Lane A. Dean Jr. is one of the two main characters of the short story "Good People" by David Foster Wallace. He is sitting still with his girlfriend Sheri, the other main character, on a picnic table at a park by the side of a lake.
The external conflict for Lane is the tension between him and his girlfriend. There is a problem that goes beyond lack of communication. He knows he is not in love with her and she seems to be waiting for him to say something. We are presented with his own opinions and thoughts only, so we don't know what she thinks. By sitting still on the picnic table, they seem to be in an unhappy, awkward situation, and at least from Lane's perspective, things are not alright between them.
The fact that Lane is not in love with Sheri and is not able to tell her, causes internal conflict on him. He wants to be honest, and to be a good person, despite no being serious with his faith. He compares himself with her, whom he considers mature and serious. He also thinks she is a person who knows what she wants. On the other hand, he is not sure he is good anymore and seems to be struggling with some aspects of his own identity (his faith, for example). He doesn't want to lie to her or to himself, and in the end realizes he wants to find courage instead of love. Courage to tell his girlfriend he doesn't love her.
