Literary Conflict in 1984 by George Orwell

This Storyboard That activity is part of the lesson plans for 1984




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Activity Overview

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.

Examples of Literary Conflict in 1984



MAN vs. MAN

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.”


MAN vs. SELF

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.”


MAN vs. SOCIETY

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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Template and Class Instructions

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Student Instructions

Create a storyboard that shows at least three forms of literary conflict in 1984.


  1. Identify conflicts in 1984.
  2. Categorize each conflict as Character vs. Character, Character vs. Self, Character vs. Society, Character vs. Nature, or Character vs. Technology.
  3. Illustrate conflicts in the cells, using characters from the story.
  4. Write a short description of the conflict below the cell.



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