Read the excerpt from a student’s essay.

In “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainsford must face not only Zaroff, but he must confront his own assumptions about life. Rainsford finds himself engaged in an internal _________ as he comes to terms with the ideas earlier raised by Whitney—that the world is not made of hunters and the hunted. These distinct lines that Rainsford had created for himself begin to blur. As Rainsford scuttles like an animal through the dense jungle, closely pursued by his hunter, he also realizes that fear and pain are not exclusively felt by humans.

Which literary term best fills in the blank?
characterization mood conflict irony