World renown author, Isabel Allende’s “An act of Vengeance” and “The Address” by the Marga Minco are two thought-provoking short stories that share common themes. One significant theme that both pieces of text carry out is the tragic consequences of war. Although both works adequately construct this theme through the use of interpersonal conflict, intrapersonal conflict, and loss, Allende was able to more effectively take advantage of these criteria in order to better convey the theme.
Within both works, interpersonal conflict plays a role as a major type conflict that assists in constructing the theme of war’s consequences. In Allende’s short story there are multiple cases of it. One case of this conflict is demonstrated when Dulce Rosa Orellano is unable bring herself to kill the man who wronged her when they reunite after 30 years because“She could no longer continue to deceive her own heart. She knew she could not carry out the vengeance she had planned because she loved the killer, but she was also unable to quiet the Senator’s ghost”(Allende 5). This moment illustrates an internal conflict that Dulce Rosa is battling. She is psychologically stressed because she had
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This type of conflict is intrapersonal conflict, conflict that occurs between one or more individuals. In Allende’s “An Act of Vengeance”, the havoc that Tadeo and his army wreak upon the town of Santa Teresa brings intrapersonal conflict between the victims and the oppressors. This type of conflict has various occurrences throughout Allende’s story. In “An act of Vengeance”, the most large scale occurrence of intrapersonal conflict happens at the very beginning of the story which was “Tadeo Cespedes’ … punitive expedition against Santa Teresa”(Allende 1). This is considered the most large scale because it is a group of people who are opposing another group of people, rather than two