Read the excerpt from chapter 4 of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Presently her eye wandered to the other, and she was surprised to recognise in him a certain Mr. Hyde, who had once visited her master and for whom she had conceived a dislike. He had in his hand a heavy cane, with which he was trifling; but he answered never a word, and seemed to listen with an ill-contained impatience. And then all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger, stamping with his foot, brandishing the cane, and carrying on (as the maid described it) like a madman. The old gentleman took a step back, with the air of one very much surprised and a trifle hurt; and at that Mr. Hyde broke out of all bounds and clubbed him to the earth. And next moment, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were audibly shattered and the body jumped upon the roadway. At the horror of these sights and sounds, the maid fainted.

Which action best illustrates a character vs. character conflict?

a. The maid recognizes Mr. Hyde and remembers her dislike of him.
b. Mr. Hyde appears impatient and listens silently.
c. The maid faints because she is so upset by what she witnesses.
d. Mr. Hyde clubs and tramples the old gentleman to death in the street.

A character vs. character conflict is a type of conflict or struggle between opposing forces in which the obstacle or force that stop a character from achieving some goal or affects negatively the character is another character. This means in character vs. character conflict there is a direct contest or combat between two characters in the story. In the excerpt presented, multiple actions and conflicts including the way in which one of the characters Mr. Hyde starts beating an old gentleman until the gentleman dies unable to defend himself or scape while a maid witness all the events. Therefore, in the excerpt presented the actions of Mr. Hyde against the old gentleman represent the opposing forces between two characters or a character vs. character conflict as Mr. Hydes interrupts the life of another character and stops him from continue living. Thus, the action that best illustrates a character vs. character conflict is "Mr. Hyde clubs and tramples the old gentleman to death in the street" because this is the action that describes the way the old gentleman (a character) struggles an opposing force that is represented by another character (Mr. Hydeas) and which unfortunately the old gentleman does not defeat.