"What is Conflict in Literature?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

What is literary conflict? Why is conflict important in literature? Senior Instructor J.T. Bushnell answers these questions using an example from Joyce Carol Oates's 'Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?"

The short video is designed to help high school and college English students to not only identify literary conflicts in stories but also to analyze their purposes and effects. The video is sponsored by the School of Writing, Literature, and Film at Oregon State University. For more discussions of literary topics and essay writing tips, please subscribe to the free SWLF YouTube Channel or visit https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/

Spanish subtitles are now available for this video. To access these subtitles, click on the settings icon in the video.

Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
0:55 Conflict Definition
1:32 Conflict Example: "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

Below are a few more videos in the series. Please drop us a comment letting us know what literary terms you would like us to explore in future videos!

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"What is a metaphor?":    • "What is a Metaphor?": A Literary Guide fo...  ​​​
"What is a simile?":    • "What is a Simile?": A Literary Guide for ...  ​​​
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"What is enjambment?":    • "What is Enjambment?": A Literary Guide fo...  ​​​
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"What is juxtaposition?":    • "What is Juxtaposition?": A Literary Guide...  ​​​
"What is foreshadowing?":    • "What is Foreshadowing?": A Literary Guide...  ​​​
"What is understatement?":    • "What is Understatement?": A Literary Guid...  ​​​
"What is rhyme?":    • "What is Rhyme in Poetry?": A Literary Gui...  ​​​
"What is an unreliable narrator?":    • "What is an Unreliable Narrator?": A Liter...  ​​​
"What is a genre?":    • "What is a Genre?": A Literary Guide for E...  ​​​
"What is a narrative arc?":    • "What is a Narrative Arc?": A Literary Gui...  ​​​
"What is a flashback?":    • "What is a Flashback?": A Literary Guide f...  ​​​
"What is personification?":    • "What is Personification?": A Literary Gui...  ​​​
"What is a narrator?":    • "What is a Narrator?": A Literary Guide fo...  ​​​
"What is a flat character vs a round character?":    • "What is a Flat Character vs a Round Chara...  ​​​
"What is symbolism?":    • "What is Symbolism?": A Literary Guide for...  ​​​
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"What is a graphic narrative? (Part II)":    • "What is a Graphic Novel? (Part II)": A Li...  ​​​
"What is epistrophe?":    • "What is Epistrophe?": A Literary Guide fo...  ​​​
"What is poetic meter?":    • "What is Meter in Poetry?": A Literary Gui...  ​​​
"What is a portmanteau?":    • "What is a Portmanteau?": A Literary Guide...  ​​​
"What is anaphora?":    • "What is Anaphora?": A Literary Guide for ...  ​​​
"What is an oxymoron?":    • "What is an Oxymoron?": A Literary Guide f...  ​​​
"What is a zeugma?":    • "What is a Zeugma?": A Literary Guide for ...  ​​​
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"What is a vehicle and a tenor?":    • "What are Vehicles and Tenors?": A Literar...  ​​​
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"What is a point of view?":    • "What is Point of View?": A Literary Guide...  ​​​
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"What is a frame story?":    • "What is a Frame Story?": A Literary Guide...  ​​​
"What is ekphrasis?":    • "What is Ekphrasis?": A Literary Guide for...  ​​​
"What is blank verse?":    • "What is Blank Verse?": A Literary Guide f...  ​​​
"What is an epistolary novel?":    • "What is an Epistolary Novel?": A Literary...  ​​​
"What is allegory?":    • "What is an Allegory?": A Literary Guide f...  ​​​
"What is tragedy?":    • "What is a Tragedy?": A Literary Guide for...  ​​​
"What are euphony and cacophony?":    • "What are Euphony and Cacophony?": A Liter...  ​​​
"What are assonance and consonance?":    • "What are Assonance and Consonance?": A Li...  ​​
"What is a setting in literature?":    • "What is a Setting?": A Literary Guide for...  ​​
"What is onomatopoeia?":    • "What is Onomatopoeia?": A Literary Guide ...  ​​
"What is theme in literature?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5KZc...
"What is a conflict in literature?":    • "What is Conflict in Literature?": A Liter...  ​
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"What is a dramatic monologue?":    • "What is a Dramatic Monologue?": A Literar...  
"What is an allusion?":    • "What is an Allusion?": A Literary Guide f...  
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"What is an epic?":    • "What is an Epic?": A Literary Guide for E...  
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"What is a motif?":    • "What is a Motif?": A Literary Guide for E...  
"What is a protagonist?":    • "What is a Protagonist?": A Literary Guide...  
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"What is a foil?":    • "What is a Foil?": A Literary Guide for En...