Best Conflict?
I think the best conflict took place in " The Interlopers". Ulrich and Georg are two rival enemies, whom hated each other form their day of birth. A famous law suit over a strip of land that took place in the days of Ulrich's grandfather "had wrested it from the illegal possession of a neighboring family of petty landowners" helped start this feud. With them being neighbors, the rivalry was high, with each one going into the others land to poach and steal. The conflict started early with them, "as boys they had thirsted for one another's blood". The conflict that lasted them their entire lives then comes to a climax on the fateful day in the forest. The tension is high as Ulrich "patrolled the dark forest in quest of a human enemy''. The reason the conflict is so epic is because of how much is at stake. The two men are ready to put their lives on the line to defend their territory. This type of commitment is unmatched in any other story I have read. Even when they are both stuck under a tree they still fight each other, both with an equal chance of dying, and yet neither begging for their life. Another thing that makes this conflict so great, is the resolution. With the epic feud between the two men the last thing you expect to happen is for them to resolve the fight with no bloodshed. Every conflict needs a resolution, and the resolution to "The Interlopers" is not one I will forget easily. Ulrich speaks to Georg saying "if you will help me to bury the old quarrel I - I will ask you to be my friend" in an unseen turn of events. This new friendship that formed between two enemies in a time of need certainly took the readers by surprise, and giving the story a whole new meaning. All in all, The conflict in this short story is undeniably the best of all the other short stories we have read in class.