You will often hear it from people on TV and from lecturers at self-developments trainings that the best conflict is the one that you could avoid. But it is not always true; moreover, conflicts seem to be part and parcel of our everyday life so we should learn how to deal with them. Our PurEssay writing service offers you this essay on conflict, from which you can learn more about origins and main characteristics of conflicts as well as possible ways to avoid and solve them. We will also touch upon the concept of narrative conflict and discuss its types.

General information

We will start with the definition of the term. So, what is a conflict? A Conflict is a clash of interests. Normally a conflict will appear between two individuals or groups of individuals, but there is also an internal conflict that exists only within one person’s mind. At the same time a conflict can crop up between tree or more parties.

Most conflict essays distinguish three stages of a conflict:

• difference in opinions;

• opposition in the form of discussion;

• fight in actions.

Thus, if the first stage still presupposes a way to resolve the conflict peacefully by means of negotiations and compromises, the last stage is an open manifestation of the conflict. It can assume the form of a fight between separate individuals or the form of a war if we are talking about large-scale, national or international conflicts. You should note that a friendly dialog has nothing to do with conflict; we use the term conflict only to indicate that parties in a relationship are ready to do harm to each other in order to defend their interests.

Analyzing conflict theory essay writers from our company found out that researches mostly single out these aspects in the structure of a conflict:

• an object (a thing or a situation around which the conflict occurs);

• subjects (separate individuals, groups, organizations or even countries);

• circumstances under which the conflict unfolds;

• the scale of the conflict (personal, interpersonal, local, regional, global);

• the strategies of the parties;

• the result of the conflict (consequences, ramifications, lessons learnt).

Many people believe that conflicts should be eradicated completely, but actually they turn out beneficial for society. While a poorly conducted conflict can lead to various destructions, everything starting with a bad mood and ending with people’s death, a well-organized conflict, on the contrary, has a constructive effect. Once the difference in opinions is outlined, people can start looking for a solution. In this case the tension caused by the conflict is directed at the achievement of the goal. Conflict management is the essential condition of coming to an agreement before parties run out of their resources. You will come across this truth in any conflict resolution essay. So now we will continue with the basics of conflict management.

Conflict management basics

Some people get easily irritated and tend to lose their temper straight away when others disagree with them. However, the act of shouting at each other is not a favorable sort of conflict. The first rule one should remember about dealing with conflicts is that a peaceful conversation, in which speakers take turns, is the best way to at least find out what each party wants. Otherwise you risk spending time on a non-productive and devastating dispute.

The method of questioning is good too when it comes to personal assaults. For the most part people start offending each other not when they dislike their opponent, but when they are angry with certain actions and situations. That is why getting to the core of the problem is vital before taking any action. You should try to ask specific questions, which in your opinion can reveal the real reason for the confrontation.

These techniques are good when only several individuals are involved in a conflict, but when it expands to an international scale, the methods will have to transform a bit. Let’s take, for instance, any Arab Israeli conflict essay and analyze the information closely. This situation, as well as any other one that has transformed into a war, presents an example of non-effective conflict management. When two parties are unwilling to listen to each other’s claims, country leaders will typically decide to declare a war.

What all the parties involved in a conflict should remember that all of them will only benefit from resolving the dispute. And it is in their interests to do so with the least losses possible, including the loss of time and damage to emotional integrity.

Narrative conflicts

Conflicts are not only real situations of confrontation, but also those we come across in literary works and movies. A conflict in this case is something that allows the plot to move further, forcing characters to reveal their inner selves in the process of solving problems. We can single out several types of narrative conflicts. Usually they are the same as real-life conflicts because every work of fiction is based on the world around us. Thus, narrative conflicts include person vs person, person vs group, group vs group conflicts, and also some kinds typical exactly for literature: person vs nature and person vs technology.

Robinson Crusoe is the most vivid literary character to illustrate the person vs nature conflict. Having found himself on a deserted island, the man fights for his life with the inhabitants of the area. What he faces is wild nature, and Crusoe’s conflict with it is a matter of life and death for the man.

As for the person vs technology conflict, we already discussed this issue in the essay on Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. The Mechanical Hound from this novel that has the purpose of killing anti-government criminals is the embodiment of technological progress that aims at suppressing people. Guy Montag’s conflict with the mechanical creature is of life-and-death importance, the same as it was in Crusoe’s case. To stay alive Montag has to vanish into thin air, find a place where the dog cannot detect his smell.

However, the most touching conflicts in fiction seem to be internal ones. Readers become highly affected by emotional anxieties of their favorite characters. It is especially true about romance novel readers, who usually buy such books only to experience strong emotional feelings while sympathizing with fictional characters. There is more to it: each example of fiction will probably have at least a tiny personal conflict along with other ones. That is why fiction seems so touching to us.

In conclusion, a conflict is a situation when two or more parties have different interests, and it evokes tension in their relationship. There are several types of conflicts as well as ways of dealing with them. However, not all conflicts bring harm – some of them create a constructive environment for resolving issues. That is why we should stick with the principles of conflict management. In this conflict essay we also touched upon narrative conflicts that create intrigues in works of fiction, and therefore present an integral part of any novel or movie. All in all, conflicts are inevitable in our lives so each of us has to find ways of dealing with them effectively.