Internal Conflict

"That she'd done me a big disservice telling me not to worry about being creative. That the other guardians had been right all along, and there was no excuse for my art being so rubbish." page 107-108

This quote presents an internal conflict within Tommy that has persisted throughout the novel. The conflict is within himself over whether creativeness is important or not. The fact that this conflict is alluded to and directly discussed makes it a focal point of the book. It is something that fuels Kathy's curiosity because of what Miss Lucy tells Tommy. The conversations tend to be much deeper than just whether or not he should strive to be creative. The fact that the conversations typically involved the other guardians might have forshadowed that she does not agree with what they are telling the students. What she tells Tommy might also have led to her departure from Hailsham. Tommy's internal conflict caused Tommy external conflict as well. He had mostly resolved the issue until he had another conflict with Miss Lucy. This next conversation reignited his problems that also led to a break up and slight humiliation.