Most short stories deal with issues, which are common to humans in conflict. The short story that I have studied "And no Birds Sing" by H.E Bates helped develop my understanding of these conflicts through the conflicts described in the story; materialistic parents, freedom and the need to be loved.
This short story dealt with the issue of materialistic parents who think that money is everything and that money can buy happiness and love. This is challenged through the daughter, who is unhappy at home, when she meets Mr. Thompson who has no need for material possessions except for the few that he owns. As the girl says in the story "the only utensils Mr. Thompson seemed to possess were the spoon, the knife, the Billy-can, the coffee tin, a cup, an old blue plate and a kettle." This is an amusement to the girl because at home the material possessions are so important and those are the values she has grown up with. Though the girl has no wish for these material possessions she only wishes for love and affection from her parents and that they don't work as much, but the girls parents don't know how to define the difference between needs and wants and so they think that they are giving their daughter all the love she needs through these possessions and money. Her parents are money driven like many families; they don't understand the neglect ion of love they are imposing on their children.
Another issue in this story is the lack of love and attention that the parents show their daughter. The girl is familiar with her parent's tiredness and tempers and knows that if she annoys her parents that her father will hit her or threaten her. Simply asking her father questions annoys him, as he says, "stop jawing. I"ll mark you if you don't stop jawing." But when the girl is with Mr. Thompson, he being continually caring and friendly surprises her. The girl compares her father to Mr. Thompson, through the faces and what she reads from them.
