THOSE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR - summary– A.G. GARDINER

THOSE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR

– A.G. GARDINER

INTRODUCTION:

Alfred George Gardiner(1865-1946) wrote under the pen-name ‘Alpha of the polugh’ was one of the most famous essayists of the first half of the 20th century. All his essays are thought-provoking though on the surface they appear to be designed merely to entertain the readers. Those People Next Door is typical in this respect pebbles on the shore. He portrays have the theme of ignorance, identity, criticism, selfishness, jealousy and tolerance.

CONTENT:

LONDON city has its inhabitants and people are busy with their domestic chores. Thus people often cohabit as virtual strangers showing the least interest in knowing their neighbours. This trait as mentioned by A.G.Gardiner is being increasingly noticeable in modern towns and cities in all parts of the world.

The ignorance to known people who live next door is a trait which is increasingly shared by city dwellers. The only sound is the noise generated by the fire irons and the piano which indicates that the other human being is occupying the premises. The aloofness in relationship in city dwellers is not to be construed as pride or incivility. It is the peculiar London way of living. Each person guards his or her personal space and does not show any curiosity in knowing the other.

Men have been described as lonely as Oysters each living in their own shell. The life in villages are however different. People in the rural areas are inquisitive to known about their neighbours’ whereabouts and well being. Villagers do not exist as individuals but as a collective social unit. The case of people reveling has been described in great detail. The incident described is of people enjoying themselves by having a party. There are the inmates of the house we also have the guests and the merry making continues till late hours of the morning.

According to Matida she had seen the revelers leave the house in a car at 4o’clock in the morning. Probably the din and bustle created by the neighbours’ was not seen in good light. The question raised is can we fun and frolic at the cost of disturbing our neighbours’ peace? Is it something appropriate and sanctioned by the law or social conventions? The essayist A. G. Gardiner also brings out the fifference between man and man. Each individual is different and very often we take the judgmental route in trying to ascribe reasons for human behavior.

Why do our neighbours sleep so late or wake so early, there is inquisitiveness about dress and way of living. How can our neighbours’ enjoy more of holidays? Why do our neighbours nor dress well or dress so shabbily? The habits of people the friends they associate with, the pets they keep often give credence to our worst fears about our neighbours. However, in most cases our fears do not have any founding are they are merely a figment of our imagination. People also have a tendency to believe the worst about their neighbours.

There are misleading statements and rumor in the air giving inappropriate portrayal of our neighbour’s activities. However, when we happen to meet our neighbours’ personally we find them to be different. There is nothing sinister (threatening) about them and our neighbours’ are human just like us. It is the game of judgment and misjudgment which lends the unfavorable opining giving  rise to prejudices and biases. However, the St John’s Wood case provides a different perspective. On the one hand there were two musicians living in a house imparting lessons to pupils on the piano.

The venture of course was stared to earn a livelihood. The musical notes were construed as creation of noise and disturbance of peace by the neighbor. In retaliation the neighbor banged on tin cans to make things unpleasant for the musicians. In the first case it was effort made to earn an honest living and the musicians did not have the intention of being offensive. This leads to the need of being more sensitive to our neighbors’ needs. We have to learn to respect our neighbors’ sentiments According to the essayist a perfect neighbor is one whom we never hear except when he pokes the fire.