Communication and Its Importance in Creating Conflict Essay

Conflict is essential in all works of fiction, whether it might a simple disagreement in a marriage or internally trying to deal with guilt. The real life situations of Interpreter of Maladies connect the problems with communication with conflict that will arise. In Interpreter of Maladies, communication problems in the short stories â€Å"A Temporary Matter†, â€Å"This Blessed House†, and â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies† resulted in conflict. In â€Å"A Temporary Matter†, the conflict in was the game that Shoba and Shukamar played, referring to the revealing one truth about oneself when there were not any lights, and the game where they were hiding from each other, hoping to avoid awkward encounters. This was an internal conflict from Shukumar’s perspective because Shukumar was thinking of how to play his next move in order to effectively restore the relationship. †Now he had to struggle to say something that interested he, something that made her look up from her plate, or from proofreading files.† Shukumar thought the purpose of the game where the couple would share previously unknown facts was that it would restore their relationship. Shukumar thought the game was used in order to reconcile and reform the marriage. But he was gravely mistaken. Shoba used this game to tell him that she was moving out. â€Å"It sickened Shukumar, knowing that she had spent these past evening s preparing for a life without him.† (21). The internal conflict in Shukumar was a result of miscommunication on Shoba’s part. She rarely communicated her thoughts and feelings after the stillbirth, and Shukumar took this as a sign to not talk. This resulted in their relationship slowing fading, and finally to the point of avoidance. In â€Å"This Blessed House† Sanjeev and Twinkle had many fights throughout the story because of the Christian artifacts that were laid throughout the house. Sanjeev believed it was impractical, since both he and Twinkle were not Christian. When he kept on insisting on eradicating the religious objects, Twinkle insisted on keeping them. While Sanjeev had a practical and logical reason of why, he never effectively compromised with Twinkle, and kept on believing that he was right. And without the proper compromise and communication, it resulted in Sanjeev not understanding Twinkle’s emotions. He was quite surprised when he saw Twinkle cry in the bath. â€Å"Oh God, please, Twinkle, I didn’t mean it.† But Finally in the end, they reached a compromise and managed to continue on to the party. But the conflict arose because of Sanjeev’s inconsideration and not communicating his thoughts along with listening to Twinkle’s approach. â€Å"In the end they settled on a compromise: the statue would be placed in a recess at the side of the house, so that it wasn’t obvious to passerby, but was still clearly visible to all who came.† Even though they come to a compromise, it was after Sanjeev made Twinkle cry, which is a poor example of effective communication. In â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies†, Mr. Karpasi was under a delusion that Mrs. Das was interested in him. The conflict was Mr. Karpasi’s internal struggle interpreting Mrs. Das’s actions and determining whether she liked him or not. â€Å"As he stole glances in the rear view mirror, wrapping elastic bands around Tina’s hair, he wondered how he might make this tour a little longer.† He stated that he was an interpreter in the story. Mrs. Das inferred that he was some sort of psychologist or therapist that would cure her of her guilt that she had been holding in. However she was mistaken, Mr Karpasi essentially was a translator for a doctor. â€Å"†¦But many people do not speak Gujarati in this area, including the doctor. And so the doctor asked me to work in his office interpreting what the patients say.† He did not process any knowledge in the field of which Mrs. Das was interested in. When Mrs. Das was asked by Mr. Karpasi about why she told him about the illegitimate child, Mrs. Das said, â€Å"Well don’t you have anything to say? I thought that it as your job.† Mr. Karpasi responded with, â€Å"My job is to give tours, Mrs. Das.† Mrs. Das continued with, â€Å"Not that. Your other job. As an interpreter.† Mrs. Karpasi answered with, â€Å"But we do not face a language barrier. What need is there for an interpreter?† Mrs. Das completely misunderstood Mr. Karpasi in what he meant as an interpreter. She was only interested in Mr. Karpasi because she believed that Mr. Karpasi would cure of her guilt. On the contrary, Mr. Karpasi thought that Mrs. Das was interested in him in an attracting fashion. In Interpreter of Maladies, communication problems in the short stories â€Å"A Temporary Matter†, â€Å"This Blessed House†, and â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies† resulted in conflict. In â€Å"A Temporary Matter†, Shoba gave Shukumar the impression that she was trying to reform their marriage when her true purpose was to end it. She also is responsible for their avoidance with each other. In â€Å"This Blessed House†, Sanjeev was oblivious to Twinkle’s connections to the Mary statue, and kept on pressing his belief. This resulted in a fight in which Sanjeev finally realized his misdemeanor. In â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies†, Mr. Karpasi miscommunicated what his job was, which then resulted Mrs. Das giving him a problem that he could not solve. Mrs. Das regarded Mr. Karpasi with interest because she believed that Mr. Karpasi can help her. However this resulted in her humiliation when she told Mr. Karpasi her biggest secret that she believed he could resolve. Communication is essential to the everyday life of humans. A small mistake in communication can destroy a relationship or start an unwanted situation. It is essential that people would communicate in order to create a more stable relationship.