GRADUATION DAY

MAIN CONFLICT

 

In literature, a conflict is a literary element that involves a struggle between two opposing forces usually a protagonist and an antagonist.

 

The conflict in Graduation Day is man vs. society. A man vs. society conflict is when the protagonist’s conflict extends to confronting institutions, traditions, or laws of his or her culture, he or she struggles to overcome them, either triumphing over a corrupt society, rejecting it, or succumbing to it .

 

In Graduation Day, the main conflict is man vs. society because Cia learns important information that makes her embark on a journey to take down Dr. Barnes, his supporters, and his methods in The Testing. Cia is not just trying to take down a group of evil people, but a way of life that has been developed in the United Commonwealth. She is fighting against the evil in society and trying to change her country and save lives. "My parents raised me to believe in my fellow citizens and in the United Commonwealth. To fix things. I wonder what they would say if they knew I had been told that in order to fix the country they have worked so hard for I must now deliberately take lives." (Charbonneau, Page 39) Establishing the main conflict of Graduation Day is important because it is important for the reader to recognize who the protagonist is battling against, as well as what they are fighting for.