How Conflict Leads to Change
By Grant Helgestad
Symbolic Image of the theme question:
Source: A Principal's Reflections: The Change. Digital image. Esheninger.blogspot.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2016.
Source: Frogiefilms. "Man In The Mirror Lyrics (Michael Jackson)." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Feb. 2009. Web. 23 May 2016.
Real World Example
The Civil Rights Movement
Source:
Personal Example
The conflict of her keeping us up led to the change of what we did with her at night. Before, she was out freely, but afterwards, she was locked up. This isn't literal conflict, but metaphorical.
NO SAFETY IN NUMBERS
Book A
Lorentz, Dayna. No Safety in Numbers. New York: Speak, 2013. Print.
How No Safety in Numbers Addresses the Question:
My Evidence:
I am choosing my second example; Here it is:
"The mall speaker squealed to life… 'I finally have some concrete information for you on the security situation.' A palpable silence fell over the mall. 'It has been determined that we have all been exposed to a biological agent… it has been decided that the mall will be quarantined until such time as the virus is deemed to have run its course…' The announcement was drowned out by the noise… The announcement had transformed the mall. Whereas before, the mall walkers had seemed dazed and confused, now they were crazed and focus; every single one of them wanted out."(207-210).
This is not so much literal conflict, but it's the conflict of being alerted that one has been exposed to a biological agent. The conflict led to a major change; whereas before, most people were thrilled of being trapped inside a mall, but after the announcement, it's clear it is more of a life and death situation. This isn't in my second citation, but the character's opinions changed too. They went from being uneasy, to being panicked. And like the paragraph above states, they made new relationships they would not have otherwise made. For example, the bully and the victim team up to try to escape.
This image represents the mass deaths in the mall.
This image represents the obscurity of the mall's situation.
This image represents the biological agent exposed to the mall.
Understanding the Radioative Legacy. Digital image. Earthsky.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.
MICHAEL VEY: THE PRISONER IN CELL 25
Evans, Richard Paul. Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25. New York: Mercury Ink/Simon Pulse, 2011. Print.
How The Prisoner of Cell 25 Addresses the question:
My Evidence:
"His tone was different than before- like we were now buddies or something. I didn't say anything, but kept on walking. 'How did you do that?' He shouted after me. I spun around. 'Do what?' 'Electrocute us.' 'You want another demonstration?' Jack raised his hands. 'We don't want any trouble,' He said. 'We're good, right?' Wade took a slight step back, and Mitchell looked like he'd wet his pants if I said 'Boo!' "(60).
My example doesn't show all the details... Before Michael fought back with his electric powers, Jake and his friends beat him up, and showed no mercy. Michael was powerless against them and he was the one scared of them. But after Michael hurt them with their powers, he was the feared, not the victim. After the confrontation, Jake, Wade, and Mitchell show him respect, even fear. This is a good example of how conflict leads to change. Through confrontation, opinions can change. Opinions that were once certain and concrete, unchangeable, were altered by conflict. This is an example of how Book B answered the theme question.
This image represents Michael's powers.
This image shows how the academy turns innocent people into corrupted murderers.
This image represents the high tech gadgets of the academy.
UNGIFTED
Korman, Gordon. Ungifted. New York: Balzer Bray, 2012. Print.
How Ungifted Addresses the Question:
My Evidence:
The main character Donovan finds the atlas statue at the top of the hill.
he whacks the cheap statue with a stick, and sends atlas's globe rolling down the hill right into the gym. The superintendent was busy so he couldn't lecture him, so he wrote his name down on a piece of paper. The paper was accidentally sent to the gifted program, so Donovan had a place to hide out.
Again, this isn't literal conflict. But the conflict of him ruining the gym led to the change of himself as a person. After that, he tries harder to do good school work, starts bonding with the really smart gifted kids, and that led to a partial personality change. He can't even stand his two best friends and their pranks anymore. This is a good example of how Book C addresses the question, conflict can be good. But like I said there is also the aspect of it being bad for another person. All this time the superintendent has been restless and crazed trying to figure out who ruined the gym. So this example supports both of my points on how Book C shows how conflict leads to change.