Short stories are sometimes considered as reflections of human experiences and human behaviors.

Having been said, this can be connected to the idea that humans always have the tendency to tell
stories, either woven or personal narratives. Thus, to be able to become interesting, short stories have
elements that are orchestrated. One of these elements is conflict. One very interesting story that
contains a distinct conflict is “The Happiest Boy in the World written by the late Filipino author, N.V.M.
Gonzalez. In this story, a man composes a letter for his landlord. He does ask him about the
accommodations the landlord can offer for the man’s son. Throughout the story, the father thinks of his
son, and of his old landlord, and wonders if the landlord will agree to take on the boy as a boarder, so
that he can attend a school in town. The father is very poor, and his mean circumstances grate on him
and he puts pen to paper and attempts to beg his old landlord for more charity.

Conflict is an element of a short story that presents the problems or struggles in the story. This can be in
the form of man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. society, man vs. nature, and man vs. supernatural being.