Damien Hirst

ese novels also impact the reader’s reaction to the story and characters. In both literary and mainstream novels, conflict arises, but will be presented in a way that is more apparent and less nuanced in mainstream novels than it would be presented in strict literary fiction. In To Kill a Mockingbird, near the climax of the novel, Atticus Finch tells his family that “They shot him [Tom Robinson]. They say he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over.” (Lee 268) In a novel about a child’s loss of innocence, this was one of the most powerful examples of injustice and inequality, but one that was excruciatingly violent. As is the case for many other literary classics, the presentation of conflict is much more gritty and realistic, fully exploiting the violence and cruelty of the real world to the readers, which can make it extremely surprising and almost jarring in today’s age. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, we learn that our protagonist Charlie was molested. We learn about the character who molested Charlie and the deep psychological trauma of a person that can cause them to take advantage of innocent people to release their mixed emotions in such a deep, straightforward way that is a step back from the violent injustice in Mockingbird, but is just as shocking and effective to the reader. Finally, in Paper Towns, the conflict is presented very simply. In a quest for revenge on their high school enemies, Margo Roth Spiegelman, the main source of conflict in this novel, tells our main protagonist Quentin that “Tonight, we are going to right a lot of wrongs. And we are going to wrong some rights.” (Green 30) This simple invitation to vengeance that begins this long story of similar conflicts is very lighthearted, and in the same manner of our generation. These distinctive conflicts make most mainstream fiction easier to read and accessible to a wide range of audiences, and so Paper Towns can be a very compelling novel to read in our wild new technology-infused world. In this way, the presentation of conflict can drastically impact the mindset of the reader while reading the novel.