Summary of Neighbours by Tim Winton | Class 12 English
Neighbours by Tim Winton Summary Class 12 English
Tim Winton, full name Timothy John Winton (born 1960), is an Australian author of adult and children's novels about his own country's experience and geography. He competed against 35 other authors for The Australian Literary Award, which is given to the finest unpublished book manuscript, and won it in 1982 for his manuscript An Open Swimmer. That Eye, the Sky (1986), Dirt Music (2001), and Breath are among his novels (2008). He also penned a number of children's novels, including Lockie Leonard, Human Torpedo (1990), The Bugalugs Bum Thief (1991), and The Deep Blue Sea (1993). (1998). This story, 'Neighbours,' was adapted from Harwood Lawler's book Migrants of Australia.
Short Summary:
A young couple who recently moved into a new house is the subject of Tim Winton's short tale "Neighbours." They were originally worried since there were many immigrants living in their neighborhood. A Macedonian family was screaming to the right, and a Polish widower was hammering nails into the board. The young couple found it odd. On the other side, the Macedonians felt it strange that the young guy worked on his thesis at home while his wife was at work. When the young couple started growing veggies in the fall and the neighbors volunteered to help, things started to change. The young man tried to build a henhouse, but it didn't work.
The widower from Poland rebuilt it without being invited. During the winter, the young couple reciprocated their neighbors' smiles. In the spring, the Macedonian family showed them how to slaughter, and the couple learned that the lady was pregnant. The young couple was unaware of it, but it was spotted by the neighbours. They were overjoyed as they presented them with gifts. When the baby was born, the entire neighbourhood came out to welcome and wish the young couple well. At this time, the man realized he had been harbouring biases his whole life and began to cry. He felt that writing his thesis had not fully prepared him for real-life situations.
Main Summary: Analysis and Intrepretation
Neighbour is a story about a newly wedded couple who live in a multicultural and multilingual community. It demonstrates that cultural and linguistic differences cannot prevent individuals from expressing love and compassion. The short tale "Neighbours" by Tim Winton is about a young couple that has recently moved to a new neighborhood with other European immigrants. Both the young couple and their neighbors have prejudices at first because they only see the strange and sometimes disgusting customs of their new neighborhood, but after a while, they quickly adapt to their new surroundings, and the young couple begins to like and notice that their neighbors aren't all bad.
Everyone becomes happy with their neighborhood and their life as they learn that they may be friends and help one another out in daily activities. Characters mentioned in the narrative are not given names by the author. The characters may be seen as role models for everyone because they are not clearly defined. The young couple had lived in the vast outer suburbs before moving.
They first behave strangely and refuse to engage in conversation. The so-called "young man" remains at home and works on his thesis on how books changed throughout the 20th century. The "young woman" works for a medical facility.
After that, everyone in the neighborhood starts interacting with them and offering to help. The young couple is therefore pleased with their neighbors. The young woman gets pregnant in the spring despite the fact that the couple had not planned for a pregnancy, and their neighbors learn about it soon after. Everyone is nice and eager to help.
After the birth of their child, all of their neighbors are thrilled and send them their best wishes. The young guy views birth as a wonder and discovers at the conclusion that the book from the twentieth century had not adequately prepared him for this.
As a result, Tim Winston's short tale "Neighbours" illustrates how immigrants may strengthen Australia's social fabric. The couple's deep sense of community helps them recognize that ignorance is the root cause of all hatred, prejudice, and discrimination.
Exercise of Neighbours by Tim Winton: Question & Answers | Class 12 English
Understanding the text and Answer the following questions.
a. Describe how the young couple’s house looked like.
➜ Although the young couple's home was tiny, its high ceilings and paned windows gave the impression of a beautiful cottage. The young guy could view used car lots and Moreton Bay figs in the park where they walked their dog from the window of his study, which overlooked the roofs.
b. How did the young couple identify their neighbours at the beginning of their arrival?
➜ When the young couple initially moved in, they had a poor image of their neighbors. They became agitated by several things. The kid peeing in the street and staring at the fence came first, then the cries and yells of their neighbors. The young man also disliked the neighbors helping them with their gardening. Their neighbors expressed disapproval of the young guy being at home while his wife worked outside, expressed worry about their dog, and raised eyebrows when they arose late.
c. How did the neighbours help the young couple in the kitchen garden?
➜ The young couple cleared their backyard of rubbish, tilled the soil in the fall, and manured it all under the careful eye of their neighbors. Leeks, onions, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and broad beans were planted; this prompted neighbors to approach the fence and provide advice on mulching, hilling, and spacing. Despite being irritated by the interruption, the young guy paid close attention to what was being stated. A bag of garlic cloves was also given to her by the large lady with the butcher's arms to plant. The young couple received assistance from the neighbors with the kitchen garden in this way.
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 were surprised at the role of the young man and his wife in the family because of the late hour at which the newcomers got up in the mornings.
Their neighbours were also shocked by the young man’s decision to stay at home and write his thesis while his wife worked.
e. How did the neighbours respond to the woman’s pregnancy?
➜ After hearing about the pregnancy, the neighbors couldn't stop grinning at them. Small chocolate presents were given to her by the deli owner, and he also handed her the packages of cigarettes he kept at home because he did not smoke.
In the summer, Italian women started to suggest names. A Greek woman approached the young woman on the street, pulled up her skirt, checked her tummy, and told her it was going to be a boy. By the end of the summer, the woman next door had crocheted the infant a suit, complete with booties and a cap. The young woman felt simultaneously charmed, constricted, appreciative, and furious.
f. Why did the young man begin to weep at the end of the story?
➜ The young guy starts to cry at the story's conclusion, reflecting the young couple's realization after the baby was born.
It helps the couple to discover their neighbors' support on an emotional level. Significant events like the birth of a child also provide the opportunity to recognize our common humanity. The infant had fresh, unique perspectives on the neighbors, precisely as it was stated in the required paragraph.
g. Why do you think the author did not characterize the persons in the story with proper names?
➜ In a multicultural society, a person's name may be both significant and inconsequential. It matters because a person's name is often recognizable even when it isn't in their own nation. It isn't as essential, though, because one's ethnic identification seems to matter more than their name.
The writer could wish to classify the story in a broad category that alludes to related occurrences. The author may also want to demonstrate that their ethnic heritage is more important than their uniqueness. The tale is brief, so Tim would not want his audience to become very attached to the people. Instead, he can choose to present a live panorama of a mixed-race neighborhood.
Reference to the context
a. The story shows that linguistic and cultural barriers do not create any obstacle in human relationship. Cite some examples from the story where the neighbours have transcended such barriers.
➜ The young couple seemed to have picked up the habit of shouting like their neighbors, despite the fact that they didn't understand each other's languages and came from comparable cultures. The pair eventually mastered the art of blending in after some period of adjustment. In fact, the book demonstrates that differences in language and culture do not pose a barrier to interpersonal connections.
The young couple started a garden, which led their neighbors to approach the fence and provide advice on spacing, hilling, and mulching, according to the account. The couple made the decision to construct a hen coop, which they managed to finish with the help of one of their neighbors and became ultimately on par with everyone else. Even started inviting each other to dinner gatherings. These are some of the greatest instances from the tale when neighbors have overcome such obstacles.
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 woman falls pregnant in the spring despite the fact that the couple had not planned for a pregnancy, and their neighbors learn about it soon after. Everyone is nice and eager to help. Following the birth of their child, all of their neighbors are happy for them and send their best wishes. The young guy views the birth as a wonder and discovers at the conclusion that the novel from the twentieth century had not adequately prepared him for it.
I believe one of the main distinctions between human connections and the books of the 20th century that the young man discovered is that, in contrast to fictional characters, real people have to cope with and overcome a range of unanticipated and frightening events throughout their lives. In reality, things do not always run as smoothly as they do in the book. One must mentally and emotionally prepare for these circumstances in ways that books cannot.
c. A Nepali proverb says “Neighbors are companions for wedding procession as well as for funeral procession.” Does this proverb apply in the story? Justify.
➜ “Neighbors are companions for wedding processions as well as for funeral procession.” Yes, this proverb also applies in the story.
The neighbors approached the fence as the young couple started a garden and offered advice on mulching, hilling, and spacing. In return, the young couple offered the neighbors some veggies. Additionally, one of their neighbors assisted them when they chose to construct a hen house.
They invited each other to dinner and shared a lot of information. Also, the excitement of the young woman’s pregnancy was shared by everyone in the neighbourhood.
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 existence of several cultures in a society is referred to as multiculturalism (or ethnic diversity). It is frequently used as an organizational term, such as schools, companies, neighborhoods, cities, or countries, to describe the demographic composition of a certain location.
I believe that multiculturalism has grown to be a significant problem in the modern world because, in addition to bringing people from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds together, it also invites a number of social issues like failure to assimilate, ethnic segregation, and adaptation problems like high rates of school dropout, unemployment, and crime, among others.
Reference beyond the text
a. Write an essay on Celebration of Childbirth in my Community.
➜ A childbirth celebration is a ceremony or ritual that is performed to joyfully and joyfully commemorate the birth of a child. To commemorate delivery, diverse cultures have different ceremonies and traditions. But in my neighborhood, people used to congregate at the birthplace to congratulate their parents and other family members. They also sing, dance, and enjoy excellent cuisine as they commemorate this important event.
The neighborhood and friends celebrate a child's birth every year with much fanfare. They would prepare various food specialties and gift them to the elders, who are regarded as the custodians of our culture, in order to make the birth of a child a memorable and joyful occasion. They also prepare little presents and present them to the infants.
During childbirth, mothers receive a lot of respect and affection. During this time, they receive the greatest care possible. In order to ward off bad spirits, mothers would fire diyo and let it flow on rivers as they prepared to give birth to their unborn children. Even "antihuman sacrifices" would be performed to ensure the safety of the child. This is a custom to protect the child's welfare.
b. Do the people in your community respond with similar reactions upon the pregnancy and childbirth as depicted in the story? Give a couple of examples.
➜ Yes, the pregnancy and delivery described in the narrative elicit comparable responses from members of my community. Community members (particularly women) will visit a lady at her house after learning about her pregnancy and spend time talking with her about the mother's situation. They also provide the mother suggestions on how to maintain both her own and her child's health during this time.
The relatives of expectant women are also showered with presents, candy, and clothing in my neighborhood. They also come up with a ton of names, both male and female, for the unborn child.
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