Literary conflicts are important for students to be able to identify as they read stories. The conflicts that the main character faces help drive the story forward. In this activity, students will create a storyboard illustrating examples of literary conflict in A Long Walk to Water. Having students choose an example of each literary conflict is an excellent way to reinforce the lesson, and gives the students a chance to creatively show what they have learned.
Character vs. Character: Salva is constantly interacting with others who either abandon him or try to hurt/kill him.
Character vs. Self: Salva often doubts his ability to persevere.
Character vs. Nature: Salva must walk for a very long time in sweltering heat.
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Due Date:
Objective: Create a 3 cell storyboard that describes and illustrates the literary conflicts in A Long Walk to Water.
Student Instructions:
Introduce students to the concept of internal and external literary conflicts. Further, categorize the types of conflicts after explaining the general idea by using real-life examples that students can relate to. For instance, to explain character vs character conflicts teachers can ask students if they ever argued with a friend or a family member or to explain character vs nature teachers can have a general discussion regarding nature and how it can disturb human life.
In order to understand the literary conflicts present in the book, it is very important to understand and analyze the characters. Students can try and create a character map for the primary characters or use the one they had made for the “Character Map” activity to analyze the characters and their goals and lay the foundation for the literary conflicts.
Link the highlighted conflicts to the novel's underlying themes of survival, resiliency, and the effects of war. Talk about the ways in which conflicts aid in the development of these ideas. Encourage the students to share their opinions and perspectives on how conflicts generally shape themes and conduct discussions and debates on this topic in class.
One of the main purposes of literary conflict is to aid character growth and development. Ask the students to examine how the characters change as the narrative progresses. Examine significant occurrences that have shaped their development and progress in terms of internal and external conflicts.
Encourage the students to analyze how all the literary conflicts present in the book are resolved at the end of the story. Consider how these decisions have affected the growth of the characters and the narrative in broader terms.
The journey Salva took through the war-torn Sudan, the physical risks he faced, and his adjustment to new surroundings are examples of external conflicts. Nya also deals with various external conflicts like family dynamics, cultural expectations, and water constraints. Both the characters, though in different timelines, are shaped by these conflicts and significantly impacted by their presence.
Throughout the book, characters go through changing internal conflicts. These internal conflicts evolve when the characters encounter new obstacles and situations, which is indicative of their development.