My found poem is a multimedia piece of literature that showcases the three primary types of conflict in the short story “Button, Button” by Richard Matheson. It highlights person vs self, person vs nature, and person vs person. My poem has been made using the likes of a hard copy, word, and Canva. “His hands trembling, remained at the table, what difference did it set?” The first lines of my poem showcase the internal conflict of person vs self, as a person hesitates to press the button. This represents the main dilemma of the story, and how the hesitation to do so has created a war in themselves essentially. This mirrors the original story, as Noma (The protagonist, but villain)  is clearly conflicted about the button press, not just internally but because Arthur (The antagonist, but hero), the symbolic version of a part of her refuses to do so. Arthur represents hesitancy, and by Noma finally going through with the money, that part of her dies.  “How ridiculous. All this furor. For us, a chill of horror had passed.” This part of the poem once again represents person vs self, but also includes person vs nature. It shows the greed pouring through, and the final decision. The button presser struggles with both the nature of greed and the internal battle of greed/ethics, and how it has shaped him. This type of conflict is I believe internal. Most nature conflicts are known to be physical, but this specific example is the nature of urges, an internal force. Though I did not specify that the button was pressed, “a chill of horror had passed” implies it. “For us”, is an idea that I had. I wanted the first half of my poem to be about the decision to press the button, and the second half to be about the result of it on the recipients. This shows that the chill of horror passed upon the people that received “death” for the decision of the button presser. “We pushed through the platform. Something cold pressed as the pounding cut.” The final part of my poem shows the final piece of conflict, person vs person. This shows the aftermath, and how “we” died. This showcases the fact that bad decisions, even if done for the right reasons, always have consequences. Through phrasing my poem with two point of  views, I was able to express two different mindsets. It displays how other people can make decisions that may harm you, and is an accurate portrayal of the moral dilemma of money vs righteousness. 

The artwork on my found poem represents a button in the middle of everything, the center of the story, and the primary cause of all conflict, something that shouldn’t be touched. To the side, there is then a disfigured man that symbolically shouldn’t be there, but is. He represents greed and the urge/the nature within him to press the button. The choice to make the man seem crammed and off center is intentional, as he isn’t “right” The words button button are then placed under that, in red, representing violence, and greed.

Hyperlinks: Richard Matheson, author of Button, Button’s IMDB page: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0558577/

Richard Matheson’s Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8726.Richard_Matheson