Obstacle

Definition

An obstacle is a challenge or barrier that characters must face and overcome within a narrative, often creating tension and conflict. These hurdles can be physical, emotional, or situational, and are essential for driving the story forward and shaping character development. By confronting obstacles, characters reveal their true selves, experience growth, and often change the course of their journey.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Obstacles can take many forms, including physical barriers like locked doors, emotional struggles like fear or guilt, and societal challenges like prejudice or injustice.
2. Effective storytelling often includes escalating obstacles that increase in difficulty as the story progresses, leading to greater stakes for the characters involved.
3. The resolution of an obstacle is often tied to the character's growth, as overcoming challenges typically leads to increased self-awareness and strength.
4. Obstacles not only create tension but also serve to engage the audience by making them invest emotionally in the characters' struggles.
5. A well-crafted obstacle should resonate with the theme of the story, reinforcing the underlying messages and moral dilemmas faced by the characters.

Review Questions

• How do obstacles influence character development throughout a story?
  • Obstacles play a crucial role in shaping character development by forcing characters to confront their fears, flaws, and limitations. As they encounter and work through these challenges, characters reveal their true nature and often undergo significant transformations. This growth can lead to stronger relationships with other characters and a clearer understanding of their own goals and desires.
• Discuss the relationship between obstacles and conflict in storytelling. How do they interconnect?
  • Obstacles are integral to creating conflict within a narrative. When characters face hurdles, it sets up a struggle against either external forces or internal dilemmas. This conflict drives the plot forward, as characters must navigate these challenges to achieve their goals. The interplay between obstacles and conflict not only heightens tension but also enriches the overall narrative by providing depth and complexity.
• Evaluate how effective use of obstacles can enhance thematic elements in a screenplay. Provide examples.
  • Effective use of obstacles can significantly enhance thematic elements by mirroring the central messages of a screenplay. For example, if a story explores themes of resilience and determination, placing characters in challenging situations that test their limits emphasizes these themes. A character overcoming societal prejudice could showcase themes of justice and equality, while personal obstacles could reflect themes of self-acceptance. These narrative hurdles connect emotionally with audiences, making the themes more impactful and relatable.

Related terms

Conflict: A struggle between opposing forces in a story, often arising from obstacles that characters must confront.

Character Arc: The transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a narrative, often influenced by the obstacles they encounter.

Climax: The turning point of a story where the main conflict reaches its highest intensity, often resulting from the culmination of multiple obstacles faced by the characters.