{{Short description|Intrapersonal struggle}} {{Cleanup rewrite|date=October 2023}} {{For|an armed conflict within a country|civil war}} In [[Story structure|narrative]], an '''internal conflict''' is the struggle occurring within a character's mind. Things such as what the character yearns for, but can't quite reach. As opposed to external conflict, in which a character is grappling some force outside of themself, such as wars or a chain-breaking off a bike, or not being able to get past a roadblock. The dilemma posed by internal conflict is usually some [[ethics|ethical]] or emotional question. Indicators of internal conflict would be a character's hesitation or self-posing questions like "What was it I did wrong?".<ref>{{cite web|last=Rector|first=Melissa|title=Conflict in Literature|url=http://hpms.hpisd.org/Portals/1/Teachers/Weitman/Conflict.ppt |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202181118/http://hpms.hpisd.org/Portals/1/Teachers/Weitman/Conflict.ppt |archivedate=2008-12-02 |accessdate=16 September 2013}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=January 2015}} An internal conflict can also be a decision-making issue.
The term "Victor conflict" is also widely used to describe a military conflict within a nation, such as a [[civil war]].<ref>[http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1375&context=djcil THE [ United Nations] SECURITY COUNCIL, PEACEKEEPING AND INTERNAL CONFLICT AFTER THE COLD WAR, MATS R. BERDAL]. Example of "internal conflict" for a civil war.</ref> An internal conflict is a domestic conflict, and can be caused because of political, economic or religious causes.<ref>Chopin, K., & Correll, G. (2011). The story of an hour and other stories. Good Ink.</ref><ref>Hecker, L. (1993). The stolen party and anthology of women's stories. Cambridge Univ. Press.</ref><ref>"Internal Conflict Examples In Literature". Examples.Yourdictionary.Com, 2021, https://examples.yourdictionary.com/internal-conflict-examples.html.</ref><ref>Lessing, D. (2013). Through the tunnel.</ref>
== See also == * [[Conflict (narrative)]] * [[Cognitive dissonance]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
[[Category:Conflict (narrative)]]
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