Conflict in "The Wife of His Youth"

Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces. There can be multiple conflicts in a story. This is the case in Of Mice and Men. In chapters three and four, there are man vs. man, man vs. self, and man vs. society conflicts. As George and Lennie interact with the workers on the ranch, sometimes conflicts arise between them.

The Wife Of His Youth is a short story written by Charles Chesnutt in the late 1800’s. The story starts with the introduction to the Blue Veins society; A society where a small group of colored people formed up in the Northern City after the Civil War. Blue Veins society distinguished a person’s social standing but basically geared only toward those of light complexion where you could visibly see one’s Blue Veins. Mr. Ryder a handsome bachelor, and dean of the Blue Veins society is soon to end his bachelor status and marry Miss. Molly Dixon. That was soon to change when he is approached by a face of his past, the wife of his youth. Mr. Ryder a past apprentice during the Civil War was previously married to Liza Jane. Liza Jane spent 25 years in search of her love Sam Taylor or known now as Mr. Ryder. Late into the story Mr. Ryder throws a ball for the Blue Veins society in honor of Molly Dixon his “soon to be” wife. During the Blue Veins ball, Mr. Ryder reaches out to the crowd with hypothetical question about the wife of his youth; in regards to advice on what he should do. Mr.Ryder brings Liza Jane to the ball and introduces everyone in the crowd as the wife of his youth. This short story really makes one question the certain aspects of race.

In the novel Fever, 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson there is a lot of conflicts. I believe conflict is a situation or problem that one character or more are facing. These conflicts are the struggles of the fever, having to deal with the Ogilvies, and Mattie facing herself. Mattie’s perseverance while facing the challenges of getting through the fever, facing the Ogilvies, and facing herself and her doubts helped lead her from childhood to adulthood.

Some stories do not have many different conflicts in the story. For example, in “Little Red Riding Hood” there is only one conflict which is Man vs Wolf or Man vs Man, but in some stories like “The Most Dangerous Game” there are all three conflicts throughout the book. Having more conflicts gives the story a bigger theme of suspense. In “Little Red Riding Hood”, the only conflict is getting to her grandma’s house where in “The Most Dangerous Game” there are many different conflicts that give the story more suspense and make it more interesting. Furthermore, there are many examples of conflicts in the short story.

Conflict is not something that can be avoided, especially in fiction. In fact, conflict is the main purpose of how a story came to be – without conflict, there will be no story. As quoted from Peder Hill (n.d.), “Its the primary ingredient that weaves together all the other elements of a novel”. However, conflict can arise in a story in various forms and they alter the course of the story. For instance, a conflict of decision. What decision is made by the characters moves the story. This is called external conflict, which Rector (2002) defines as “a struggle between a character and an outside force”. On the other hand, conflict within a character may also arise, which is called internal conflict. Internal conflict means “a struggle that

the inner conflict of Connie, the protagonist of the book. The source of that struggle is her

One of the first conflicts in the film causes a bigger conflict in later years and later in the plot between the same characters. A conflict is defined as "Conflict is a fact of human life. It occurs naturally in all kinds of settings. Nations still struggle, families fracture in destructive conflicts, marriages face challenges and often fail, and the workplace is plagued with stress." in the textbook "Interpersonal Conflict" by Wilmot. Meriam-Webster defines conflict in three ways. Firstly a war, fight or battle. Secondly "competitive or opposing action of incompatibles :antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons)" or "mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal demands". Lastly "the opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the

There are different types of conflict, the conflict such as Man .vs. Nature, Man.vs. Man, and Person .vs. Self these types of conflicts show the struggle people have to go succeed a goal, dream or just to survive. In the poem “Ode to a Mouse” by Robert Burns and the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, both authors use the literary element, Conflict to show the struggles of the characters.

As living and breathing human beings people are bound to experience some type of conflict. Conflict can be present within a person, between two people, between a person and forces of nature, and even between a person and their society. Conflict is defined as the struggle that shapes the plot in a story (Clugston, 2014, ch.4sect.1 para.4). When reading a piece of literature, especially a short story, one should pay special attention to the central conflict because it is the key element of the story (Clugston, 2014). This essay will analyze “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin and “Sweat” by

Conflict can take on many forms in one’s life, such as conflict with self, with society, with religion and with others. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, develops the theme of conflict through the moral sin of Hester Prynne. Conflict is observed through Hester’s difficulties with the townspeople, challenges with the Puritan way of life, struggles with herself and tensions with Roger Chillingworth. Committing sin in the Puritan society leads to a great deal of conflicts.

During a time of racial reconstruction in the United States, Charles W. Chesnutt composed the short story, "The Wife of His Youth", about the struggles of a mixed-race man. This man, Mr. Ryder, believes his "fate lies between absorption by the white race and extinction in the black" (Chesnutt 383). He believes that skin color determines if someone belongs to the superiority of white culture or the incapacity of black culture. In himself, he sees the progressiveness of white culture and in a former African American friend, Liza Jane, he sees the extinction of blacks. The author uses vivid descriptions of the characters appearance and mannerisms to show the traits that specifically belong to white culture or black culture that mirror their fate. This creation of two cultures that hold specific and separate qualities add emphasis to the resolution of the story where we find there is a place to meet in the middle of the two.

Each story ever written has many literary elements within it. Elements such as setting, characters, resolution, plot, and lastly conflict, Conflict is a major part of any story. The plot is centered around any sort of conflict in a short story or novel. It creates challenges with the story and within the characters. It keeps a reader entertained enough to see if the characters overcome those hardships. James Baldwin’s story, “Sonny’s Blues”, uses conflict as the main concept of the story, the conflicts and struggles wither make or break the characters in the story.

Conflicts play a crucial role in novels. Without conflict, novels would be uninteresting and very dull. Conflicts are seen in many different forms, as internal conflicts, when a character must deal with private problems, and external conflicts, when a character must deal with problems originating from an external source, like another person or society in general. Some common conflicts seen in other novels are person versus society, as in The Scarlet Letter when Hester is forced to face her mistake of adultery due to the obsession of the unforgiving town. An example of an internal conflict is present within Animal Dreams, when Cody must decide where she belongs and

Conflict is a normal part of everyday life and is an issue that every one faces. It is defined as a state of struggle or fight caused by the actual or perceived opposition or threat of needs, values, interest, status and power. Conflict is also a very important, common and necessary element in stories. It allows the author to add excitement and suspense thus making the story entertaining for readers. In stories, conflict is classified as any difficulty or problem that involves the characters and usually takes place in the formats of a character opposing them self, a character opposing another and a character opposing an object. The “Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman perfectly depicts conflicts and exemplifies the various types

After reading and analyzing this tale, one might argue that the main conflict had more effect on the characters, than the plot of the story. Throughout the tale, the characters are affected by the conflict, however, this ties into the effect that the conflict had on the story overall. The characters didn’t necessarily change, but the sequence of events did. The conflict made up the plot, however it didn’t make up the characters. The characters carried themselves, it’s the way they went about things whenever certain events occurred in the story. The plot