Conflict In David Charleston's Steelheart

Conflict arises from many things. It can be little things like arguments to something serious conflicts like wars and anarchy. It spans the human world both inside and outside. Most conflict is done internally, between the mind and the consciousness. The main character in the book Steelheart, David Charleston, goes through much conflict on his path in the book. This book illustrates an era of evil and extraordinary superhumans who gain their powers through a mysterious event known as the Calamity. These superhumans, called Epics, often fought each other for territory, leaving the U.S in fractures and normal civilian life in shambles. Out of these Epics, they formed a strong and strict hierarchy. This, along with the almost impossible-to-kill High Epics, lead civilian

He witnessed his father and countless other innocents be murdered at a bank by the titular character Steelheart. His father, being the one man who fought back, managed to damage the seemingly invincible Epic and David saw him bleed. Because of the danger the Epics possessed, an underground group called the Reckoners were formed, for the prosperity of the innocents. David, at the start of the book, has a death warrant for Steelheart and will stop at nothing to kill him, as David’s maxim is, “I’ve seen Steelheart bleed. And I will see him bleed again.”(Prologue, Sanderson). Due to the poor treatment of the people in Newcago(Chicago), David would be killing two birds with one stone if he killed Steelheart. However, when the time comes to kill him, David thinks about Steelheart a little more: Steelheart, despite being an evil tyrant, provides energy, food and, most importantly, safety to the citizens of Newcago. Would he really be doing a good thing for the people, or is really just so he could satisfy his own thirst for vengeance? He decides to go ahead with the Reckoners’ plan and find out what can kill Steelheart: Only someone who isn’t fearful of him can kill him. That is why