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1. Internal conflicts
According to Stanton, internal conflict is a conflict between two desires within a character 16. Chick Benetto has many internal conflicts in his life. From the
beginning of the story, he has to face the reality that his daughter does not invite him in her wedding. His daughter only sends a card saying that she has already married.
She also sends the picture of her wedding 10. From Worchel and Cooper’s explanation, Chick Benetto’s internal conflicts
reflect the kinds of internal conflict, namely avoidance-avoidance and approach- avoidance 469. Avoidance-avoidance is an internal conflict in which a person has to
choose between two unattractive goals. Approach-avoidance is a conflict which only has one goal involving both attractive and unattractive qualities associated with it.
The conflicts are discussed below.
a. Money investment
After becoming an athlete, Chick becomes a salesman. He wants his family to live better. One day, a beautiful saleswoman offers him to invest his money. He decides to
invest his money to her. He cannot think whether it will be useful or not. He only cares about the saleswoman. He does that because he is attracted by the woman who
is young and good-looking. In addition, her fashion style makes an old man feel nervous. Chick gets stupid because of her. Hence, he finally agrees to invest without
thinking or discussing with his wife. This money investment traps him in an approach-avoidance conflict. Finally, Chick decides to approach this conflict. This
conflict of making an investment has both attractive and unattractive qualities. The
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attractive quality is he will have much money if the investment goes well. The unattractive is he will be bankrupt if the investment is failed. The desire to have much
money became his consideration to approach the conflict. A year after my mother died, I did the dumbest thing I’ve ever done
financially. I let a saleswoman talk to me into an investment scheme. She was young and good-looking in that confidence, breezy, two-buttons-
undone fashion that makes an older feel bitter when she walks past him- unless, of course, she speaks to him. Then he gets stupid 4.
Chick’s investment does not go well. He has some meetings with the saleswoman but it gives nothing. Chick actually knows that there is something improper.
However, he ignores it. He is astonished with the saleswoman’s physical appearance. Her perfume makes him lose his mind. He gives his savings to that woman. In fact,
he does not get anything from the investment. The saleswoman deceives him. She moves to West Coast with Chick’s money. As a result, the failure of the investment
gives a new problem for him. He has to explain to his wife about the money
investment. We meet three times to discuss the proposal: twice at her office, once in a
Greek restaurant, nothing improper, but by the time her perfume cleared my head, I’d put most of savings in a now-worthless stock fund. She
quickly got “transferred” to the West Coast. I had to explain to my wife, Catherine, where the money went 4-5.
b. Chick’s Decision about His Divorce
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