Name: Date:

ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY: CONFLICT AND

RESOLUTION
The Last Dog
Katherine Paterson

In most stories, the plot centers on a conflict, or struggle between opposing

forces. There are two types of conflict.
• External conflict is a struggle between a character and an outside force, such as
another character or nature.
• Internal conflict is a struggle within a character as he or she wrestles with opposing
feelings, beliefs, needs, or desires.
A story can have more than one conflict and may include both an external and internal
conflict. In most stories, the conflict escalates to a climax and is then worked out, or
settled, in the story’s resolution.

DIRECTIONS: Answer the following questions about “The Last Dog.” Use textual
evidence from the story to support your responses.

1. What is one external conflict in “The Last Dog”?

2. What is one internal conflict in the story?

3. How is the internal conflict in the story developed?

4. How are the conflicts in The Last Dog resolved?

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