The inner conflict

Person VS. Self

‘Inner Conflict’

Defintion:- emotional disturbance resulting from a clash of opposing impulses or from an inability to reconcile contradictions with realist or moral considerations, a fight or struggle "selves" within one-self. Inner gesture a motion expressing a certain emotion.

• It is one of the most base conflicts of the hero, when they must go through an emotional struggle that tests their courage and will-power.

• It is something that may influence the actions of the hero throughout the story or even hold them back in some way from doing something they feel or know they must do. Eventually they realise that only they can overcome this conflict.

• It is important to the story because it shows character development. It shows that the character is human; with human flaws, fears and problems that they must overcome to complete their quest.

My First Idea of the Different Kinds of Inner ‘Self’

• True SelfThe ‘true’ self that the reluctant hero must become by the end of the quest. They may struggle to do the right thing, or find it hard to accept or understand the weight of their responsibility.

• False/Negative SelfThe self that is depicted as the negative or anti- of the hero because they manifest the hero’s negative qualities. This self may show through experiences of temptation, guilt, fear or regret.

• Influenced/Other SelfPerson is conflicted with a self governed by law, duty or other condition that conflicts with their own morality.

Marcel Mauss’s Categories of Self

• Mask (Image) • Role (Purpose or Reason) • Person (Other Self)• Name (Identity/Individuality) • Moral/Sacred (Good and/or Bad) • Conscience (Sentience/Instinct

The Mask (Self-Image)

Batman – Bruce Wayne• Bruce Wayne’s inner conflicts are his

fears of darkness and corrupted power, he dons the mask, cape and suit of Batman to become a symbol of justice, his image is his symbol.

• He embraces his fear, literally, by becoming the symbol of his fear.

L.A.Noire – Cole Phelps• Cole is conflicted between

maintaining his public image as a confident and professional detective trying to get a promotion while wanting to do what is right.

The Role (Self-Purpose)

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Aang• Aang’s inner conflict is having to accept

his destiny to become the Avatar and find a way to defeat the Fire Lord to restore balance to the world.

• To become the Avatar, he first accepts that it is his destiny and he masters the four elements (Air, Fire, Earth and Water) as well as the avatar state.

Spec Op: The Line - Walker• Walker’s inner conflicts range from

PTSD to morality, however his most prominent conflict is his struggle for purpose.

Person (The Other-Self)

Bleach – Ichigo• Ichigo is conflicted by a darker and

seemingly much stronger self that manifests as almost an entirely different being to Ichigo.

The Legend of Zelda - Link• Link enters a fight with an enemy that

looks identical and moves incredibly similarly to Link. This enemy, although technically a different being, can be described as Link’s dark self and thus a part of him.

Name (Self as Individual)

Memento – Leonard• His personal conflict is dealing with short-

term memory loss; a mental illness.• He deals with this conflict by tattooing on

himself hints, phrases and instructions to help him to solve a case.

Punk’s Not Dead – Player• This probably would be associated more

with Person vs Society than Person vs Self, although the main character LOOKS like every other NPC sprite, so you could say that they are struggling to appear as an individual amongst a group of ‘Punk-Rockers’.

• The only way you can tell who you’re playing as is to know that you’re the pink guy, kicking and punching, that can actually be controlled by you.

The Moral/Sacred (Good/Bad Self)

Les Miserables – Javert• His personal conflict arises when he feels

torn between his duty to uphold the law and his humanity towards the man who saved his life but to whom he swore to hunt down and arrest.

Dante’s Inferno – Dante• Dante’s inner conflicts surface while he is

slashing his way through the hordes of the nine circles of hell. He’s forced to question his deeds in life as he is now being accused of committing mass sin.

• He fights to save his wife, Beatrice and to redeem himself. He accepts his sins and now journeys to right his wrongs.

Conscience (Self-Aware)

Attack on Titan – Eren Jaeger• Torn by his burning desire to kill all titans

and survive, Eren’s inner conflict (much like most of the other main characters) is the petrifying fear of the titans, leading the characters to struggle to do anything. Simply ‘being alive’ is a conflict for any character in this Manga series.

Dark Souls – Player• Arguably, this could be considered more

about Role than Conscience, however they are both common aspects of Dark Souls. You are the chosen Undead; a human marked with the Dark Sign, cursed to live eternally until you lose the willpower or purpose to do anything and thus become hollow.