Questions and Answers of the story Neighbours by Tim Winton

 

Questions and Answers of the story Neighbours by Tim Winton

Setting

The ‘setting’ generally refers to the time and place when and where the story takes place. The setting of the story, ‘Neighbours’ leads the readers to a multilingual and multicultural society, a diverse community with migrants from several countries. The street is full of European migrants. People, who do not have mutual intelligibility, are living as neighbours. The Moreton Bay figs in the park can be seen from the house of the newly-weds. It sets the natural sites of the place. The location is an expansive outer suburb where the main characters of the story dwell. The story offers the scene of autumn, winter and spring. The dwellers’ seasonal activities reflect their lifestyle and spiritual height. 

Understanding the text

Answer the following questions.

a.      Describe how the young couple’s house looked like.

The young couple’s house was small but its high ceilings and paned windows gave it the feel of an elegant cottage. The rooftops and used car yards the Moreton Bay figs in the car park could be seen from the study.

 

b.      How did the young couple identify their neighbours in the beginning of their arrival?

The couple identified their neighbours as irritating people in the beginning of their arrival. They couldn’t comprehend for six months whether their neighbours were murdering each other or merely talking. The sounds of spitting and washing and daybreak watering came as a shock. Speaking from their perspective, good neighbours were seldom seen and never heard in the suburbs.

 

c.       How did the neighbours help the young couple in the kitchen garden?

The young couple started planting vegetables such as leeks, onions, cabbage, beans and so on under the open gaze and measured gaze of the neighbours. The neighbours couldn’t stand watching what they were doing. They came to the fence and offered advice about spacing, hilling and mulching. A big woman with black eyes and butcher’s arms gave the young woman a bagful of garlic cloves to plant.

 

d.      Why were the people in the neighbourhood surprised at the role of the young man and his wife in their family?

The people in the neighbourhood surprised at the role of the young man and his wife in their family because their role was just opposite of what had been expected and practiced in the society, i. e. female doing household work and male going out for earning. The young man worked steadily at his thesis and cooked dinner for his wife. His wife worked in a hospital and told him stories of patients and hospital incompetence. They no longer walked with their eyes lowered. They felt superior and proud when their parents came to visit and to cast shocked glances across the fence.

 

e.       How did the neighbours respond to the woman’s pregnancy?

The neighbours responded differently and positively to the woman’s pregnancy. They smiled tirelessly at them. The man in the deli gave her small presents of chocolates and him packets of cigarettes. Italian woman began to offer names. Greek women stopped the young woman in the street, pulled her skirt up and felt her belly, telling her it was bound to be a boy. The woman next door had knitted the baby a suit, complete with booties and beanie. The Polish widower offered wood scraps for their fire.

 

f.        Why did the young man begin to weep at the end of the story?

The young man began to weep at the end of the story because of the unexpected positive attitude of his neighbours to him. Only at the end, he realized his mistake in his opinion towards his neighbours. The neighbours attempted to help manage pregnancy even in the condition that the young couple didn’t want. They appreciated the woman and showed their constant concern about her pregnancy and safe delivery. Even at the dark and late night the birth was attended as a small queue of neighbours looked, cheering on the Macedonian side of the fence. This made the young man weep.

 

g.      Why do you think the author did not characterize the persons in the story with proper names?

I think the author’s intention was to generalize the case. He discussed the lifestyle of people living in a multilingual and multicultural community not about a particular couple like the newly-weds. The main argument is that cultural and linguistic differences bring complication among neighbours. There were many people coming across the obstacle in terms of language, tradition and culture like the couple was doing. The couple is just a representative of such people of that diverse community.

 

Reference to the context

 

a.      The story shows that linguistic and cultural barriers do not create any obstacle in human relationship. Cite examples from the story where the neighbours have transcended such barriers.

The central idea of the story lies in the statement “linguistic and cultural barriers do not create any obstacle in human relationship”. There may not be mutual intelligibility among the residents in a multilingual community. Despite linguistic differences, there can be strong spiritual ties between neighbours. Spiritual height crosses linguistic and cultural differences. They do not understand each other’s language but they understand each other’s sorrow and hardships. They learn to live in harmony irrespective of their culture, tradition and languages.

 

In the story the young man and the woman built a henhouse which immediately fell down. The neighbours watched it. The Polish widower slid through the fence uninvited and rebuilt it for the couple. But they could not understand a word he said. This is a vivid example of transcending linguistic barrier by the neighbours. The way Macedonian family talk, Macedonian’s disapproval at the young man’s staying home to write thesis and preparing dinners while his wife worked in a hospital, the little boy urinating in the street, the Polish widower hammering nails into wood only to pull them out again and so on really irritated the young couple. Such irritation and feeling of disturbance are due to cultural differences. The newly-weds fail to understand their neighbors’ lifestyle. Such behaviour was their way of life. It was automatic rather than deliberate. Such misunderstanding was the result of cultural differences. In spite of cultural differences, the young couple experienced unexpected positive attitude of their neighbours towards their every adversity. The birth was attended even at dark late night. The neighbours’ constant help, concern and kindness to the young couple irrespective of their culture and language proves linguistic and cultural barriers do not create any obstacle in human relations.

 

b.      The last sentence of the story reads “The twentieth-century novel had not prepared him for this.” In your view, what differences did the young man find between twentieth-century novels and human relations.

The young man worked steadily at his thesis on the development of the twentieth-century novel. He wasn’t prepared for his wife’s pregnancy and didn’t spend a minute to understand their neighbours. When labor came abruptly, he abandoned the twentieth-century novel for the telephone. His wife struggled with the pain. Midwife came and helped her for safe delivery while he ran about making statements that sounded like queries. Going outside for more wood, he saw, in faces in each fence. He counted twelve faces. The Macedonians family waved and called out what sounded like their best wishes.

 

The neighbours were their well-wiser but the couple failed to notice it. The young man was busy writing twentieth-century novel. His concern was on writing thesis. He did not bother to understand the neighbours. He found them shocking. Despite their help and positive attitude, he didn’t change his mind about the neighbours. When he was in extreme difficulty. i.e., his wife was in labour, he realized the importance of the neighbours who stood at fences to give him best wishes and to cheer him after having baby. Such activity of the neighbours added him courage. He did not feel that he was alone even at late night. Presence of neighbours at fences developed some sort of sense of security.

 

University offers technical knowledge but community or society offers practical knowledge. The young man found that human relations is stronger than adversity. The twentieth-century novel had not prepared him for his wife’s safe delivery. Knowledge gained from the study no longer helped him for managing birth. The young man realized the fact that human relation is minimum requirement of life in the hardships and even at ease.

 

c.       A Nepali proverb says, “Neighbours are companions for wedding procession as well as for funeral procession.” Does this proverb apply in the story? Justify.

The proverb, “Neighbours are companions for wedding procession as well as funeral procession” evokes the importance and necessity of neighbours. Neighbours are needed at the moment of difficulty and also at ease. Wedding procession refers to not only joining wedding but also other blissful situations when people enjoy or find it pleasant. So is the case of funeral procession. Funeral procession indicates sorrow and hardships as well. It refers to the situation when people need supports, help and accompaniment.

This proverb applies in the story, ‘Neighbours’. Though the neighbours are living through linguistic and cultural differences, they gathered at each fence uninvited to know about the delivery, to wish good luck and to cheer. They showed their full concern about the young woman’s pregnancy and for managing birth. The neighbours stayed until late night.

The neighbours were curious about every activity of the newly-weds. They offered advice for kitchen gardening, offered names for the baby who was waiting to be born. They predicted it to be a son, gave the couple presents, some knitted clothes for the unborn baby. The birth was attended and celebrated despite linguistic and cultural barriers. The author is able to reveal the true meaning of human relations among neighbours.

 

d.      The author has dealt with an issue of multiculturalism in the story. Why do you think multiculturalism has become a major issue in the present world?

The term, ‘multiculturalism’ simply refers to the existence of two or more cultures in a community. Multiculturalism is one of the major issues in the present world. It has been created due to the trend of migrating people to different parts of the world and also due to formation of technology led global village. If one migrates, his culture also migrates with him/her. One of the major arguments is that today’s human must be able to adjust in a multicultural and multilinguistic community. People migrated to different countries and also different parts of a country are living through linguistic and cultural differences but they are not deprived of accompaniment. Human relations exist everywhere irrespective of their language, culture, nationality, religion and origin. Linguistic and cultural barriers can’t stop people sharing hardships and happiness. Human relation is stronger than differences. This is evident in the story ‘Neighbours’ where residents having different linguistic and cultural background enjoying mutual help. Every neighbour is willing to help the young couple though they don’t understand each other’s language. But there is some sort of misunderstanding between the couple and the neighbours particularly the Polish widower and the Macedonian family.

 

The author attempts to convey the message that modern people must learn to live through differences. Multiculturalism is everywhere. People migrated to different countries for better facilities, quality education and employment. They must be adjusted sooner or later to the existing culture like the young couple accepted their neighbours at the story. Adjustment is one of the requirements of migrated ones. Technology has created a global village. People have been brought onto the same ground in one or another way. Only cultural adjustment ensures digestion of differences.