In short stories, there is always some sort of conflict. The two short stories "It Used to Be Green Once- and "Bambinger- both possess a character vs. character conflict. The conflicts within these two stories are similar to each other, but also present many differences, as both have a uniqueness incorporated into them. This presented conflict can be observed by the characters, events that contribute to the conflict and the resolution. .
Correspondingly, within each short story, the reader sees the conflict as being between a younger and a much older, more influential character. The older character is negatively' affecting the younger character. This is seen in "It Used to Be Green Once- when the narrator states "We were all ashamed of our mother. Our mother always did things to shame us- (Grace "It Used to Be Green Once- 2). This conflict is between a young child and his mother. The child, along with his siblings, were ashamed of their mother and how she advertised' their family's poorness: "We hoped Mr. Hadley wouldn't notice the car with our mother in it, and her yelling and tooting Oh the shame- (Grace 5). Due to their mother's attitude towards the family's financial situation, other children ridiculed them with statements like: "Who shot your pears?- (Grace 2). However, in "Bambinger-, the conflict is between a young boy and a boarding refugee, Herr Bambinger. The young boy is upset with Bambinger, because he tries to control his life: "Bambinger took a considerable interest in me convinced my mother that comic books were a bad influence ' the boy shouldn't keep his elbows on the table when he eats '- (Richler "Bambinger- 47). The young boy began to dislike Bambinger: "You're always picking on me- (Richler 49). In addition, Bambinger ridicules and put down the young boy numerous times. One of Bambinger's comments was: "You are not only stupid. You are very impudent. If you were my boy it would not be so- (Richler 47).
