Neighbours by Tim Winton
Neighbours by Tim Winton
Tim Winton, full name Timothy John Winton, (b. 1960) is an Australian author of both adult and
children's novels that deal with both the experience of life in and the landscape of his native
country. He competed with 35 other novelists for The Australian Literary Award presented for
the best-unpublished novel manuscript and won the prize in 1982 for his manuscript An Open
Swimmer. His novels include That Eye, the Sky (1986), Dirt Music (2001), and Breath (2008).
He also wrote several children's books, including Lockie Leonard, Human Torpedo (1990), The
Bugalugs Bum Thief (1991), and The Deep (1998). This story 'Neighbours' has been taken from
Migrants of Australia edited by Harwood Lawler.
Main Summary:
Neighbours is a story about a newly married couple living in a multicultural and multilingual
suburb neighbourhood. It shows that cultural and linguistic barriers cannot stop people from
bestowing love and compassion. Tim Winton's short story "Neighbours" is about a young couple
who have just relocated to a new neighbourhood with several European immigrants. Both the
young couple and their neighbours have prejudices at first because they only see the strange and
sometimes disgusting customs of their new neighbourhood, but after a while, they quickly adapt
to their new surroundings, and the young couple begins to like their neighbours and notice that
they aren't all bad. They discover that they can be friends and that they can assist one another in
their daily lives, resulting in everyone being content with their neighbourhood and their lives.
The author does not name the characters he mentions in the story. Hence, the characters are not
defined, and as a result, they might be viewed as role models for everyone. Before moving, the
young couple resided in the vast outer suburbs.
First, they act as though they are strangers and refuse to speak to anyone. The so-called "young
man" stays at home and prepares his thesis on the evolution of the book in the twentieth century.
The "young woman" is employed by a hospital. After that, the entire neighbourhood begins to
engage with them and offers them assistance. As a result, the young couple is proud of their
neighbours. Even though the couple had not planned for a pregnancy, the young woman becomes
pregnant in the spring, and their neighbours become aware of it after a short time. Everyone is
willing to assist and is courteous.
All of their neighbours are ecstatic and wish them well after the birth of their child. For the
young man, the birth is a marvel, and he learns at the end that the twentieth-century book had not
prepared him for this.
Hence, the story "Neighbours" by Tim Winston demonstrates how immigrant’s may contribute
to Australia's social fabric. Their strong sense of community aids the couple in seeing that
intolerance, prejudice, and discrimination all comes from a lack of knowledge.
Exercise: Question & Answers Class 12 English
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 it had the feel of an elegant cottage thanks to its high
ceilings and paned windows. The young man could see out over the rooftops from his study
window and used car yards the Moreton Bay figs in the park where they walked their dog.
b. How did the young couple identify their neighbours at the beginning of their arrival?
➜ The young couple had a negative impression of their neighbours when they first arrived. Many
things irritated them. The cries and shouts of their neighbours came first, followed by the toddler
urinating in the street and peering at the fence. In addition, the young man despised the
neighbours' involvement with their gardening efforts. Their neighbours were also concerned
about their dog, raised eyebrows when they awoke late, and disapproved of the young man being
at home while his wife worked outside.
c. How did the neighbours help the young couple in the kitchen garden?
➜ Under the watchful eye of their neighbours, the young couple removed trash from their
backyard and ploughed and manured the soil in the autumn. They planted leeks, onions, cabbage,
brussels sprouts, and broad beans, prompting neighbours to approach the fence and provide
suggestions for spacing, hilling, and mulching. The young man was annoyed by the interruption,
but he listened carefully to what was said. Also, the big woman with the butcher's arms handed
her a bag of garlic cloves to plant. In this way, the neighbours helped the young couple in the
kitchen garden.
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?
➜ The neighbours smiled at them nonstop after learning of the pregnancy. The man in the deli
gave her small chocolate gifts and he handed the packages of cigarettes that he kept at home
because he was not a smoker.
Italian ladies began to offer names in the summer. The young woman was stopped on the street
by a Greek woman who pulled her skirt up and felt her belly, assuring her it was destined to be a
boy. The woman next door had knitted the baby a suit, complete with booties and a beanie, by
late summer. The young woman was flattered, claustrophobic, grateful, and irritated all at the
same time.
f. Why did the young man begin to weep at the end of the story?
➜ The young man begin to weep at the end of the story reflects the realisation of the young
couple after the child was born.
It enables the couple to emotionally find their neighbours' support. Also, significant occurrences
like the birth of a child offer the ability to realize shared humanity. The baby had renewed new
perceptions regarding the neighbours, just as described in the prescribed text.
g. Why do you think the author did not characterize the persons in the story with proper
names?
➜ A person's name is both important and unimportant in a multi-cultural community. It's
significant since one's name is usually distinctive, even if it isn't in one's own country. However,
it isn't as crucial because one's ethnic identity appears to be more important than one's name.
The author might want to put the narrative in a general category that refers to similar events.
Furthermore, the author may wish to show that their ethnic affiliations are more essential than
their individuality. Finally, because the story is short, Tim may not want his readers to get too
invested in the characters, preferring instead to show a live panorama of a mixed neighbourhood.
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.
➜ They didn't speak one other's languages and share a similar culture, thus language and culture
didn't seem to play a role in their communication, yet the young couple appeared to have learnt
to shout like their neighbours. After a period of adjustment, the couple figured out how to blend
in. Indeed, the text proves that the linguistic and cultural barriers do not create any obstacle in
human relationships.
The story explains that when the young couple began to grow a garden, it prompted their
neighbours to approach the fence and provide tips on spacing, hilling, and mulching. The couple
decided to build a hen house, which they completed with the assistance of one of their
neighbours, and they were finally equal to everyone else. They even began to invite one other to
dinner parties. These are some of the best examples from the story where the neighbours have
transcended such barriers.
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?
➜ Although the couple had not planned for a pregnancy, the young woman becomes pregnant in
the spring, and their neighbours become aware of it after a short time. Everyone is willing to
assist and is courteous. All of their neighbours are delighted and wish them well after the birth of
their child. For the young man, the birth is a marvel, and he learns in the end that the twentieth-
century novel had not prepared him for it.
In my view, the major differences the young man found between the twentieth-century novels
and human relations are that, unlike characters in novels, humans have to deal with and
overcome a variety of unpredictable and startling situations throughout their lives. Everything
does not go as well in real life as it does in the novel. To overcome these situations, one must
prepare himself in ways that novels cannot teach.
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 procession as well as for funeral procession.” Yes,
this proverb also applies in the story.
When the young couple began to grow a garden, the neighbours came over to the fence and gave
them tips on spacing, hilling, and mulching. The young couple also gave the neighbours some
vegetables in exchange. In addition, when they decided to build a hen house, one of their
neighbours helped them.
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?
➜ Multiculturalism (or ethnic diversity) refers to the presence of diverse cultures in a
community. It is mainly applied to the demographic make-up of a certain place, sometimes at the
organizational level, such as schools, businesses, neighbourhoods, cities, or nations, as a
descriptive phrase.
I think multiculturalism has become a major issue in the present world because along with
making people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds together, it invites various social
problems such as failure to assimilate, ethnic segregation, and adaptation issues such as school
dropout, unemployment, and high crime rates etc.
Reference beyond the text
a. Write an essay on Celebration of Childbirth in my Community.
➜ Childbirth celebration is the ceremony or ritual to celebrate the birth of a child with joy and
happiness. Various communities have various rituals and traditions to celebrate childbirth.
However, In my community, people use to gather at the home of the childbirth and congratulate
their parents and family members. They also celebrate this auspicious occasion by singing,
dancing and eating delicious foods.
Every year, the birth of a child is celebrated with all pomp and show by the community and
friends. To make the birth of a child a memorable and happy occasion, they would cook different
food delicacies and offer them to the elders who are considered as the custodian of our tradition.
They also arrange small gifts and give them to the babies mother and families.
Mothers are treated with a lot of respect and love during their childbirth. They are given the best
care during this period. When a mother is ready to give birth to the child, she would light up diyo
and let it flow on the river to ward off evil spirits. They would even do "antihuman sacrifices" to
make sure that the child is protected. This is a tradition to ensure the well being of the child.
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 people in my community also respond with similar reactions upon the pregnancy and
childbirth as depicted in the story. After knowing about a woman's pregnancy in the community,
community members (especially women) will visit her at her home and spend time discussing
the mother's condition. They also give the woman advice on how to look after her own health as
well as the health of her child during this time.
People in my neighbourhood also shower gifts, chocolates, and clothing on the families of
pregnant women. They also come up with a lot of names for the unborn child, both male and
female.
