The Face on the Milk Carton Conflict

In The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney, there is a man vs. self conflict. Janie was trying to decide whether to call New Jersey and report her kidnapping or to just stay quiet. On page 166, Janie said, "'That other family - those people in New Jersey - you think I could just call them up and say, I'm fine, so stop worrying and don't bother me, either? They'll be in court, they'll call the FBI, they'll get lawyers." In this quote, Janie was talking to Reeve about how she didn't know what to do. Reeve told her not to call, but she was worried about the other family. She didn't want them to get her parents in trouble, or draw any attention to the situation. If she didn't say anything, the other family would still be worried, but if she did, people could get in trouble.

Also, another reason that this is man vs. self is that she was mad at herself for not fighting back when she was kidnapped. "'And the little girl that never looked back,' said Janie. 'I hate that little girl.' She began to cry. The tears made no noise and took no effort, but they burned fiercely, as if they were the acid remains of her horrible deeds" (166). Even though she was only three, she didn't think she was a good daughter since she didn't get upset or try to go back to her real family. She said she hated that little girl, which was her when she was younger. It made her very upset, and it made her debate on whether or not to call an even tougher decision.