Literary Conflict in Johnny Tremain

This Storyboard That activity is part of the lesson plans for Johnny Tremain

Johnny Tremain Internal and External Conflicts

Activity Overview

Storyboarding is an excellent way to focus on types of literary conflicts.

Having students create storyboards that show different types of conflicts strengthens analytical thinking about literary concepts. Have your students choose examples of internal and external conflicts 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.

Johnny Tremain Internal and External Conflicts

Internal Conflict	External Conflict
Johnny is filled with inner turmoil after he burns his hand. He doesn’t know what to do with himself or how to create a new future. As a result, he becomes angry and depressed.	Johnny has a number of external conflicts with Dove. Every time they bicker, they are in conflict. The most important conflict between them is when Dove gives Johnny the cracked crucible which leads to Johnny’s burn.
As time goes on, Johnny is unsure how he feels about Cilla. At first he rejects her along with the rest of the Lapham family and is bored with her company. But when Rab walks her home, Johnny feels jealous. He must decide how much her friendship means to him.	Johnny has an important external conflict with Mr. Lyte when Mr. Lyte accuses Johnny of stealing his silver cup and has him arrested.
Johnny is unsure how to feel about Lieutenant Stranger. He knows that he should view him as an enemy, but he can't bring himself to imagine fighting him in battle.	One of the most obvious external conflicts is the fight between the colonial militia and the British soldiers at the Battle of Lexington and Concord.