finding the explanation of the car explosion, in believing Grantham and in solving the case. These conflicts are analyzed using Worchel and Cooper’s
theory of intra-personal conflict 1979: 460.
4.2.1.1 Believing in Thomas Callahan’s Death
The first
intra-personal conflict is when she sees her lover, Professor Callahan, die of a car explosion. Darby Shaw experiences intra-personal conflict
because she cannot receive that her lover and also her lecturer, Professor Callahan is dead. At that time, they are eating in a restaurant. After they finish
the diner they go home. When Callahan gets into his car and turn the engine on, suddenly the car explodes and burns him alive. The fire burns the car and the
explosion makes the car flip and land upside down. The explosion knocked her to the sidewalk. She landed on all fours, face
down, stunned for a second, then immediately aware of the heat and the tinny pieces of fiery debris falling in the street. The Porsche flipped in a
perfect violent somersault and landed upside down p.124
The explosion also makes Darby fall on the pavement. Her head fall on the bumper of another car and makes her faint. The explosion makes people
nearby come up into the street. They want to know what is going on. Somebody helps Darby and drags her to the pavement and gives her a cold cloth on her
forehead. Darby keeps asking about Callahan. She usually calls him Thomas. She
wants to run toward the burning car but the heat stops her, and she only screams with hands over her mouth.
Darby started toward it, screaming for him. Debris fell around her and the heat slowed her. Then, a second explosion flipped it again and drove her
away. She tripped, and her head fell hard on the bumper of another car. The dive emptied and the drunks were everywhere. They stood along the
sidewalk and stared. They drag her by the elbow back to the sidewalk, to the center of the crowd. She was repeating the name of Thomas. A cold
cloth came from the dive and was placed on her forehead. Her mouth was dry. ‘Thomas. Thomas,’ she repeated. p. 124-125
Professor Thomas Callahan is killed in the accident. Darby Shaw
experiences a great loss of the death of Thomas Callahan because this person is her boyfriend and also her lecturer. She cannot believe the incident that has just
happened just now. Darby Shaw experiences intra-personal conflict because she cannot receive
that her lover and also her lecturer, Professor Callahan is dead. She keeps looking for him but when she cannot find him, she starts to realize that his lover is killed.
This accident brings her a great loss and also alters her way of life. According to Worchel and Cooper’s theory on conflict 1970, this accident brings her an
approach- avoidance conflict. This conflict involves only one goal, which has both attractive and unattractive aspects associated with it. This kind of conflict is
rather difficult to resolve as the individual’s own desire to both obtain the goal and escape from it.
Darby Shaw really loves Callahan but the accident makes her impossible to get him back alive. She cannot believe that he is dead.
“Where is Thomas?” she asked, looking at the crowd in the sidewalk. “Where is Thomas?” she repeated.
“Miss, who is Thomas?” asked the black man. “Thomas Callahan,” she said softly, as if everyone knew him
“Was he in that car?” She nodded, then closed her eyes.
She tried to speak, but could not hold the tears. She buried her face in the handkerchief. p. 126
From the above quotation, it can be seen that the accident really hurts her and she can do nothing about it and as the release or the resolution for that, she
just cries out. It can be concluded that she is using avoidance method in solving her intra-personal conflict, that is, by leaving the situation totally.
From the several quotations above, I can conclude that Callahan’s death brings intrapersonal conflict to Darby Shaw. According to Worchel and Cooper’s
theory on conflict, Darby Shaw’s conflict is categorized into approach- avoidance conflict which brings her attractive and unattractive aspects. Darby
Shaw resolves her conflict by using avoidance method.
4.2.1.2 In Solving the Mystery of the Car Explosion The second intra-personal conflict experiences by Darby Shaw is
whenever she wants to ask for some helps in solving the mystery around the car explosion. After the car explosion, Darby feels that someone tries to kill her too.
She feels that she should have been killed in the car too along with Callahan. She realizes that this thing happens because of her Brief on the murder case of two
Supreme Court justices. It is a sensitive case and she gives it to the wrong hand. Now, a killer that has an order to kill her is chasing her. Some parties
that are unhappy with the Brief have ordered some killers to hunt her. She experiences some killing attempts. She decides to ask Gavin to help her, to catch
the chaser and also protect her. Gavin is willing to help her in solving the problems.
