Internal And External Conflict In The Leaving By Budge Wilson

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The protagonist in Budge Wilson’s short story “The Leaving”is confronted with both an internal and external conflict which teaches both the protagonist and the readers about the essence of having the courage to listen to one’s conscience and standing up for what they believe is just. To begin with, the mother decides to take a risk of leaving their home along with her daughter, in order to do some thinking regarding on what her conscience tells her to do, and also to provide her daughter with a glimpse of what the outside world looks like. The mother is completely aware that it is undoubtedly a risky move to do as “for a moment, [she seems] to hesitate”, yet she knows that this opportunity is beneficial for both her and her daughter and so “she …show more content…

Moreover, the mother faces the turning point of the whole journey when she courageously confronts her husband and finally voices out her opinion against being treated as more of a thing rather than a person. She reminds him that “[her] name… is Elizabeth” and should not be referred to as a mere “woman”, but being outrageous as he was, he yells at her to “shut [her] mouth” as she was trying to explain, and “[get his] supper”. Through the mother’s confrontation with her husband, the readers learn the importance of having the courage of speaking out what we believe is right despite of the outcome, instead of merely submitting in silence. Ultimately, numerous positive changes occurred once resolution to both the mother's external and internal conflict are addressed. Not only does “[the husband] often speaks to [the] mother as though she were more of a person and less of a thing”, but the mother also decides to “[teach] her two grandsons how to wash dishes and make

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