Grade 12: Neighbours by Tim Winton Questions Answers

  Answer the following questions.

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

Ans: The young couple’s house looked like an elegant cottage because of its high ceiling and paned window despite being of a small size.

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

Ans: In the beginning of their arrival the young couple identified their neighbours to be weird, noisy, unhygienic, and uncivilized. They were cautious of their neighbors because of the cultural and linguistic differences.

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

Ans: The neighbours helped the young couple by offering advice about spacing, hilling, and mulching. Besides, the big woman with black eyes and butcher’s arms gave her a bagful of garlic cloves to plant.

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

Ans: The people in the neighborhood were surprised at the role of the young man and his wife in the family because the young man would stay at home to write his thesis while his wife worked to earn a living. 

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

Ans: The neighbours shared tireless smiles at the young man and woman after her pregnancy. The man in the deli offered them presents of chocolates and cigarettes. Italian women began to offer names, whereas Greek women guessed the gender of the baby. Likewise, the other neighbours accordingly bestowed love and compassion on the young woman.

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

Ans: The young man began to weep at the end of the story because of his neighbour’s love, support, and care for them. They had been waiting outside to cheer for the good news, remaining awake all night. 

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

proper names?

Ans: I think the author did not characterize the persons in the story with proper names because he wants to generalize the characters so that the readers can relate to the characters themselves. On one hand, he focuses on the social values against individualism by not assigning any particular names to the characters. On the other hand, he highlights the incidents and themes of the stories over the persons.

 Reference to the context

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

Ans: This story indeed shows that linguistic and cultural barriers do not create any obstacles in human relationships. Some examples from the story where the neighbours have transcended such barriers are:

  i. The neighbours offering advice about planting vegetables.

  ii. The Polish widower sliding through the fence and rebuilding the henhouse.

  iii. The sharing of cabbage, grappa, and firewood.

  iv. The help of the Macedonian family in slaughtering, plucking, and dressing the ducks.

  v. The concern of the neighbours in the young woman's pregnancy. 

  vi. Their act of waking all night wishing for the well-being of the young woman and her child.

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?

Ans: In my view, the young man found that the depiction of society, human relations, and social values in novels are totally different from real life. As a social being, he understood that an individual should focus on the solidarity of human relations in society rather than just individual interests. In addition, the characters in the novel are fictional and they cannot represent the real people filled with love, compassion, and humanity in the society. Besides, he found that twentieth-century novels always focus on a central character and his/her progression, ignoring the significance of human relations and social collaboration. 

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.

Ans: According to his proverb, neighbours are useful not just in happiness but also in sorrow. Yes, this proverb somehow applies in this story. It is because the young couple gets support from their neigbours in delightful moments like kitchen gardening, gift sharing in the winter, and spring celebrations; and also in a helpless situation like pregnancy. The neighbours were even ready to help in case of the worst situation during the labor, however, nothing wrong happened. Therefore, this Nepali proverb, “Neighbors are companions for wedding procession as well as for the funeral procession”, applies in the story.

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?

Ans: Indeed, the author has dealt with an issue of multiculturalism in the story. Multiculturalism is the way in which a society deals with cultural diversity, which the author has portrayed in this story. I think multiculturalism has become a major issue in the present world because of the national and international migration of laborers, students, refugees, and even common residents. In search of better opportunities, people migrate from one place to another. This scenario creates diverse and multicultural societies all over the globe demanding the society’s involvement in the management of cultural differences. In this context, multiculturalism has become a major issue in the present world.

 Reference beyond the text

a. Write an essay on Celebration of Childbirth in my Community.

Ans:

Celebration of Childbirth in my Community

I live in the middle of a Newari community in Kiritpur. And here, Childbirth is not just a natural phenomenon but a festival that is celebrated with a greater significance. It is celebrated with ecstasy and a wide-open heart. Several rites and rituals are observed following the arrival of a newborn which ensures the involvement of not only the family and relatives but also the entire community. 

Right after the birth, the celebration begins with singing and dancing at the home of the newborn. Relatives and neighbours voluntarily participate in this celebration. Amidst this, a face-watching ceremony is held in which the visitors watch the newborn baby and they give offerings and gifts to it. However, during the initial few days, the mother is not allowed to receive any guests. After six days, the family hosts a ceremony during which time the baby is given a name and a feast is organized to which all the relatives and neighbours are invited. Congratulations and gifts are accepted and the baby is ceremoniously massaged in mustard oil and its eyes are outlined in gajal (soot from an oil lamp and butter) to protect eyes. Along with the feast, people sing and dance with joy to make the celebration memorable. 

These rites vary a little from family to family and culture to culture but the essence is to exhibit joy and happiness wishing for a better future for the newborn child. Childbirth not only adds a member but also hope to the family because it is believed that the newborn child brings good fortune and luck with the birth. Therefore, Childbirth is not just a natural phenomenon but a festival that is celebrated with a greater significance in my community.

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.

Ans: Yes, the people in my community respond with similar reactions upon the pregnancy and childbirth as depicted in the story. The neigbours offer gifts and blessings to the pregnant woman and she is treated with love and care all the time just like the young woman is treated in the story. People also make guesses about the gender of the unborn child. The relatives and neighbours also offer suits for the baby before birth exactly as in the story.