Literary Term - Chapter One: External Conflict

When Vonnegut visits his friend from the war, Bernard V. O'Hare, his wife subtly shows her anger toward Vonnegut when she "made a lot of noise banging the ice-cube tray in the stainless steel sink...opening and shutting doors, even moving furniture around to work off anger." This is an example of an external conflict. External conflict is defined as a conflict existing between two people, between a person and nature, or between a person and a whole society. Mrs. O'Hare eventually expresses her anger by telling Vonnegut that he will be "played in the movies by Frank Sinatra and John Wayne or some of those other glamorous, war-loving, dirty old men...and [wars] will be fought by babies like the babies upstairs." She doesn't want her babies to fight in any wars. Two external conflicts appear in this chapter:  Her conflict with Vonnegut and her conflict with war.