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character
and
conflict
. They imply each
other. Conflict in fiction is the opposition (or struggle) between forces or characters.
Conflicts are classified into external and internal conflicts.
Different types of external conflicts are usually termed in the following way:
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1.
Man against man, when the plot is based on the opposition between two or
more people, as in
The Roads We Take by
O'Henry.
2.
Man against nature (the sea, the desert, the frozen North or wild beasts). The
conflict in
The Old Man and the Sea
by F. Hemingway,
The Hunter by
J. Aldridge, or
the scientist's effort to discover the secrets of nature involve a conflict between man
and nature.
3. Man against society or man against the established order in the society, when
the individual fights his social environment openly, or when there is a conflict
between the individual and the established order: a conflict with poverty, racial
hostility, injustice, exploitation, inequality.
4. The conflict between one set of values against another set of values. These
sets of values may be supported by two groups or two worlds in opposition. For
example, the conflict in
The Fall of Edward Barnard
by S. Maugham is between
ambition and prosperity, on the one hand, and truth, beauty and goodness, on the
other.
Internal conflicts, often termed as «man against himself», take place wi th i n
one character. The internal conflict is localized in the inner world of the character and
is rendered through his thoughts, feelings, intellectual processes. Here the character is
torn between opposing features of his personality. For example, the tragedy of
Soames Forsyte in
The Man of Property
is his conflict with himself: the sense of
property, on the one hand, and a keen sense of beauty, on the other. The internal
conflict within an individual often involves a struggle of his sense of duty against
self-interest.
The plot of a story may be based on several conflicts of different types, it may
involve both an internal and an external conflict.
Conflicts in fiction are suggested by contradictions in reality. On the other
hand, conflicts in fiction are affected by the writer's outlook, by his personality and
his view of certain types of people, problems and social phenomena. The writer
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observes reality and the fates, problems, difficulties of his fellow creatures inspire
him to write. It is reality that he reflects in his work, but he does it from his own
standpoint, as he sees and understands it. Therefore, when evaluating a literary work
one should take into account not only the types of human nature and class
contradictions described, but also the standpoint flare viewed from.
The events of the plot are generally localized, i. e. they are set in a particular
place and lime. The place and time of the actions of a story (or novel) form the
setting
. For the setting the writer selects the relevant detail which would suggest the
whole scene. In some stories, the setting is scarcely noticeable, in others it plays a
very important role. The functions of the setting may vary.
1.
The setting, especially description of nature, helps lo evoke the necessary
atmosphere (or mood), appropriate to the general intention of the story. It may be an
atmosphere of gloom and foreboding as in
Rain
by S. Maugham, or
a mysterious
atmosphere
as in
The Oval Portrait
by E. A. Poe.
2.
The setting may reinforce characterization by either paralleling or contrasting
the actions. Thus in S. Maugham's story
Rain
the description of the unceasing rain
parallels the actions of Mr. Davidson. The setting here suggests similarity between
his actions and the merciless rain.
3.
The setting may be a reflection of the inner state of a character, as in
Jane
Eyre
by Ch. Bronte. The setting reflects remarkably well the feelings that Jane
experiences. The function of the setting in
King Lear
by W. Shakespeare is identical.
The raging storm reflects King Lear's emotional slate.
4 The setting may place the character in a recognizable realistic environment.
Such a setting may include geographical names and allusions to historical events. A
setting, which is realistic and which is rendered vividly, tends to increase the
credibility of
the whole plot. It means that if the reader accepts the setting as real, he
tends to accept the inhabitants of the setting, i. e. the characters and their actions,
more readily.
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5.
In fiction the setting, especially domestic interiors, may serve to reveal
certain features of the character. “A man's house is an extension of himself. Describe
it and you have described him ...” Such settings may be viewed as «metonymic, or
metaphoric, expressions of Character»
6.
When the theme and the main problem involves the conflict between man
and nature, the setting becomes in effect the chief antagonist whom the hero must
overcome, as in
The Old Man and the Sea
by E. Hemingway.
The setting in a story may perform either one or several functions
simultaneously. It should be also noted that characters, actions, conflict and setting
work together to accomplish the author's purpose.
The setting is generally established at the beginning of the story, in the
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