The Young Couple by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Country Lovers by Nadine Gord

â€Å"The Young Couple† by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, â€Å"Country Lovers† by Nadine Gordimer and â€Å"Veronica† by Adewale Maja-Pearce 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 â€Å"The Young Couple†, â€Å"Country Lovers† and â€Å"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 â€Å"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 â€Å"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 â€Å"baasie-little master†. Both he and Thebedi, a black have a childhood relationship that blooms into a more adult one, albeit, a clandestine one â€Å"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, Th... ..., 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 â€Å"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.