The conflict of the main character Bone in Bastard out of Carolina is man vs. man and man vs. self. Man vs. self would be that conflict that Bone has with herself. She thinks that she is worthless and that all the bad things that Daddy Glen does to her is her own fault. She also feels ashamed of what she does to herself (masturbating) and she feels ashamed because of what Daddy Glen does to her. Now this is another conflict all in itself. Daddy Glen vs. Bone would be a man vs. man conflict. Daddy Glen sexually abuses, rapes and hits Bone all the time. Bone never fights back she just lets it happen to herself, which connects to her man vs. self conflict. The book is mainly about how Bone is struggling and how she is afraid of Daddy Glen. She always wants to run away from him and stay out of his way when he’s home.
Unfortunately for Bone, I don’t see this conflict getting any better or being resolved. I feel like this book has no happy ending and that she is never going to tell anyone about what is happening to her. Because of this neither of these conflicts will get resolved. I would have to say that my favorite scene in the book so far is in Chapter 8 on page 108-109. During this scene Bone is explaining her fear of Daddy Glen and how it is getting stronger and stronger. This scene also ties in greatly with the man vs. man conflict. Bone explains how Glen takes advantage of her and acts like he’s angry but then he rapes her or sexually abuses her. Also she tries to explain or put a reasoning behind why Glen does these things to her when there really is no reason at all. I just like the descriptions and details Allison uses during this scene to show the terrible relationship between “father” and daughter.
Deetutrani 