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Give 3 examples of man vs. self situation and explain each one with 5 sentences
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please help it is due today
Give 3 examples of man vs. self situation and explain each one with 5 sentences
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. Anchor man vs self conflict in characters’ past experiences
A traumatic or misguiding past – a troubled backstory – is a common source of literary conflict. In many novels, we meet characters who are already on the path to winning or losing their inner conflict. [Find more of our best posts on backstory on our character writing hub.]
Placing the origins of your characters’ inner struggles in their past experiences is useful because:
They supply events and explanations you can reveal at your own pace. These may be useful for introducing relevant secondary characters and conflicts
You’re able to create psychological depth and realism. Your readers meet characters who have history, pasts, wounds, scars
Let’s take a brief character study example that shows effective man vs self conflict:
In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, early in the book the protagonist Rodion Raskolnikov murders a pawnbroker. The ex- law student is living in poverty in St Petersburg, when he decides to kill a pawnbroker he’s indebted to.
The murder, the crime of the title, occurs early in the book. Yet Dostoevsky portrays Rodion as deeply conflicted and troubled. We read a portrait of a sensitive young man who is devoted to his mother and sister. Dostoevsky also shows how Rasksolnikov helps a poor woman whose husband is a drunk. He pays for the funeral – albeit with stolen money – when the man is trampled by a horse. Thus he is not a pure ‘villain’, but a complex, flawed character.
Raskolnikov is torn between the desire to reward those he sees as ‘innocent’ in the world (the drunk’s wife) and those he sees as greedy, inhumane, opportunistic (the pawnbroker).
Thus the conflict is psychological, as we see Raskolnikov justify the pawnbroker’s murder to himself by excluding the pawnbroker from the circle of people who are ‘innocent’ and thus worthy (in his eyes) of mercy.
Why is this person vs self conflict effective?
It’s relevant to the overarching story, arising from a character’s core goals and needs: Raskolnikov’s desperate need for money gives a clear motivation
Even after the conflict reaches a peak, there are still intriguing unknowns: Will he be found out and arrested? How will his crime affect Rodion’s psyche?
2. Create tension between winning and losing the battle
Part of the pleasure of reading conflict-rich stories is our uncertainty – we want to know what happens.
In person vs self story conflicts, it feels easy if a wave of a wand makes everything well. Even in Cinderella, after the fairy godmother helps Cinderella attend the prince’s ball in magical finery,
there is a time-based conflict. We know she has to leave before the illusion – her magical clothing – fades.
Uncertainties and complications can come from many sources:
External interference: A character who battles addiction, for example, has a ‘bad influence’, partying friend
Interpretation and framing: The stories they tell themselves, framing experiences, may influence whether their ‘good’ or ‘bad’ self wins. Raskolnikov justifies his murder to himself, even though he knows it is punishable legally, spiritually
Circumstances beyond characters’ control: For example, a character who struggles with mental health and relies on medication for stability
When Raskolnikov climbs the pawnbroker’s stairwell, he almost flees when he sees a nearby apartment is being painted. Circumstances beyond the character’s control affect his ongoing struggle clearly.