What is the man vs. society conflict? Learn about man vs. society examples, including in books and movies. Also learn about other types of literary conflicts.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Man vs. Society Conflicts | Definition & Examples
Table of Contents
- Man vs. Society Definition
- Man vs. Society Examples
- Tips for Using Man vs. Society in Your Own Writing
- Other Types of Literary Conflicts
- Lesson Summary
What is man vs. society in literature? Man vs. society is a type of conflict that is commonly used in fiction. The man vs. society conflict denotes a story in which an individual (or a small group of individuals) chooses to or is forced to fight against their society or community. The protagonist of the story might be fighting against negative elements in their society like racism, environmental issues, or other oppressive systems. They may also be attacked by their society because of their real or perceived crimes, flaws, and traits. This man vs. society definition does not indicate that the protagonist is necessarily morally correct in their efforts, which is something that can be explored if an author wants to create a morally ambiguous protagonist.
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There are many man vs. society examples, both in literature and in real life. History is full of real instances of conflict between an individual and a society. A great example is the story of Rosa Parks (1913–2005), an American activist who fought against racial segregation laws. In fiction, examples of this kind of conflict can be large in scope, like when a character fights against their totalitarian society, or it can be very small, like when someone's desires for their own life go against their family or community's expectations.
Man vs. Society Examples in Books and Plays
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This is one of the most common forms of conflict in literature. Famous man vs. society examples in books include:
- Winston Smith goes against the rules of his controlling and dystopian government in George Orwell's 1984.
- Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet want to be together, but their families forbid it in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
- Katniss Everdeen starts an uprising against the Capitol in Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games trilogy.
- Genly Ai and Therem Harth rem ir Estraven struggle to survive banishment and xenophobia in Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness.
- George and Lennie try to find a way to live peacefully despite not fitting into society in John Steinbeck's ''Of Mice and Men''.
- Breq tries to dismantle the totalitarian and fanatical imperial system in Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy.
Not all of the characters in these examples ultimately succeed in their conflict against society. Many authors create man vs. society conflicts that characters cannot successfully conquer, as societies are often much more powerful than a handful of individuals.
Man vs. Society Examples in Movies and TV
In addition to being used in literature, there are also a large number of man vs. society examples in movies and TV shows. Man vs. society conflicts can be highly dramatic, making them good choices for film and television. Examples include:
- Captain James Flint seeks to destroy the British Empire in Black Sails (2014–2017).
- A group of activists is put on trial for protesting the Vietnam War in The Trial of the Chicago Seven (2020), which is based on a true story.
- V and Evie protest totalitarianism in V for Vendetta (2005).
- Cutis and a small group of downtrodden individuals fight their way to the front of their dystopian train-based society in Snowpiercer (2013).
In some of these shows and movies, writers make viewers question of the motivations and actions of the protagonists to build tension and to make the conflict more morally ambiguous.
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Using man vs society conflict is a great way to create a high-tension storyline. There are several things to keep in mind when using this type of conflict, including protagonist motivation, external interferences, moral ambiguity, and the ultimate success or failure of the protagonist's efforts.
Protagonist Motivation
Choosing to go against the wishes of society is a difficult choice to make. Many people in the real world might disagree with how society is run, but it is often easier to go with the flow than to stand up to injustice. What motivations do the protagonists have to potentially risk their lives to go against their society? What consequences will they suffer if they do not take a stand? Giving characters plausible motivation for their actions is important when generating this kind of conflict.
External Interferences
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A character's fight against society cannot be easy. There must be external interferences that get in the way of their efforts. These should be elements outside of the protagonist's control or difficult decisions that characters are forced to make during their journeys. A single person or a small group against a whole community or society is bound to come up against major challenges. After all, the society might have military or police power at its disposal. It might have finances and resources above and beyond the protagonists' wildest dreams. What challenges characters face and how they work around them are essential to the story.
Moral Ambiguity
Stories in which a person stands up to an obviously corrupt and evil society or government exist, and they can be very compelling. There is nothing inherently wrong with a story in which the moral choices that characters make are clear. However, fighting against society often provides opportunities for characters to make difficult choices or to have potentially harmful reasons for their actions. Will innocent people be hurt in the character's fight against a bigger enemy? What will have to be sacrificed to change the world? What are the protagonist's limits? Exploring these ideas can raise compelling questions for the audience and can bring up larger themes of revolutionary activity and moral good.
Success or Failure?
Is the protagonist going to succeed in their fight against society? Are they going to ultimately fail to change the status quo? Both outcomes can be valuable to consider. A character who succeeds will end up living in a world that is fundamentally different from the one they used to inhabit. The fates of other people might be substantially changed as well. Explaining how that world will look can be a great and satisfying ending to a story. A character who fails might end up dead or imprisoned, or might be forced to return to life as it once was. The story can then make a point about the difficulties of changing the world all at once, point out the character's mistakes, or encourage readers to take up the mantle.
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Man vs. society is just one of several types of conflicts found in literature. Specifically, man vs. society is what is known as an external conflict, meaning that the conflict takes place outside of the character's mind. An internal conflict, on the other hand, plays out in a single character's psyche. Internal conflict can also be called ''man vs. self'' conflict. Other types of external conflict include:
- Man vs. man: a struggle between two characters. Example: Red Dragon by Thomas Harris is about a conflict between FBI profiler Will Graham and murderer Francis Dolarhyde.
- Man vs. nature: a survival story where characters face the natural world. Example: The Terror by Dan Simmons, about the lost Franklin Expedition.
- Man vs. monster: a conflict between a person and an animal or creature. Example: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, about a man's fight against a whale.
- Man vs. god: a character fights a deity or fights forces of destiny in the universe. Example: The Odyssey by Homer has Odysseus struggle to get home, often thwarted by the gods.
Many works of literature include multiple kinds of conflict, with one conflict being the most important in the story. Romeo and Juliet, for instance, includes man vs. society, man vs. man, and man vs. destiny conflicts.
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Man vs. society conflict is a kind of external conflict that exists in many literary works. This kind of conflict has one character or a small group of characters fight against their community or society. Conditions that can lead to man vs. society conflict include:
- A controlling government
- Racism and other oppressive structures
- Fanatical beliefs
- A character who wants something for their own life that their society forbids
A real-world historical example of this kind of conflict is the story of Rosa Parks and her activism that sought to dismantle racial segregation in America. Man vs. society conflict can be used with other kinds of conflict in literary works.
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Video Transcript
Man vs. Society Conflict Defined
Have you ever felt like the world is against you? Or that no one understands your side of the story? This is exactly how a protagonist feels when he or she has a conflict with society.
When you are reading a piece of literature or watching a movie and the main conflict is a character going against society, that is a man versus society conflict. The definition of this kind of conflict is when a protagonist has a strong belief against the majority of the community or surroundings and decides to act on it. Since this type of conflict is between a character and an outside group, it is classified as an external conflict. This character usually goes against the grain.
There are specific issues that can be used when creating a man versus society conflict. Racism, segregation, religious beliefs, environmental issues, being wrongly accused of something, and being ousted from society are all examples of how someone can come into conflict with his or her community. One against many is also a good way to look at it.
There are plenty of real life situations that are great examples of this kind of conflict. One of these examples famously included Rosa Parks and the fact that she stood up against segregation. Rosa Parks was a very important role player in the movement against segregation in the United States.
Examples of Man vs. Society in Literature
You have most likely seen and read many examples of this kind of conflict, but you may not have realized what it is called. A good example of man versus society conflict is in a widely popular novel titled The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Huck, the main character, struggles with his oppositions with society. He doesn't want to conform to the way of living that seems to be acceptable, and he also has a problem with how his friend, who is African-American, is treated.
When they run away, Huck struggles with returning to society and protecting his friend. This is an example of man versus society conflict because this character has strong feelings and beliefs that go against the norm in his society. He struggles with this conflict throughout most of the novel. Huck wants to protect his friend Jim, which goes against what many others in his community feel.
A more contemporary example of man versus society in popular literature is Katniss versus The Capitol in The Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss despises the games and suffering that the government has imposed. Her rebellion against The Capitol incites a war. An example of Katniss's actions against The Capitol include covering Rue with flowers when she dies, showing she is against the society's idea that the children in the games are characters for social entertainment; they are real people that deserve respect. Another example is when Katniss and Peeta were about to eat poisonous berries and commit a double suicide when they were the last two left in the games, but the game makers had to stop them and declare them both victors to prevent them from ruining the game.
Lesson Summary
The man versus society conflict is when a protagonist has a strong belief against the majority of the community or surroundings and decides to act on it. Since this type of conflict is between a character and an outside group, it is classified as an external conflict.
This conflict usually becomes apparent when the character develops or has a strong belief for or against something that his or her community does not agree with. There are many real life situations we have seen in history that show us this kind of conflict, including Rosa Park's stand against racism and segregation when she refused to sit in the back of the bus. In literature, Huckleberry Finn and Katniss go against society because of how they feel about very important issues: racism, government exploitation. When trying to identify whether the conflict is man versus society, try to remember that it will almost always be one person against many.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this video, you should be able to:
- Define the man versus society conflict
- Describe examples of the man versus society conflict in literature
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Man vs. Society Conflicts | Definition & Examples
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