The Peripetia

 

Part 4: Conflicts: 200-250

Quite many conflicts can be found in this book, both external and perhaps the most important, internal conflicts. Sam finds himself in a situation in where he is forced to make decisions on his own as he was forced into turning mature as he became a father which starts a conflict within him.          An example would be when Sam tries to turn to Tony Hawk who appears as an imaginary father figure who fails to assist him as he is simply a poster.

 ’’It was time to move on. If he was so great, how come he couldn’t help me? I’d been treating him like a god but he wasn’t a god. He was nothing. Just a skater.’’

Slam, 2007, Nick Hornby, p 85

Sam can also be found insecure at a couple of times which shows an internal conflict as he is in fact conflicting with parts of himself. The many internal conflicts with him over the matter of being dedicated to his son’s future or not can be seen as the major theme in the book.

 ‘’I knew I was being a coward, but sometimes you have to be a coward, don’t you?’’                        

Slam, 2007, Nick Hornby, p 110

‘’Could having a baby be worse than this? And the answer I gave myself was, No it could not.’’

Slam, 2007, Nick Hornby, p 125

He also shows similar internal conflicts as he questions himself about sleeping with Alicia was such a great idea, this shows a sign of maturity with trying to judge your actions.

‘’I can’t be bad. Maybe you think that sleeping with Alicia was bad, but I didn’t feel that way, so it doesn’t count as badness. I’m talking about things where I know I’m in the wrong’’.

Slam, 2007, Nick Hornby, p 47.

Numerous of external conflicts can be found over the book, the major one would perhaps be between Sam and Alicia and her parents which shows that they have grown up under completely different circumstances. This can be shown when for example when Alicia makes fun out of Sam’s attempt to befriend her.

’’Listen. You are gorgeous. But the problem is, you know it,

and you think you can treat people like dirt because of it. Well, I’m sorry but I am not really that desperate.’’

Slam, 2007, Nick Hornby, p 24

Sam’s feelings about Alicia’s dad questioning him about the future but were cut off by Alicia’s mother shows that they are believed to have completely different futures which Sam dislikes.

‘’But that was their attitude with me – don’t mention the future, because I didn’t have one. And then we all had to pretend that not having a future was okay.’’

Which later leads to the conflict when Alicia’s dad finds out that she is pregnant and speaks to  Sam’s mother in a way claiming that Sam ruined their daughters future.

‘’Well. There is a great deal about this whole thing that is unfortunate. But at the moment we are worried about Alicia’s Future.’’ / Alicia’s dad.’’

‘’Not Sam’s? said my mum’’

Slam, 2007, Nick Hornby, p 162.

Some conflicts can be seen as signs of immaturity in Sam or his father by selfishness.

‘’I love this story, said Mum. We hear it every year. And every year there’s no place either for Sam or his mother. There was only one person who suffered for his first-born. And it was the man who ran all the way up the Holloway Road.’’

Reponse from his dad:

‘’Last time I looked, woman hadn’t completely taken over the world, said my dad.’’

Slam, 2007, Nick Hornby, p 162

‘’She was offering me a pizza and a film. But in another way, she was just trying to stop me doing what I wanted to do, and she knew, and I knew it.’’

Connected with:

‘’My mum didn’t want me to be with Alicia all the time. She started to worry about it after a couple of weeks.’’

Slam, 2007, Nick Hornby p 47.

‘’And then I realized she was serious. She actually wanted us to go and see Brokeback Mountain. We already started calling one of the science teachers at school Brokeback.’’

Slam, 2007, Nick Hornby p 51.