Читать книгу Landscapes of short stories for Gr 10 Second Additional Language - Blanche Scheffler - Страница 5

A note about the theme

We do not live in isolation, but are part of a family, a group of friends, a team, a community, a nation, and in the final analysis, we are members of the human race. We are friends, acquaintances, colleagues, opponents, care-givers; we may even be enemies, depending on the different situations we find ourselves in. Our interactions with others range from being close, intimate and friendly on the one hand, to distant, uncaring or aggressive on the other hand. In other words, we form several different relationships with the people with whom we come into contact. How we relate and respond to them is often determined by our own personality, our attitude towards them or a particular issue, or the value system we believe in. Even a particular circumstance or event may influence a relationship.

The stories in this section take the reader through a landscape of personal relationships as characters respond in varying ways to each other in given circumstances. You will come across a variety of characters who experience friendship, love, longing, loneliness, disappointment, misunderstandings or difficulties that influence how they feel and what they do. The writers take you on a journey of discovery, placing markers (for example, by using contrast, dialogue, description) along the way as their plots develop. Depending on the writer’s purpose, characters are one-dimensional in a simple story; or more complex, revealing their thoughts and feelings; or leave you to work out for yourself what makes the character ‘tick’ or a relationship work or collapse.

Take a close look at the way in which these things influence the relationship in each narrative: is it a straightforward progression from point A to point B? Or do the characters experience difficulties along the way – and what causes them?

Some of these stories will challenge you to ‘read between the lines’. If you do, you will not only be entertained, but may gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of personal relationships.