With reference to a number of short stories show how the writers present relationship problems encountered by characters due to social and cultural pressures

GCSE English Coursework – Diverse Cultures and Traditions

The writers in the following short stories from diverse cultures present relationship problems encountered by characters due to social and cultural pressures. The social pressures are civil war, poverty, apartheid, and education. The cultural pressures are due to different cultures with different values and beliefs, social standings in society and society’s prejudices and discrimination. The authors of “The Young Couple”, “Country Lovers” and “Veronica” demonstrate all of these issues using a variety of different techniques to highlight the relationship problems. They want to capture the reader’s mind and sympathy and provoke thinking. The reader is invited to form his/her opinion about the issues discussed. The main themes of the stories, as intended by the authors, portray the difference in gender roles, social standing and the influence and pressure of the family.

In “Country Lovers”, by Nadine Gordimer, societal pressures cause the problems between the main characters and their relationship. Thebedi and Paulus cannot be together openly because of the apartheid system. Segregation of society meant that the whites “ruled” the coloured people. Paulus Eysendyk is a privileged farmers son and white. He is rick and is esteemed by others. He is educated. He was a “baasie-little master”. Both he and Thebedi, a black have a childhood relationship that blooms into a more adult one, albeit, a clandestine one “each returned home with the dark – she to her mother’s hut, he to the farmhouse” because of the differences in their race and social status. The relationship results in a baby. However, Thebedi doesn’t tell Paulus and marries Njabulo. Later, Paulus discovers about the baby and tells her “I want to see. Show me”. On seeing the baby, “He struggled for a moment with a grimace of tears, anger and self-pity”. He was consumed by his fear of shame for having a relationship with Thebedi, a black. Such prejudice and fear of society’s view of him prompts him to kill his own child. The foul deed is discovered and he stands trial. “Paulus Eysendyk said he had visited the hut but had not poisoned the child”. The verdict on the accused was ‘not guility’.

The story is told in the third person and the author is critical of the apartheid system, which allows the while to take advantage of the blacks. The conflict between the two races is shown through the use of both long and short sentences and especially animalistic and natural imageries like “Her hands were cold as dead chicken’s feet to his touch”, “the spidery pink hands” of the baby, “it”, “the girl”, “earth-smelling, deep shade”, and “her dark face that was part of the shade”. The sad tone and mood at the start of the story and towards the end ...

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Race and social status biases also figure in the relationship between the next couple. In “The Young Couple” by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Cathy and Naraian are totally from different cultures. Cultural pressures cause their relationship problems. Both are from different ethnic group and social status, thus, accustomed to their own traditions and religions. However, in the Indian society in this story, men are more privileged, but the women are subservient. This gender discrimination causes problems between Naraian and Cathy. Naraian’s male friends do not acknowledge Cathy. “What galled her most of all was their attitude to herself… She felt that her presence was a strain on them”. She felt “slighted” when all Naraian’s friends were doing was showing her “due respect”. Cathy has the burden of living up to her husband’s family name. She is “forbidden” to get a job due to the “family’s background and social standing.” Cathy slides into the doldrums “the endless hours were harsh” and “dry boredom”. All of this led to relationship problems. “Cathy and Naraian began to bicker”. What was acceptable in the past was now unacceptable to both of them. Narian is too caught up with his own dead end pursuit of the ideal job and does not appreciate Cathy’s feelings. A rift began. The rift between the couple is further aggravated by the influence of the family. Naraian’s parents pretend to give the couple independence but slowly and gradually. They take over their lives completely. Cathy didn’t like the “obligatory Sunday lunches”. Moreover, “there was a certain heaviness about the house that weighed on her and made her feel oppressed and sleepy”. She realized that “the trouble was they cared too much” and “everything was the subject of scrupulous family concern, to be pointed out, discussed, wondered at and advised over.” The family closed their snares around them when Naraian “ended up with a job in his uncle’s firm”. Pregnant, Cathy was even more under the control of the family, especially the mother-in-law who employed a cook for them who “took all of his order from the mother-in-law”. The frequent quarrels stemmed also from Naraian’s refusal to view issues from her perspective. The unsolved disputes and the simmering tension are further aggravated by Naraian’s plan to move back to the family house.

The third person limited style used by the author follows Cathy more. The style of short sentences for impact and each paragraph having different topics makes for interesting reading. The overpowering and over indulgence of one culture over another is very prominent in this story. Readers feel sympathy for Cathy and feel the oppressive presence of the family.

Family and family obligations also trap the heroine of the next story. In “Veronica” by Adewale Maja-Pearce, Okeke and Veronica’s relationship problems are caused both by societal and cultural pressures. Veronica chose not to leave the village but instead remained to care for her family. Both characters were caught in an “acute” poverty. They lived in rural districts. Both did not have much choice to leave the village but Okeke soon gained his qualifications. Okeke is influenced and helped by his parents to leave the village for his further study. His parents made it possible for him to attend secondary school in town and he boarded with his uncle. Later a “scholarship to the university” set him on the path to success. His success was considerable as he became a doctor, “went to the city and made good”. He escaped the poverty, Veronica had sunk into the village as she was fending for her family, “my own place is here”. Okeke was not affected by the civil war, however, Veronica had married a man she truly loved, but her life shattered into pieces, Veronica remained behind and she tolerated everything so simply. “Her father was a morbidly suspicious man”, he was a “brute”, and “bringing up the other children had fallen on her” since “her mother was weak”. Later when her father had, “long since stopped beating her in every other respect nothing had really altered”.

This first person narrative follows Okeke’s ominous point of view throughout the story. The writer’s style is simplistic and is appropriate for the story. The tone is very matter of fact, especially the dialogue of Veronica. The reader feels sympathy for Veronica who was oppressed by her family, society and by her own fatalistic views. Her death is testimony of the many innocent girls whose existence and dreams are stifled by poverty and inaction. Veronica says to the end “I don’t want to live, you hear?”

Throughout this essay, I have showed how the writers of the 3 stories show the relationship problems encountered by the characters, they created, due to social and cultural pressures. The different traditions and religions of the characters also add to the tangled webs of their lives. The writers had presented their stories with clarity as they used a variety of different techniques to highlight the problems the characters faced. They have expressed their points well with the use of incisive language, effective structure, precise tone, and appropriate mood. The writer of “Veronica”, Adewale Maja-Pearce was most effective in his objective because he was compassionate in his work. The narrative is very matter of fact, and the shortness of the story and the language ties in with the fatalistic view and mind set of the main character, Veronica.

-Joseph Shin