Internal Conflict In Plainsong Essay

Obstacles are present within everybody’s travails through life. No matter the complexity of a problem one faces, it is something that will indisputably have to be completed. Although some predicaments may be more severe than others, the reactions and responses to them will ultimately determine the outcome. At a point of Kent Haruf’s National Book Award Finalist, Plainsong, one of the main characters, Victoria Roubideaux, witnessed an event that minor characters took part in, which unknowingly represented her primary internal conflict throughout the novel.

While she sat alone in Shattuck’s diner, an apparently single mother and her two daughters were there as well, eating dinner. Suddenly, one of the children accidentally knocked over her chocolate

Already, Victoria had absolutely no support from the child’s father, leaving her unaccompanied. Then, seeing these examples of parenting cases that ultimately failed due to a single caretaker, didn’t calm her already shaken up nerves either. Additionally, during the restaurant incident, the mom of two had rushed and fled as soon as she could, leaving the problem behind her, along with the children almost, to deal with it alone. This being just like how her own mother had completely abandoned her following the pregnancy reveal when she distinctly claimed her absence from her daughter’s situation. Now, losing the one other person, ideally, who should be the closest to her going into the parenting life, left Victoria completely

Despite witnessing multiple instances of lonely mothers who ultimately crumbled, she remained in the right mindset: The child is the first priority. In fact, she already showed her concerns for the child’s well-being as she frantically asked how the baby was doing at her first appointment, far before that answer would even be able to form. This also shows her intention of never wishing to abandon her child, clearly unlike the other two moms mentioned who couldn’t withstand the responsibility of continuing to single-handedly carry their children any