External vs Internal Conflicts

In this story, who or what is Sue in conflict with?

A boy in a green shirt yelled, "I can't find my sister. She went underwater right there, and she never came up!"

As a lifeguard, Sue knew exactly what to do. Racing into the ocean, she leaped and crashed through the waves. Sue swam to the spot where the boy had pointed. Taking a deep breath, she dove to the bottom, opened her eyes, and began searching everywhere. As she surfaced, a wave buried her and shoved her under again.

When Sue finally resurfaced, she saw a crowd of people on shore. "Here she is!" they called.

Sue saw a girl standing in the sand, calmly eating a sandwich. Her little brother had gone back to his sand castle.

• Sue is in conflict with the ocean.

• Sue is in conflict with the boy.

• She is in conflict with the missing girl.

• She is in conflict with the people on the shore.

This type of conflict is—

A boy in a green shirt yelled, "I can't find my sister. She went underwater right there, and she never came up!"

As a lifeguard, Sue knew exactly what to do. Racing into the ocean, she leaped and crashed through the waves. Sue swam to the spot where the boy had pointed. Taking a deep breath, she dove to the bottom, opened her eyes, and began searching everywhere. As she surfaced, a wave buried her and shoved her under again.

When Sue finally resurfaced, she saw a crowd of people on shore. "Here she is!" they called.

Sue saw a girl standing in the sand, calmly eating a sandwich. Her little brother had gone back to his sand castle.

• Character versus nature

• Character versus society

• Internal conflict

• Character versus character

In an internal conflict, a person would be most likely to struggle against—

• a hurricane

• another character

• fear

• his or her city's government

In this passage, Mark is—

Mark stopped quickly, got off his bike, and walked back to the intersection. The small child was standing dangerously close to the curb. No adult was in sight.

"Hi, buddy," Mark said, smiling. The child started to cry.

"Are you lost?" Mark asked. The child nodded.

Team tryouts were starting in 20 minutes. Taking time to help the lost boy would definitely make Mark late.

Mark groaned. He had worked hard for this chance. He didn't want to miss out now! He looked at the little boy again. What should he do?

• facing an external conflict

• facing both an internal and external conflict

• not in conflict

• struggling with an internal conflict

What is Mark's conflict?

Mark stopped quickly, got off his bike, and walked back to the intersection. The small child was standing dangerously close to the curb. No adult was in sight.

"Hi, buddy," Mark said, smiling. The child started to cry.

"Are you lost?" Mark asked. The child nodded.

Team tryouts were starting in 20 minutes. Taking time to help the lost boy would definitely make Mark late.

Mark groaned. He had worked hard for this chance. He didn't want to miss out now! He looked at the little boy again. What should he do?

• He is unable to find the child's parents.

• He struggles against traffic to get back to the child.

• He wants to help, but he doesn't want to miss tryouts.

• He is worried that he won't make the team.

Which of the following is an example of an internal conflict?

• a character struggles with an emotion

• a character struggles with society

• a character is in conflict with nature

• a character argues with another character