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Conflict In 'The Heir' By Sokpae

Decent Essays

Complications and conflicts are the bane of many peoples existences. Conflicts can come from a multitude of outside sources such as, one’s family and friends, being born into a problem and uncontrollable events. Now, some people may say that everyone has a choice in their conflicts. However, in cases of uncontrollable events such as how in “The Heir” how “Sokpae, two years his junior, was an epileptic” (23) Sokpae had no choice in getting his disease, and its doubtful that he would want to be an epileptic. One can be born into poverty or an unfriendly home, but that conflict wasn’t caused by any fault of their own. One has no choice whatsoever and no fault in who they were born to, or what situation they were born into. Eli from “The …show more content…

In “No Dogs Bark” Ignacio caused his father so much stress that he said “‘Let the blood I gave him rot in his kidneys.’ I said it when I heard you’d taken to the roads, robbing and killing people’” (17) Ignacio had the free will to do what he wanted with his life, and due to no fault of Ignacio’s father, Ignacio became a violent delinquent. Some people may say that it is the parenting that chooses the course of the child. However, as shown in studies on identical twins separated and made to live with very different families, most of the personality, aptitude and choices made by the children are due to inherent characteristics, not how they were raised. Ignacio causes his father stress and conflicts by being a troublesome offspring, to the point where Ignacio’s father disclaims him. On a different point of view, in “Santa’s Children” Marcovaldo’s children cause him stress on accident, when they were trying to be good. They gave Marcovaldo’s boss’s son destructive presents, “‘The first was a hammer: that big round hammer, the wooden kind...’ ‘What did he do then?’ ‘He was jumping with joy! He grabbed it and began to use it!’ ‘How?’ ‘He broke all the toys!’” (227) They thought they were being helpful to the community by giving a “poor” kid presents, when they actually enabled the boss’s son to cause much destruction that could have easily gotten Marcovaldo …show more content…

In “The Wooing of Ariandne”, Marko falls in love with Ariandne and tells her “‘ I swear before God from this moment that I love you’” (174). One has no control over the people they love or are attracted to. You can’t choose your love anymore then you can choose the weather. Marko’s love for Ariandne gets him into trouble with her family when he embarasses them on her street by calling to her at her window and drawing a crowd on accident. If he hadn’t been in absolute love with her, there never would have been a conflict, because he wouldn’t have approached her. Some may venture to propose that he made his conflict himself by causing a ruckus. On the other hand, when one is in love, they have clouded judgment and can not control their actions completely. It is not completely up to them. Love, an uncontrollable event, caused conflict in Marko’s life. On a different note, in “The Heir”, Sogun’s cousin “Sokpae, two years his junior, was an epileptic.” (23) Sokpae’s disease caused much shame and conflict for the family. No one accepted his disease and it caused many an argument in the household. However, Sokpae had no control over his disease, it was an unforeseen and uncontrolled event that caused conflict from the beginning to the end of the story, and his life. Sickness and love can shape people and

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