Neighbours

Tim Winton's "Neighbours" is a short story about a young couple who recently married and relocated. They notice many European migrants in their new surroundings. Initially, they are disgusted by what their neighbors do. They are irritated by their neighbors, a Macedonian family and a Polish widower.

They try to avoid them. Their new neighbors do strange and nasty things, which makes them uncomfortable at first. People next door dislike that their dog is outside, or that the young man stays inside while his wife works outside.

People in the young couple's neighborhood eventually assist them. They help with the kitchen garden and henhouse. Now they are content and adore their neighbors. They believe that the people around them are not terrible. They begin to communicate and learn with their neighbors. They are pleased to reside there.

When the young woman becomes pregnant, her neighbors begin to applaud and offer her assistance, gifts, and counsel right away. Everyone in the area is having a great time. The young couple has not gotten used to it. He is taken aback when his neighbors welcome a new baby boy. Finally, the young guy weeps while his neighbors celebrate his baby's birth. He realizes that his opinion about migrants is incorrect.

The story demonstrates that individuals from different countries may coexist peacefully even if they speak different languages, have distinct customs, and live separate lifestyles. Human ties are more valuable than anything else.

Some Important Questions

1. 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?

ans: Multiculturalism (or ethnic diversity) is the presence of different cultures in a community. It is primarily used to describe the demographic makeup of a specific location, but it can also be used to describe organizations such as schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities, or nations.

I believe that multiculturalism has become a major issue in today's world because, in addition to bringing people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds together, it invites a variety of social problems such as failure to assimilate, ethnic segregation, and adaptation issues such as school dropout, unemployment, and high crime rates.

2. The story shows that linguistic and cultural barriers do not create any obstacles in human relationships. Cite some examples from the story where the neighbors have transcended such barriers. 

ans: They didn't speak one other's languages and shared a similar culture, so language and culture didn't seem to play a role in their communication, but the young couple appeared to have learned to shout like their neighbors. After some adjustment, the couple learned how to blend in. Indeed, the text demonstrates that linguistic and cultural differences do not impede human relationships.

The tale goes that when the young couple started growing a garden, their neighbors approached the fence and offered advice on spacing, hilling, and mulching. The couple decided to build a hen house, which they finished with the help of one of their neighbors, and they were now on par with everyone else. They even began inviting one another to dinner gatherings. These are some of the best examples in the story of neighbors overcoming such boundaries.