Conflict in "A Disobedient Girl"

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William James once said “Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.” This was very useful to Latha in Ru Freeman’s “A Disobedient Girl”. Latha was a servant to the Vithanage family, and even though she performed her daily servant duties, she was treated as if she was grime. Her main problems were with Mrs.Vithanage, the mother of the family. Mrs. Vithanage despised her and created conflicts with Latha every chance she could get. Mrs. Vithanage created these problems through hatred, jealousy, and neglect. “Will you stop talking about the sandals? Didn’t I just tell you there was no need for sandals? What is the matter with you?” Mrs. Vithanage rarely raised her voice to reprimand any of her servants…”(pg 46) Latha was continually walking and working on her feet all day and her shoes were old and torn, she was in bad need of a new pair of shoes but Mrs. Vithanage wouldn’t allow her, this was a form of hatred. “What do you need money for? It’s safer in the bank.” Mrs. Vithanage despised Latha so much, she didn’t even reward her with her daily pay. Latha worked 10 years with 2 bonuses, and Mrs.Vithanage said she put it all directly in the bank, but why. Why couldn’t Latha use her money sometimes on the things she desired, or even needed such as new shoes. Latha was a servant but she was very smart as well. She was even thought of as being smarter than Thara, Mrs.Vithanage daughter. Mrs. Vithanage envied the fact that Latha was smarter than her daughter, and tried to sabotage her education by taking her out of school. “It’s against the law to keep a child in bondage like this, without sending her to schoo... ... middle of paper ... ...tandings, grief, pain, and even love. Conflicts are described as to come into collision or disagreement; be contradictory, at variance, or in opposition. This basically describes life, life is made up of thousands and thousands of different opinions and every one doesn’t agree with each other so therefore they are in a conflict/disagreement. There are many types of conflicts such as racial conflicts, political conflicts, economic conflicts, inner self conflicts, and many more. Conflicts are an unbeatable part of life and there’s no way to get around them, but there are ways to go about dealing with them, solving them, and overcoming them. Works Cited • Freeman, Ru. A Disobedient Girl A Novel. Washington Square Pr, 2010. Print. • "James Williams Quotes." The Quote Garden - Quotes, Sayings, Quotations, Verses. Web. 15 July 2010. .

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