a goal as effectively as malice does.
Person vs. Supernatural: the opposing force could not exist under the rules of the real world. The test is plausibility, not spookiness. A wolf stalking a cabin is nature. A wolf that speaks Latin is supernatural.
Person vs. Technology: a machine, tool, or engineered system creates the obstacle. The machine needs no malice and no mind, and it may be working exactly as designed. What matters is whether the machine is the opponent or just the tool somebody else is holding.

The following resources will help students identify conflicts and types of conflicts in works of literature.

Interactive Lessons

Slide decks

Types of Conflict Lesson

Learn how to identify the conflict in a story. You will learn to find the central character, name the opposing force that stands in the way, and sort that force as internal (person vs. self) or external (person vs. person, society, nature, supernatural, or technology). Available at three reading levels for grades 3 to 12.

Grade bands: Grades 3-5 | Grades 6-8 | Grades 9-12
Slides: 11

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Interactive Activities

Practice sets

Interactive Activity

Activity

Practice activities for this skill are coming soon. Check back as the collection grows.

Status: Coming soon

Standards & Objectives

Learning Objectives

Identify the central character and the opposing force, and classify the conflict
as internal (person vs. self) or external (person vs. person, society, nature,
supernatural, or technology).
Analyze how the central conflict drives a plot, distinguishing the true opposing
force from the characters, objects, and settings that merely surround it.
Use textual evidence to name the opposing force and support conclusions about the
type of conflict.

Standards Alignment

Common Core (CCSS)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.3Open

Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1Open

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Show standards (16)

Reading Literature (RL)

Key Ideas and Details

Grade 3

RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events

Grade 4

RL.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

Grade 5

RL.5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
RL.5.3 Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

Grade 6

RL.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

Grade 7

RL.7.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.7.3 Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).

Grade 8

RL.8.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.8.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

Grades 9-10

RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.9-10.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Grades 11-12

RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).