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.
The locals feel threatened by the sudden wave of migrants coming into their communities. When the Joads leave the Hooverville camp, they are confronted by an angry crowd of men who swarm the truck. The men force the Joads to turn around, telling them, “We ain't gonna have no goddamn Okies in this town.”
Tommy doesn’t feel particularly bad about the murder he committed, because it was done in self-defense. However, he doesn’t really feel like he fits in either. His family has been uprooted, and now they’ve arrived in another part of the country where there is no work or opportunities for them. He wishes that he could do more to help his family. Tommy finally finds his calling after Casy’s death, but it takes him a lot of internal struggling to arrive at this conclusion.
Tommy Joad decides to stand up for the migrant workers, even in the face of the wealthy farmers who are actively working to take advantage of them. The communities of California try to control this influx of migrant workers by calling those who demand fair wages, “communists”. In reality, they are just trying to call attention to the criminal practices of the wealthy farmers, and fight for a wage that will support their families.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows at least three forms of literary conflict in The Grapes of Wrath.
Engage your students by setting up a friendly debate about which conflict in The Grapes of Wrath is most impactful. Choose teams, assign conflicts, and let students present evidence from the text. This activity promotes critical thinking and helps students deepen their understanding of literary conflict.
Divide your class into small groups and give each group a literary conflict type (such as Man vs. Man, Man vs. Self, or Man vs. Society). This ensures every conflict is explored from multiple perspectives and encourages active participation.
Have students find direct quotes or scenes from The Grapes of Wrath that showcase their assigned conflict. Encourage them to use specific examples to support their arguments during the debate, fostering close reading skills.
Set ground rules for respectful discussion, timed speaking, and rebuttal opportunities. This structure helps students practice civil discourse and ensures everyone’s voice is heard.
Lead a class discussion after the debate to reflect on which arguments were most persuasive and why. This step reinforces critical thinking and helps students connect literary conflicts to real-world themes.
The main types of literary conflict in The Grapes of Wrath are Character vs. Character (such as locals confronting the Joads), Character vs. Self (like Tommy's internal struggles), and Character vs. Society (the Joads against unfair economic systems). These conflicts drive the novel's themes and character development.
Use a storyboard activity to help students identify and illustrate literary conflict. Have them select scenes from The Grapes of Wrath that show different conflict types, visually represent them, and explain how each scene fits its conflict category. This approach encourages analysis and creative thinking.
An example of Character vs. Society conflict is when Tommy Joad stands up for migrant workers against wealthy farmers and community prejudice. The novel illustrates how society tries to suppress those demanding fair wages, labeling them negatively to maintain economic control.
Storyboarding makes abstract concepts like conflict more concrete by combining visual and written elements. It helps students break down scenes, categorize conflicts, and better understand characters' motivations and challenges in stories like The Grapes of Wrath.
Ask students to identify at least three conflicts in The Grapes of Wrath, categorize each (e.g., Character vs. Character, Self, or Society), illustrate them using storyboarding tools, and write a brief explanation for each scene. Encourage creativity and clear connections to the text.