Storyboarding is an excellent way to focus on types of literary conflict. Have your students choose an example of each literary conflict and depict them using the Storyboard Creator.
In the storyboard, an example of each conflict should be visually represented, along with an explanation of the scene, and how it fits the particular category of conflict.
Winston and other adults are wary of children. In particular, Winston notes the Parson children across the hall, who enjoy playing games where they arrest people for thoughtcrime. “With those children, he thought, that wretched woman must lead a life of terror. Another year, or two years, and they would be watching her night and day for symptoms of unorthodoxy. Nearly all children nowadays were horrible.”
Winston is plagued by memories where he believes he killed his mother. He remembers how much his mother had loved him, and how he had been too selfish to love her in return. After running off with a full ration of chocolate, he returned to find his mother and toddler sister gone. He isn’t sure what happened, but has a feeling that “the lives of his mother and sister had been sacrificed to his own.”
As Winston continues to write in his diary, carry on his affair with Julia, and learn more from O’Brien, he finds himself less and less content with the Party and Big Brother. He envisions a society where the proles rise up and overcome the government: “I don’t imagine that we can alter anything in our own lifetime. But one can imagine little knots of resistance springing up here and there—small groups of people banding themselves together, and gradually growing, and even leaving a few records behind, so that the next generation can carry on where we left off.”
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows at least three forms of literary conflict in 1984.
Engage students by organizing a guided conversation about the types of conflict found in 1984. Encourage them to share their own examples, ask questions, and connect the conflicts in the novel to real-world situations. This approach deepens understanding and helps make literary concepts more relatable.
List open-ended questions that prompt students to analyze character motivations and the impact of different conflicts. Examples include: Why does Winston struggle with loyalty? or How does the society in 1984 fuel internal conflict? Well-crafted questions spark deeper classroom conversations and critical thinking.
Give students roles such as discussion leader, note-taker, or summarizer to ensure everyone is involved. Rotating these roles each session builds confidence and accountability among all students.
Wrap up the discussion by asking students to highlight the most important insights about literary conflict in 1984. Recording these points reinforces learning and gives students a helpful reference for future assignments.
1984 features several main types of literary conflict: Man vs. Man (e.g., Winston vs. the children/Parsons), Man vs. Self (Winston's internal guilt and regret), and Man vs. Society (Winston's rebellion against the Party and Big Brother). These conflicts drive the novel's themes and character development.
Students can storyboard literary conflict in 1984 by selecting key scenes that exemplify different conflict types, illustrating them visually, and adding brief explanations of how each scene fits its conflict category. Using a storyboard creator makes this process engaging and helps deepen understanding.
An example of Man vs. Society conflict in 1984 is when Winston writes in his diary and dreams of rebellion against the oppressive Party. His private thoughts and actions put him at odds with the totalitarian regime, highlighting his struggle against societal control.
Winston struggles with Man vs. Self conflict due to feelings of guilt and regret over his past, especially regarding his mother and sister. He questions his own motives and morality, creating internal tension that shapes his actions throughout the novel.
The best way to teach literary conflict using 1984 is through interactive activities like storyboarding. This allows students to visualize and analyze different conflict types, connect them to specific scenes, and discuss their impact on the story and characters.