ABSTRACT
Existing
studies in different spheres of human endeavour have focused on the negative
and destructive potentials of conflict. The scanty attention by literary
scholars on conflict as a constructive force implies a gap in knowledge. This
study, therefore, investigated the issue of conflict, its forms, bases, positive
effects and internal mechanisms for improving inter-personal relationship in
the home in selected African texts.
The
methodology adopted was qualitative. Four literary texts that represent two
generations of African writers were purposively selected based on their
thematic relevance to the study. The study was guided by psychoanalytic and
post-colonial theories with indepth focus on characters’ conscious and
unconscious actions and the socio-economic situations in which they exist.
Findings
revealed forms, bases, positive effects of conflict and internal mechanisms for
improving relationship in the home in the selected texts. In Chukwuemeka Ike’sOur Children are Coming, the forms of
conflict discovered are political, behavioural and ideological, the bases for
conflict were sexual immorality, laziness, selfishness and possessiveness of
parents, the positive effects of conflict was of social structures creation,
the internal mechanisms for improving relationship in the home were trust,
flexibility and acculturation. They were ideological and psychological forms of
conflict in Sons and Daughters, the
bases for conflict were generational gap and misplacement of trust, the
positive effects of conflictwere unity and socialization, the internal
mechanisms for improving relationship in the home were compromise and trust. In
Measuring Time, the forms of conflict
discovered were behavioural and ideological, the bases for conflict were,
negligence, unrestricted desire and father’s wound, the positive effect of
conflict was personal development of individuals, the internal mechanisms for
improving relationship in the home was discovered to be equal parental love and
shared positive power. The forms of conflictin Fetters and Choiceswere ideological, and behavioural, the bases for
conflict were servile disobedience, selfish motive and mother’s wound. The
positive effects of conflict generally were improved mutual understanding,
mutual respect, personal growth and development.
The
study concluded that conflict is inevitable and exists in different forms, for
different bases and diverse positive effects and recommended that the
preoccupation of the destructive nature of conflict should be de-emphasised, so
as to exclude domestic conflict from stigma.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the
Study
The
structure and quality of relationships between family members are fundamental
elements of family functioning and a major influence on the well-being of
parents and children. The introduction of the world comes
through a primary group: the family; it is the institution where in one has the
most contact and the one from which one traditionally receive the most
emotional support. We depend on family for our early nurturance and
socialization, and one cannot survive without them. Societies depend on families
to carry out certain vital functions, such as socialization of the young and
regulation of sexual activity. Family relationships between wife and husbands,
parents and children, brothers and sisters or more distant relatives can be
warm and fulfilling but they equally can be full of the most extreme tension,
driving its members to despair and imbuing them with a deep sense of anxiety
and guilt. Conflict between family members seems to be a mystery, but it is not
conflict itself that that is dangerous to relationships; it is the manner in
which the conflict is handled. Individuals need relationships in which their
identity can continue to develop. They need privacy, flexible roles, especially
that which incorporate individual change.
Overtime,
conflict poses a great threat to international security in many dimensions. The
devastating effects on country’s national image, unity and economy are obvious.
Often the quest for freedom and other social factors emanating from a country’s
post-colonial experience act as cardinal cause of conflict. While conflict
manifests itself in various dimensions, the position of researchers have been
to depict conflict and its subsequent causes and effects from different
perspective especially as a negative phenomenon .Conflict exists in virtually
all spheres and works of life in organization, marriages, sports, politics, and
even the family, living with others increases the opportunity for all types of
interaction, both pleasant and unpleasant and in this case, the emphases is on the
unpleasant as exemplified by conflict.
In the family, Parent and child conflicts can occur for many reasons.
When conflict occurs, the entire family can be thrown into emotional turmoil.
Resolving a parent and child conflict requires the participation of all
stakeholders involved.
Communication
is a very important tool in resolving conflict. “When parenting, we need to
listen to our children and consider their input,” says psychologist Dr.
Longhurst. Understanding why a parent child conflict occurs and how to resolve
it can help bring harmony back to the entire family. Struggles between parents
and their children are common manifestations of family life. In fact, families
may have more conflict than other social groups. Prior theory and research
regarding Western, individualist cultures suggests that as such contact and
interdependence between people increases, conflict becomes more likely and more
frequent (Braiker and Kelley:1979). However, in Eastern collectivist cultures,
the increase in conflict may not result in such situations due to a preference
for non-confrontation (Chua and Gudykunst :1987).
As
with marital relationships, an average degree of conflict between parents and
children in America is difficult to determine, although there are estimates
(Montemayor: 1986). The frequency of conflict appears to be linked with child
development. For example, the highest number of conflicts - mother-child
interactions - occurred with two-year-olds versus children who were eighteen
months or three years old (Dunn and Munn: 1987). Among adolescents, conflict
interactions tend to increase until about the age of fifteen, and then subside
in later adolescence. Developmental psychologists state that child development
is in different stages and these stages are characterized by qualitative
differences in behaviour. There are a number of different views about the way
in which psychological and physical development proceed throughout life span.
In addition to individual differences in development, psychologists generally
agree that development occurs in an orderly way and in different areas. It is a
branch of psychology that attempts to explain the development of humans over
time both in the micro sense as they develop from babies to mature adults, and
in the macro sense, as the culture itself evolves through the years and
decades. Jean Piaget one of the foremost figures in developmental psychology
and credited for being the first to elaborate a stage theory and to argue that
all humans develop through a similar path, progressing through recognizable
stages each with definable characteristics and psycho- social goals that must
be met if one is to progress to the next. One of the most interesting facets of
the stage theory is its proposition that children learn by constructing
knowledge through experience, as opposed to it being directly imparted by
environment, or being innate and instinctual.
Beyond
conflict frequency, one of the most rudimentary features of conflict is whether
an issue is engaged or avoided. Engagement involves overt, verbal
confrontation. Avoidance can take many forms, including withholding complaints,
evading discussion of sensitive issues, and defensively withdrawing from a
conflict discussion.
Another
important dimension of conflict concerns its positivity or negativity (Sillars
and Wilmot: 1994). Some behaviours are relatively positive in sentiment and
affective in tone, such as conciliatory statements, supportive comments that
validate the other's point of view, attempts to understand the other's position,
and so on. Negative behaviours are disagreeable, inflammatory, and sometimes
hostile. Examples include demands, threats, insults, and defensiveness.
Distressed families exhibit more negative conflict behaviours, greater
reciprocation of negative emotions and behaviours, and a lower proportion of
positive behaviours compared to non-distressed families (Montemayor: 1986).
An
important feature of parent-child relationships that may affect the negativity
of conflicts is that the relationships are not voluntary. In other words,
children do not pick their parents. Like marriage partners, parents and their
offspring develop considerable intimacy. More so than spouses, however, parents
and their children are "bound" in a family relationship, which can
serve to intensify serious conflicts between them, and family disputes often
represent underlying relational struggles regarding power or intimacy (Emery:
1992).
Regardless
of the "involuntary" nature of parent-child relationships, family
conflict has the potential to positively impact children. Specifically,
childhood conflict interactions can contribute positively to personal and
social development. Moreover, parents can develop their negotiation skills in
conflicts with their children. To save such positive rewards from conflict
interactions, family members need two basic skills for conflict management:
flexibility versus rigidity and the ability to manage conflict without
escalating the severity of the problem.
Clearly,
the study of these general features of parent-child conflict contributes to
understanding the concept of conflict. Additionally, one important theme
consistently emerges in discussions of these general features: development.
Focusing on how parent-child conflict evolves as children (and parents) age
provides a more thorough picture of the phenomenon.
Some
research indicates that parent-child relationships tend to deteriorate in
families marked by high levels of marital conflict (Hess et al: 1979). Since
studies have found that good parent-child relationships are associated with
high self-esteem (Coopersmith: 1967), it seems likely that a deteriorating
parent-child relationship partly mediates the effects of inter parental
conflict on children.
The
family is a group consisting of one or two parents and children. According to
Dudley Weeks in The Eight Essential Steps
to Conflict Resolution “a family is an area in which diversity is
important” (28) One may ask how diversity is seen in a family. The point is
that although a family provides an equal environment for all of its members be
it father, mother or children, each of them perceive situations in unique ways.
In this case as long as each member of the family does not try to impose his
opinion or idea unnecessarily on another the relationship between them stands a
better chance of growing and remaining healthy.
In
a society for instance Africa, relationships are not taken for granted. A lot
of relationships are found in a society no matter how small those involved are.
In these relationships, two or more persons are involved. As human beings, we
have individual differences and usually like it to be respected. In this
respect, anyone involved in a particular relationship who tries to impose his
ideas or opinions on the other may not be helping their relationship. These
relationships that exist in a community amongst peer groups, colleagues,
neighbours, etc. at one time or the other tend to need something from one
another as humans. The ability of one to satisfy the other’s needs goes a long
way in strengthening their relationship. But in a situation whereby these needs
cannot be met, it is seen as maltreatment of the person directly involved. The
neglect of needs in a relationship does a lot of harm to that relationship.
In
all the relationships in a family, the parent-child relationship is the most
outstanding. Although, it is either a good or a bad relationship, there are
some perceived reasons that determine how good or bad the relationship will be.
Needs are very important. It is in everyone’s dictionary. They are conditions
we perceive and cannot do without. They are essential in the development of
relationships. According to Dudley Weeks, “the most fulfilling and mutually
beneficial relationships are those in which the needs of both parties are met”
(30). In the family therefore, if the needs of the children or parents are not
met as and when due, it could be seen as an act of cruelty towards the affected
person, parent or child.
Again,
maltreatment of a child can be seen in terms of neglect: physical, verbal or
emotional neglect and it also applies to the maltreatment of the parent.
Neglect typically involves a failure on either party to provide for the others
basic needs, such as food, care, shelter, protection and supervision (Campbell:
1992).The neglect of these needs in a relationship causes conflict among the
persons involved. According to Joseph Folger (1993) and Marshal Scott Poole
(1993), in Small Group Communication
Theory and Application, “Conflict
is the interaction of interdependent people who perceive incompatible goals and
interference from each other in achieving those goals”(41).To Dudley Weeks,
conflict can be resolved in so many ways one of which is to build a shared
positive power. Every relationship involves power, because individuals, groups
often limit the way they use and perceive power, they tend to use it as means
of controlling or manipulating others. To resolve or avoid conflict that
already exist or might exist sometimes, the parties involved in the
relationship in question must share and build a positive power to exercise it
reasonably for it not to be a means of intimidating, controlling or
manipulating others.
Gary
and Lundbeng (1995) in I Don’t Have to
Make Everything All Better wrote extensively on “parent-teen conflict”,
managing it constructively. According to them, “teens and their parents have
conflict” (3). How these conflicts are managed is critical; if these conflicts
are not managed constructively, families are likely to divide. Behaviour and
conflict degrade and criminal conduct may follow. Parents always see their
children as children when the child wants to be treated as a teenager. In this
case, the child is struggling for his independence, yet most times he is
unwilling to assume the responsibility that comes with being an adult. The
child wants to make his own rules as he now finds it difficult to follow the
family rules. Most times, parents find it difficult to allow the child the
freedom he wants. This is all part of the parent-child growing up together, conflict
system.In the parent-child relationship, handling the conflicts that arise
either destroy that connection between the persons involved or build it
depending on how the conflict is handled. According to Gary and Joy Lundberg
(1995:6), Parents and teens care about each other, openly acknowledging and
managing parent teen conflicts constructively. In the relationship between them
parents and their children share a lot of things in common apart from their
biological resemblance, they share things like frustration, stress, pressure
times, disappointment, financial stress and fear of failure.
Communication
has been discovered as an essential tool in relationships. According to Gary
and Joy Lundberg (1995:25), “when communication starts treading down, emotional
tension increases, communication becomes more difficult and constructive
conflict resolution more difficult” (13). Therefore in a relationship the level
of communication between the persons involved helps them to understand
themselves better. The understanding between them keeps their relationship
healthy in the sense that each one knows what will make the other annoyed and
avoid it. As defined in the Oxford
Advanced Learners Dictionary Sixth Edition, communication is the “activity
or process of expressing ideas and feelings” (230); going by this definition,
any relationship without effective communication which helps those involved
understand themselves the relationship is built on a shaky foundation.
Parent-child relationship is not an exception; their relationship must be built
on a solid foundation that is communication.
Furthermore,
a relationship without discipline does not do those involved any good. OxfordAdvanced Learner’s Dictionary Special
Price Edition, defines discipline as “training or control”, often using a
system of punishment, aimed at producing obedience to rules, self-control.
Relationship may not have any definite system of punishment as means of
training or control aimed at producing obedience to rules but one that
obviously has is the parent-child relationship. Parent should not confuse
discipline with punishment, punishment most times do not result to what a
parent expect. Beating, blaming, belittling, threatening, slapping, scolding,
name dropping are methods of punishment, which are generally ineffective. These
methods of discipline will only subdue the child. As a system of discipline, it
is better the child is allowed to learn from his own mistakes and take
corrections himself. This method of discipline causes a child to be scared of
his parents and this reduces effective communication between them thereby
hampering or hindering their relationship. Curiously, one may ask what makes
either a child or parent brutal or to neglect the other person’s need? How does
the attitude of either party affect the other and the relationship that exist
between them? These questions can only be answered by examining the society
where these relationships exist.
This
study therefore goes beyond the causes, and negative effect of conflict which
seem to be the specialization of scholars in examining conflict in various
spheres of life. The aim of this research is to examine conflict in parent
child relationship, the positive effect of these conflict and the measures to
be taken to improve relationship in the home. To achieve this objective, this
study engages some selected novels from African writers of both the 19th
and 21st centuries in order to ex-ray the fact that conflict in the
family especially among parents and their children is a recurrent phenomenon.
1.2 Statement of the
Problem
A
generally accepted understanding of conflict with regards to its causes and
manifestations continues to be the concern of humanists, including literary
artists. Literary writers of the 19th and 21st centuries
depict conflict according to their personal and geographical background. This
tendency arises from the multi-dimensional manifestations of conflict. The
problem of this study stems from the fact that most scholars have rested
continuously on the negative effect of conflict, more so there is generally a
paucity of research on the texts for the study, especially in relation to
conflict in family relationship without recourse to the positive effects of
conflict. This therefore leaves a stigma on domestic conflict.
1.3 Objective of the
Study
The
main objective is to investigate the emerging conflict in parent-child
relationship in selected literary works. The specific objectives are to:
1.identify
and examine the forms of conflict in parent-child relationship;
2.
examine the bases for conflict as identified by characters in the chosen texts
for the study;
3.analyze
the positive effects of conflict in parent-child relationship in the selected
texts and
4.investigate
internal mechanisms of improving relationship in the home as portrayed in the
selected texts.
1.4 Research Questions
The
following are the research questions that drive the study:
1.
In what forms is conflict portrayed in the selected texts?
2.
What are the bases for conflict as identified by characters in the selected
texts?
3.
What are the positive effects of conflicts in parent-child relationship in the
selected texts?
4.
What are the internal mechanisms for improving relationship in the home as
portrayed in the chosen texts?
1.5 Significance of the
Study
This
study is important in that it helps the general reader in understanding the
forms, bases and positive effects of conflict in the family structure
especially as highlighted by these African writers; Chukwuemeka Ike, Ifeoma May
Nwoye, Joe de Graft and Helon Habila. It therefore serves as a potential
resource material for those who wish to embark on further research in this
study.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The
purpose of this study is to appraise conflict and the search for freedom
amongst children as reflected in selected African texts of; Chukwuemeka Ike’s Our Children Are Coming, Ifeoma May
Nwoye’ Fetters and Choices, Joe
Graft’s Sons andDaughters and Helon
Habila’s Measuring Times.
1.7 Justification for
the Study
The
four texts were purposively selected as a result of the relevance of their
thematic thrust to this study. The selected texts for this study are analysed
according to thematic affinity. The choice of the novelists is deliberate
considering the various periods they represent. They are all African authored
texts which x ray the kind of relationship that exists in the family especially
as a result of the economic situation of the society. One cannot rule out the
fact that conflict exist in the family and it will be a misnomer to think that
these conflicts all have negative effects.
1.8 Methodology
The
research method employed for this study is qualitative. The study involved
detailed literary analysis of selected African texts with the aim of
explicating the forms, bases, positive effects of conflict on identified
characters and the socio cultural context in which they are situated. Four
African texts were selected and supported by other secondary materials. The
texts were selected carefully because of the relevance of their thematic
concerns to the study. In addition, the study made use of secondary materials
relevant to the research objectives to form the background, literature review
and the theoretical foundation for the study.
1.8.1 Justification for
the Choice of Selected Texts
The
study undertook a critical analysis of conflict in the selected works of both Nigerian and Ghanaian novelists and
playwright respectively. The four texts chosen for this study were purposively
selected because of their contribution to family relationship in literature.
Very fundamental to this study is the choice of three males and one female:
Chukwuemeka Ike, Joe de Graft and Helon Habila as males and May Nwoye as
female. A text each was taken from each of the novelists and dramatist making a
total of four selected text for the study. The choice of male and female
writers for the study was to project in this research the novelists’ and
playwright gender perspectives to the issue of domestic conflict especially as
it concerns parent and their children. Also three novels and a play were
purposively selected because of the play’s thematic affinity with the selected
novels. Although selection of the text does not portray gender balance, the
research is more concerned about male gendered view on parent-child
relationship.
Periodization
was another strong factor for the choice of the authors of the selected texts.
Chukwuemeka Ike and Joe de Graft represents the first generation authors while
Helon Habila and May Nwoye represents the third generation playwrights, these
was purposively done to explore the fact that domestic conflict as it concerns
parent and their children is a recurrent phenomenon.
1.9 Theoretical
Framework
The
theories for this study will be the post-colonial theory and the
psychoanalytical theory which studies, analyses, explains and responds to the
cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism. It explores the human
consequences of external control and economic exploitation of the people.
1.9.1 Postcolonial Theory
Postcolonial
paradigm in literary interpretation is deeply rooted in the history of
imperialism as well as its resultant self-assertion, struggle for emancipation,
decolonization and contemporary resistance against neocolonialism in former
colonial contexts. As Rumina Sethi (1994:8) puts it, post colonialism became
integral to cultural studies due to its endeavour to reform the institutions of
social democracy by adopting an intellectual and political stance that sought
to counter all imperial designs (Post colonialism: 3). It is therefore not
surprising that Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin define it as “all the cultures
affected by imperial process from the moment of colonization to the present
day” (Empire 2000: 2). As an approach to literary interpretation, Postcolonial
literary theory is a paradigm for the analysis, criticism, and responses to
discourses on colonial and neocolonial issues, especially the struggle for
identity, rights and entitlements in the former colonies of Europe and indeed
all human societies where the challenges of deprivation, inequality and
dispossession exist. This critical paradigm lays emphasis on the need to give
voice to the deprived, dispossessed and marginalized people in the world’s
scheme of things. Whenever a writer portrays issues of inequality within the
nation space in his works with the aim of liberating humans from circumstances
that enslave them, he is termed a postcolonial writer.
1.9.2 Psychoanalytical
Theory
Psychoanalytical
theory on the other hand is a product of incisive intelligence with the basic
principles of continuity between normal and neurotic mental life, the concepts
of the unconscious and of repression, and the language of interpretation that
allowed unconscious mental process to be read through dreams and symptoms.
(Freud 1931: 229). It examines ethical wrongdoing, guilt and the relationship
between bottled up emotions or unconscious repressed aggressive feelings and
violent outburst. This theory helps in the interpretation of characters
actions, desires and behaviours in order to determine, forms, reasons and
effects of such actions or desire. It helps in the analysis of human behaviours
such as urges, desires and anger which are within the realm of the tripartite
psyches of ‘id’, ‘ego’ and the ‘superego’; as propounded by Freud. Freudian
Oedipus Complex defined as the “fateful combination of love for the one parent
and simultaneous hatred for the other as rival (Freud: 1931:229) would be
particularly useful as a tool to test behavioural patterns capable of
engendering emasculation in the selected texts. These two theories are
therefore considered most appropriate for the analysis of this study.
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