Let's talk about the various literary elements in Junot Díaz's short story "Wildwood." The story begins with an inciting incident of conflict that is only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, of a deeper conflict that readers soon discover. The narrator's mother calls her into the bathroom. She has found a lump in her breast. This incident inspires the narrator, Lola, to reflect on her highly problematic relationship with her mother, and she describes their interactions through the years and her mother's physical and mental abuse of Lola. Herein likes the primary conflict, and the action of the story begins to rise.

It rises further as Lola begins to rebel. She has always tried to be the perfect daughter, but she can never please her mother. All she gets is abuse. Lola cuts her hair and starts wearing goth clothes. Finally, unable to take the pressure anymore, she runs away to live with her boyfriend. The action rises still more as Lola is miserable in her new situation but tries to convince herself that she is happy.

The story reaches its climax when Lola calls home and talks to her brother, who then tells her mother where she is. The family comes to get Lola, but Lola escapes from her mother. However, she makes the mistake of pausing to look back, and her mother puts on an act of crying. Lola feels sorry and walks back, only to be caught by her mother.

The story's action falls from there. Lola is sent to live with her grandmother in the Dominican Republic, and she actually finds some peace and happiness there. She joins the track team at school and develops a real affection for her grandmother. The final resolution occurs at the very end of the story, when Lola's grandmother reveals something shocking about her mother that helps Lola finally understand her a little better.