4 Types of Conflicts in Your Literature Story

Literature is very interesting as there are different authors with different styles and different perspectives.  These differences in perspective raise conflicts. Generally, a conflict in a book or your story refers to a situation or meeting between the different characters that will result in challenges and opposition of ideas, beliefs, or values. 

There are different types of conflicts in your story.

1. Person vs Person

It is one of the most common type of conflict in both fiction and life. This can also form a basis for the main conflict in your story.  Moreover, you might have a series of a smaller person against person conflicts that may or may not be part of the larger conflict.

2. Person vs Nature

In this type of conflict, a protagonist who is lost in the woods or who is under attack by wild animals or who is fighting to survive a terrible storm is in a person against nature conflict. 

Examples include Robinson Crusoe, “Jaws” and Cujo. Some classic YA novels are the person against nature including Island of the Blue Dolphins and the Little House on the Prairie books.

3. Person vs Self

A person against self is a common secondary conflict in much fiction. It is not uncommon for a protagonist to be struggling with some aspect of self-sabotage. The character might be struggling with fear, a difficult past, an addiction, or a tendency to keep choosing the wrong relationships. Even if this is not the main conflict of the novel, a person against self-conflict can add significant depth and complexity to your book.

4. Person vs Society

In this type of conflict, some characters of your story are not fighting a single antagonist but a whole group of antagonists. Sometimes they may be fighting their entire community.

We hope that with the knowledge of these conflicts you would be able to complete your story.

Keep Learning with EnglishBix to learn about internal and external conflicts a character has to deal with.

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