Conflict Resolution Bedtime Stories English Literature Essay

In this story, it tells how much young people are innocent and are easy to trust others by telling them the actual truths which may even get them into big troubles. The one greatest conflict in this story is that trusting a stranger who asks a lot of information from the little red riding hood and her being unaware of the dangers, letting the stranger know about the information being asked. Thus, it tells how people should not just trust anyone who tries to be too nice when they actually their intention is to dig out their desired information and facts. But it is true that having such conflicts and trusting others is inevitable. Therefore, it has to be practiced and slowly get used to solving these kinds of conflicts. People in conflict pursue goals and also wonders what each person does, and who they are in relationship to each other during the interaction.

The little red riding hood’s goal was just to go and give the food, being asked by her mother to the grandmother who is sick and lives in the woods. She was somehow using the collaborative goal when answering back to the wolf who was asking her too much information about her. It was simple and a clear goal, but it was not for the wolf whose goal was different from the girl’s. Its intention was to get as many information as possible it can get and to try to go and eat the old lady in the woods and even try to eat the little girl up too. Therefore, we can see that when we come across many different people, they all come with their own different goals and in order to achieve the various goals they do things and find different ways to gain whatever they want. The do not try to give way to others and try understanding others which may lead to selfishness. They also try to gain power and sometimes the most powerful behavior is to appear to be able to accept but also resist, or even act in a nonresistant way. There are different types of power, namely; reward power, punishment, legitimate, charisma and expert. The person who is in conflict and the style of solving it would differ from that of who is not involved in it, since the styles develop over a lifetime based experiences. The girl in this story should rather forgive the wolf for being this cunning because it has already happened and no one can actually rewind the past and change whatever it has happened. And forgiveness is not a sign of weakness too and requires movement, which helps a person to shift from the situation and even forget about it. In this case, it also invites the reconciliation process to gain back the cooperation and a sense of harmony.

If the girl did not trust a stranger like the wolf, this would not have caused the unnecessary danger to her grandmother, and her and the hunter to appear in the picture to have helped them.

Top 2: Three Little Pigs

In the story of the three little pigs, the conflicts are that the big bad wolf’s mindset of trying to destroy the little pigs and eat them up. As all the conflicts are about two issues; power and self-esteem, the big bad wolf’s intention is to gain power by trying to show others that he is possible of destroying anything that he wants to. Also, in order to get a higher level of self-esteem for him by doing such things. Power in accustoming relationships is not finite; it is an expansive commodity. Power is something that does not stay constant and something that keeps on changing. The more you try to escape, ignore and resent against someone, the less power you are to show upon or have with that person. Collaboration is also almost always possible in order to solve a conflict and the misunderstandings among the two parties or more. The interest of the wolf in this story was to show the little pigs what he is capable of and how much power he has by blowing the houses that the little pigs have built. From my point of view, showing power was the main source of intention from the wolf rather than its hunger and interest of eating up the little pigs.

This story gives the children a lesson to always be in harmony, united and be alert all the time to overcome the unexpected dangers and that one should try again and again until you succeed without thinking of giving up. And to create a different ending from the given story, the little pigs could have built the house in bricks from the very first time they were brought down or blown away by the wolf to prevent from being in danger again and again.

Top 3: Pinocchio

From the story Pinocchio by the Walt Disney, the little children could learn it is bad to go around and tell lies which bring no benefit to self and only brings one’s own image down. From what I can think is the conflict with Pinocchio and the storyline is that the conflict within himself and covering up what he actually is rather than telling the truth, he might also be afraid of being judged by people of him being made of wood and also the desire to become a real human being, travel around all he wants and join a puppet show.

For Pinocchio to transform into a normal human being, just like all of us, he is required to prove that he is a brave and a boy who is truthful and does not tell lies, but what he actually doing was lying around when he travels on his own. He knows that he has to be truthful to people for him to become fully human being, but that was not what he was doing. Therefore, it does not help him to achieve his goal of becoming a human being. The solutions become inclear and even unrecognized if one does not know what they want, which means that the only clear goals can be attained. Clear goals can also be altered even more easily rather the unclear goals and the clear goals are reached more often than the unclear or vague goals. And also, people often create difficulties by thinking on their own that their goals can never be achieved and tend to think that the other party will stand in their way. From the five types of power, Pinocchio seems to have been in punishment since his father, who created him as a puppet from wood was swallowed by a whale, as he was the one who was lying to people. The conflict styles are also designed responses, or even a group of styles of behavior that people use in conflict. And tactics are the moves made by people and their individuality which brings out their general approach.

Top 4: Jack and the Beanstalk

From this story of Jack, who gave his cow in exchange of five seeds that would grow and become a tall stalk of beans learns to get a great deal which has its own time and catch for when it is about time. Thus, it also tells or conveys a message to people that one should not be too impatient and worry too much about something that is not going to happen any soon. Worrying or being impatient about things not only takes away your present precious moments, it also drains your energy from thinking and worrying about unnecessary things.

The conflict that Jack has is that he has to be afraid of the ogre and try his best not to be caught by that ogre, and on the other hand, he has to get all the riches from the ogre’s house too, which has a golden harp and also a chicken which can lay golden eggs. Jack seems to have been in desperate need for all these rich things in order for him to escape and get out of his poor and filthy lifestyle. He also has to manage the conflict well to be able to get all the things he wants from the ogre’s house. Effective conflict management is one aspect of interpersonal therapy, which also is a well-researched counseling technique for dealing with depression. People in conflict may be fearful, resentful, angry, hopeless or even stressed. It is abruptly normal and usual for people who are in conflict to have disagreements. But for Jack, who was trying to get the valuable things from the ogre had to manage himself. In addition, conflict exists whenever incompatible activities occur an action which prevents, obstructs, interferes with, injures, or in some way makes resolution less likely or less effective. But in the end, what matters the most is the perception of the person who is in or to be in conflict and the ways of seeing things from a different perspective. Goals are also perceived as incompatible usually because the parties want either the same things or different. People usually tend to engage in conflict over goals that are important to them. They would not really care about these goals if they had no concerns, interests, or importance to them. No one actually cares about something that does not interest or bores them.

This story could not end better even if it were to be given a new ending, since it has shown the children that Jack was smart enough to remember to cut the bean stalk to prevent the ogre from being able to follow him.

Top 5: Cinderella

Cinderella is a well-known fairy tale from the Walt Disney ever since a very long time ago. It has become one of the most amazing and interesting tale that children long to watch, listen to, or be exposed to. From this renowned fairy tale of children, the Cinderella; everyone who has watched, seen or heard about this fairy tale knows that she was actually being brought up with one stepmother who does no good to her and only gives her hard times, treats her very unfairly, bullies her for so many times, and makes her life even more miserable and harder despite the fact of having to stay with not only just a stepmother but with also two other daughters of hers. Those two daughters of her stepmother do not do any good to her too and all they do or wish is for her to disappear from their lives and bullies her to the extent of being unable even to explain what she has been going through and how she feels about herself to have a life where she has been locked up like a maid or servant to the stepmother and the two sisters.

The conflict between these two sisters and the stepmother was that of being unable to see some other people being better than them or being able to carry out things that they are unable to. This can also be called as the self-conflict which lies, comes or happens only within their self. It is something that has to be solved by them, which cannot be done by others. These two sisters and the stepmother actually know and believe that the Cinderella was way better than in appearance, abilities and even charm that they cannot make up to. But, on the other hand, they have issues in accepting that the little Cinderella is better than them. Therefore, all they try doing is to bring the poor Cinderella down from every possible angle they could rather than thinking or planning how to be like the little princess.

In addition, being unable to accept what has been said, written or what actually is, is the main reason and the source of all the envies and jealousies for people to get hurt, being hurt by others, or self-inflicting and depressing state of mind, which can even be related to psychological terms like being in the self-defense-mechanism mode, where one tries to polish or cover up what he/she actually is and try pointing at others’ faults in order to outshine others’ charms instead of being kind, humble and simple by trying hard by themselves. According to the story, Cinderella is seen as a very simple, gentle, kind and polite and even forgiving to others since she is the one who has a great and an amazing set of mind even though she has been mistreated for all these while her whole life. Since forgiving is a state of moving out from the usual unpleasant moments of life, Cinderella forgave those who has mistreated her for good and also in order for herself to move on to another pleasant level of her own life.

Top 6: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

From another tale of Walt Disney; The Snow white and the seven dwarfs, many lessons are being given to the little children who are more likely to be addicted to the Disney cartoons and fairy tales. Snow White’s life turned upside down when her dad remarried with a woman who was known as the most famous and the most beautiful woman in town, who turned out to be the most evil queen of all kingdoms. From the moment the little Snow White’s father; the king’s passing away; she was left with this evil Queen, who was also her stepmother.

The queen’s conflict within herself was her own insecurity from comparing herself with the little snow white, because she believed that she has to be the only fair and the most beautiful woman of the entire entire kingdom. She could not accept that the little snow white was as white as snow and as pure as pearls. The evil queen did not want to give the power of the kingdom to the little snow white too. She was already getting old and her health was already deteriorating. She has always had tough times accepting all these and just giving the kingdom to the little princess.

From all this unfortunate fortunes, the little snow white somehow escaped from the miserable jealous queen and came to live with the seven hardworking dwarfs who helped and loved her truly and took care of her. But as to the queen’s persistence, she turns herself into an old lady and offered snow white a poisonous apple. As soon as snow white consumed a bite of the apple, she instantly fell unconscious. But due to her being kind-hearted to people and staying simple, good fortune looked upon the poor snow white that the seven dwarfs chased the queen to the top of the mountains, the thunders and lightning stroke the place and to the little princess’s luck, the queen ended her life. Even though the little snow white fell unconscious, her prince charming came and gave her the ‘love’s first kiss’ which woke her up and rescued her.

Thus, we all can learn that how much ever you are being in deep tragedies, or your life has not been good in any situation, you just have to hold on, keep your mind simple and all the positive good fortunes will come to you all at once.

Top 7: The Hare and the Tortoise

This old story of the hare and the tortoise can give all the children who usually dreams of becoming somebody that is famous and powerful a great lesson to be humble all along in life. It is not being famous and powerful that matters, but it is of being humble. If you are being too ignorant and arrogant just because you get to be famous, the fame surely will not last for long. As it is the nature’s phenomenon that everything comes back down once it gets way higher up where it has a limit, and the same thing will happen for those who become too ignorant of things around you by getting powerful.

In the story, due to the hare’s over-confidence and being too arrogant, it lost to the tortoise in a race, which also is ridiculous for a fast-running hare to lose to a small-speeded tortoise in a race. This proved that the hare was trying to overpower the tortoise which was already slower than it is in doing things. It was also trying to show the power it has upon this tortoise and believed itself that it would definitely be the winner of the race.

Power is something that has to do with the social relationship rather than a quality of the individual and that is not owned by any individuals but is a main product of any social relationships in which certain qualities become more important and valuable to others. A person who think or take themselves and tries to show that they are the most powerful to outsiders are usually and often are people with less power than they appear. As we all could see from the hare and its over-confidence, it took itself way too high and fell asleep under a tree in the middle of the race thinking the tortoise would never make it to the stop. This was the act of looking down at someone who is already in lower power than you. Being humble takes account in this case and reminds not to look down on anyone and to stop being too proud of one’s self.

Top 8: The Ant and the grasshopper

This story is a great piece that can be shared to both the little ones and the youngsters who are on the path of spending money and looking for pleasure. The point of spending money lavishly only lasts for a certain period of time but it never lasts longer than the short while. It can only give you pleasure just for a little while that you would not even get to taste what it feels like to actually gain pleasure and be happy about spending a large amount of money.

According to this story of the ant and the grasshopper, the grasshopper was the one who always spent a lot more than the ant, enjoyed life, had fun and used up all it had. But on the other hand, the ant was being thrifty and hardworking. It also saved up for its own good and looked far way ahead of the future to be able to face any unexpected terms, just like the saying, “expect the unexpected.” This is the only way and the most important fact to bear in mind to overcome any unexpected when you are to really face them on the hand.

The grasshopper then died of being cold and also due to starvation when the winter came while the ant survived the season from being prepared and saved up the corns during summer for it to be able to cope with the weather and face the natural danger of the changes of the seasons.

We can also say that the ant survived due its avoidance of the grasshopper from persuading it to join itself from happily enjoying life, wasting time and spending all it has without putting a tiny bit of effort in the lifesaving strategy. If the grasshopper were to work hard just like the ant did and save up what is needed to protect it from the unexpected, it would not have ended its own life to the unbearable weather and its coldness.

Top 9: The Ugly Duckling

From one of the best bedtime stories, the ugly duckling story was also a great one to be shared with the children for them to learn from the storyline which expresses that the mere physical appearance do not matter all the time and only appreciating one’s inner beauty brings out the best in others and in yourself in every possible and positive ways.

It is about self-esteem and confidence when dealing with others and improving one’s life rather than just on the basic looks of a person. Someone only with the appealing appearance and without any charismatic or inner beauty leads to nowhere. The most important thing in life is to appreciate every little thing and be grateful of things that happen around you for those brings you the best in you and teach from falling apart or prevent you from feeling like a failure when everyone else’s perception is that you would never be able to hold on to when it comes to a certain point where life brings you down for different reasons.

This ugly duckling was being ostracized from its fellow fowls just because of its unpleasant appearance. But then when the turning point of this ugly duckling’s life comes, it finally grows into a beautiful swan, and that is the moment when the others who abandoned this beautiful swan from being a part of them are to look at it in awe. Thus, this story stresses young children and even the adults who read these stories for the little ones to appreciate the inner beauty and the talents that shows the importance and the mindset of someone, rather than just the physical appearance.

Top 10: The Boy who cried wolf

This fable of the ‘boy who cried wolf’ is a very good example for those youngsters who amuse them by scaring others and seeking for attention and making fun of the elders. This story is also known as the “Shepherd boy and the wolf,” in which the bored shepherd boy calls out people as if a wolf was coming to attack the village. When all the villagers slowly stopped trusting him when they found out to their disappointment and that it was just a false alarm whenever he cried out as a wolf was coming to attack, they all stopped paying attention to him. The boy lost his life one day when the wolf really did come to attack even though he cried out for help, not even one villager paid attention to what he’s been crying out help for.

This teaches a great lesson for all the youngsters who just amuse themselves by scaring others and giving false alarms on dangers and things that are important to be notified.

This great piece of story also tells people to always tell the truth. Once you start lying about something and see people being satisfied with your lies, you continue without even realizing or noticing yourself. But when it comes to a point where they no longer believe in your lies, and start finding out the truth, they start loathing you and decide never to trust you again.