Island Voices ( June holiday HW )

Paper
"After all, it's just paper gain so far"  (Pg 5)
"You're a show-off , what's so grand about marble flooring and a swimming pool ?" (Pg 3)

The Martydom Of Helena Rodrigues
"Just in case you brought anyone home, dear" (Pg 11)
"She brought him up to believe that to insult his mother's devotion to him was the ultimate blasphemy" (Pg13)

Sundowner
"The British had gone, master-slave relationships over." (Pg 20)
"We'll take Tijah to see the doctor in the hospital" (Pg 23)

Tanjong Rhu
"The veins seemed thicker and greener on her fists, pulsing desperately" (Pg 35)
"Those see-far glasses of yours, can they see Tanjong Rhu ?" (Pg 31)

Evening Under Frangipani
"I don't suppose you have much in the way of soup at home . Difficuit to drink soup with your hands" (Pg 59)
"Treats, treats, that's all you Singaporeans ever think about." " (Pg 72)

Lee
"What's with this loyalty stuff ?" (Pg 96)
"Hey, I'm on hiatus from conventions."(Pg 91)

A Histroy Of Tea
"I studied nineteenth and twentieth century Chinese histroy you know" (Pg 111)
"A storm in the teacup" (Pg 119)

A Dream Of China
"My father is a good man" (Pg 123)
"Whenever he sees anything particularly beautiful he says that's how it is in China . " (Pg 124)

Release
"Yeah , yeah , you're like our dog" (Pg 140)
"Don't give birth to as many as this dog's going to have" (Pg 140)

An Obituary For Fifth Aunt Come Late
"She was my aunt but i didn't make it a point to be her niece" (Pg 149)
"No one is sure or will say how old she was" (Pg 161)

Corridor
"Which means also to say that the man could have been killed any time at all." - pg 167
"And like an answer or a question the warm amber lights in her living-room came on." - pg 175 

Mid Autumn
"Whenever i lose money , it makes me gek sim" (Pg 176)
"If God's eye is on the sparrow , he will provide for her" (Pg 183)

Hamid And The Hand Of Fate
"Hamid is such a good boy" (Pg 195)
"He entrusted his prospects with the opposite sex to his mother, Cik Aminah." (Pg 192)

The Move
"The old lady was vaguely irritated for the first time" (Pg 205)
"Too bad the pomegranate has grown so big." (Pg 205)

Pastime
"The system is too intricate and too cruel" (Pg 220)
"It's a hobby , a pastime , it's not real life" (Pg 220)

Off Centre (June Holiday HW)

5 Memorable Quotes (Off Centre) :
1. "They are jealous because I am special" (Act 2 , Scene 2 , Page 55)
2. "I am strong , nothing can destroy me" ( Act 2 , Scene 2 , Page 58)
3. " Are you a man or not Vinod ?" (Act 3 , Scene 1 , Page 85)
4. "Eh , your boyfriend coward ah ?" (Act 3 , Scene 3 , Page 96)
5. "But I still have to be there for him" (Act 4 , Scene 3 , Page 128)


Questions :
1. In your opinion , how key is the parent-child relationship to Vinod's inevitable end ?
Parent-child relationship is key to Vinod's inevitable end is to a certain extent. Vinod and his parents are not on very good terms as the play only mentioned a little bit about Vinod's parents. From this, Vinod's parents only exist in a very small part of Vinod's life, they do not care much about him all they want form him is to study hard and not to throw their face as Vinod's parents work in some high status job. They do not care about his health. From this it shows that they care over Vinod's health they only care about them hoping Vinod would not ruin their plans for him. After they know that Vinod has mental illness, they did not help. Vinod felt sad as his parents did not care for him and most children in this world hope they were being care by their parents. Vinod did not get any care nor love from his parents. Instead, he got all the bad stuffs like his parents forcing him to study, asking him not to throw their faces and so on. In conculsion, if Vinod got love and concern from his parents, he would not commti sucide. hence, the parent-child relationship is key to Vinod's inevitable end is only to a certain extent. 


2. Vinod's high expectation oh himself caused his downfall." To what extent do you agree with the analysis of Vinod's predicament and tragedy ?
I agree that 'Vinod's high expectations of himself caused his downfall'. When Vinod is around Saloma, he got show off, he wants to impress Saloma. He also sees Saloma as a lost kitten that he has to protect her. Vinod took care of Saloma, he tries everything to help her. As Vinod character is of a strong and not so easily give up type, if he wants to win he will tries hard to get to his goals. Towards the end of the book, he felt that Saloma is the only one who is changing hence he don't want to be left alone. Seeing Saloma, applying job trying her best to be centre. He felt hurt, the feeling of being alone is back, there fore he committed suicide as he felt that he did not reach his goals. He got hurt and he does not want to face reality hence he committed suicide.


3. Discuss the reasons for Saloma's transformation in the play .
Saloma used to be a weak girl at the beginning of the pay where she is afraid of the public but towards to the end of the play she from a lost kitten in Vinod's eye changed to a dependent lady. Her transformation was cause by her friends, family and the society. Firstly, Vinod is always by her side, when things happens. During their first outing at the restaurant, Saloma was afraid of the public and is Vinod who calms her down and help her. Emily also helps Saloma when she was weak and she felt useless by causing so much trouble to her mom. Emily told Saloma to be strong and with Emily and Vinod help, Saloma vision about society had changed. She felt that society was not a bad place after all and thinks that she wants to be normal like every one else. Thus, at the end of the play, she apply for a job in a hospital and applying for her first credit card. As she took her first step to change, she become more centre and she also felt happy. Even though, her mother and Vinod tries to stop her from taking her medicine, she did not listen and she still continues to take them. This, shows that Saloma wants to change and she wants to be normal.  


 4. "Though a minor role in the play , the character Razali is the key to the plot of off centre." To what extent do you agree with this assessment ?
I do not agree with this assement. Razali is like Saloma and Vinod dad always talk to them and gives them advices. He shows love to Saloma  but Vinod, regards him as a guard, a person who have to protect everyone in the community. During the robbery incident, he fails as he did not appeared and help Vinod and Saloma hence, Vinod got angry and blames him for not being there. Vinod got angry because he suddenly felt a lost in him as he always regard Razali to be there for him. But the whole robbery incident had proven everything wrong. Hence, he felt disappointed and he blames Razali. In conclusion, Razali plays a role to help both Vinod and Saloma but he is not a key to the plot of centre. 


5. "Datta , Dayadhvam , Damyata" means to "Give , Sympathise , Control". How did the major characters in the play exert control in their environment and / or their lives ? Support your answer with evidence from the text .
Saloma exerts control in her life even though Mak, and Vinod tried to stop her from taking her medicine. As Saloma felt that they are thinking of medicines was wrong hence she did not listen to them and continues to take them. 


Q6: Based on the text Off Centre, discuss how peer acceptance and family support are vital to social status and mental well-being.
Peer Acceptance and Family Support are very important, life would be aimless and boring hence people who are off centre would felt that they are all alone as they have nobody to lean on.Vinod is afraid of being lonely therefore, he committed suicide. His friends make used of Vinod because he is smart so they could use his literature essay and print his notes. His friends did not call him or visit him when he was in wood bridge, hence, Vinod had this thinking of being used by his friends. Vinod's parents were not there for Vinod when he need them the most therefore, he felt lonely as he did not have the attention he wanted by his parents. While, Saloma, receive love and care from her mother and friend, Emily. Hence, she did not felt lonely. Saloma's mother cares about her. She shows her care for Saloma by asking ehr not to work as she is afraid something might happened to Saloma. Saloma's mother shows her care by using wrong way to express herself as she always scolds Saloma for eating the medicine as she felt that the medicine did not help her and is something evil inside her body that cause her to be off center. Therefore, there are times where Saloma felt hurt by her Mak's actions. As most parents care for their children,  they would do anything to help them. Emily, helped Saloma a lot especially when Saloma felt totally weak. She told Saloma to be strong and nothing would destroy her. From these, we could see that friends supports are very important as these help Saloma to be strong hence, she become normal at the end of the story. in conclusion, friends and family supports are very important. 

literature

Q1. "However, China had nothing to say to my spirit, if indeed land speaks to spirit. My spirit was as alien here as I was. It inclined towards a diamond city of trees and meaningful occupation, efficiently sparkling in the modern world. that was where I truly belonged, among skyscrapers with glass fonts and gold-encrusted orchids."Do you think the reference to Singapore as a "diamond city" is apt? Why or why not? How would you describe your feelings towards Singapore, using imagery you feel suitable?

A: reference to Singapore as a "diamond city" is apt. as he said 'my spirit was as alien here as I was', this meant he could no longer treat China as his 'diamond city' since left there when he was young. And, he feels so much more closer to Singapore and treat it as his 'diamond city' without fail. My feelings towards Singapore would be described as there always many things awaiting for us in our everyday life.

2. "With great grandness, my uncle ordered orange drinks from the waiter. He criticized the glasses as dirty when the drinks arrived and insisted on new ones..... I kept buying him the orange drinks he swallowed with suck relish."Why do you think her uncle behaves in this manner? Do you feel sorry for him or do you regard him with distaste, as his niece does?

A:I think her uncle behaves this way because he had to do all the hard work when he returned to China and suffer all the hardship. He found it unfair and he started to be more demanding from his brother to recoup his losses in the early days. I do not feel sorry for him because it was his job to take charge of the situation and he has no one to blame, but himself. He could have chosen to stay in Singapore and not return to China.

3. "I returned to Singapore alienated from the china I saw, but no less eager to listen to my father's stories of the most beautiful lands."Do you find this contradiction? Why or why not?
A: Yes, I find it contradicting because she did not find what her father said and what she saw was similar, but she still wants to find out more about what her father thinks of China without knowing that China has changed so much until it is no longer the China he knew.

4. "A country is only as good as its men. My father is a good man.... whichever country can clain him as its own."What do you think the narrator means by the first statement? To what extent would you agree that her father is a good man? Give reasons for your answer. Which country, do you think, should claim him for its own?

A: 'A country is only as good as its men.' Its means that whatever the men believes its country, as long as he has confidence in the country, the country will be what the men believes. To a large extent I agree her father is a good man. When he had to send more money to his brother in china, he did not complain and he think it is his job to send money to his brother as he did not help him during the young days. He might feel annoyed by his brother's act, but he did not express it out, for he believed that his brother is still wonderful deep down in his heart. Thus he did not want to spoil his image in front of other people. In my opinion, Singapore should claim him for its own. It's only fair for him to enjoy his life in Singapore but not return to China to work hard again to support his brother

Literature =]

1. Do the respective authors use these traditional Chinese rituals ( eating paper dissolved in drink, burning of paper money and houses, lighting joss-sticks and praying to dead ancestors ) just for irony or for more profound purposes? What are these purposes?

I think that the respective authors used those traditional Chinese rituals for more of profound purposes. The authors could be trying to show the tradition of Chinese rituals to people of other races to tell them that even after out ancestors pass away, we will still pay our respects to them by doing things such as burning paper money and houses and lighting joss-sticks. They are also trying to show to others that Chinese believe that by eating paper dissolved in drinks will help to improve our health.

2. Would you yourself, as a modern young Singaporean, see the relevance of such cultural rituals in your society as necessary still, or are a hindrance to progress and enlightened thinking?

Being a modern young Singaporean, I do find such cultural rituals a little bit of a hindrance as we may have to wake up earlier just to carry out the rituals but I do believe that it is necessary as it is our tradition which we have to pass on down to the future generations so as to keep the cultural ritual alive and it also helps to comfort the older generations as some rituals could be for protection for the ones that they love.

3. Do you think the elderly in Singapore are out of touch with the contemporary world? How far is it a virtue to remain contented like old Mrs Li and think that there is nothing more that a person, especially an elderly one, can want?


I think a minority of elderly in Singapore are out of touch with the contemporary world but a majority of them in touch with the contemporary world. Everyday in our life, we can see some of the elderly using things like handphones, mp3 which shows that they are still in touch with the contemporary world. It is not far a virtue to remain contented like old Mrs Li and think that there is nothing more that a person can want than anyone can achieve that.



4. Is looking back at the past necessarily a good thing? This particular story uses the past to affirm strong ties, emotion and sentiment, but when can it become negative habit?

Sometimes, looking back at the past is a good thing because it helps us to learn from our past mistakes so we won’t repeat the same old mistakes. And the past also have lots of memorable things, nobody would wants to forget those happy moments. But thinking too much for the past may cause us some depression. We may be very upset and we will kind of regret what we did and we will keep scolding ourselves hence, these will lead us to depression and it can become a negative habit by distracting you from work and also it may affect the our life.

Island voices 3

2. Choose five links and write comments of 50-100 words about the content of the blogs.

Pearlyn - http://lit-44-2010-pearlyn.blogspot.com/

The stories she choosen are interesting and have all the points and answers the question very well. i think it will be more perfect if she trying using her own words to answer the questions. beside that, she could also quote more evidences to show the reader where she got her points and it will be easier for the reader to understand what she mean. overall, everything is fine but it would be better if she give examples of and show the difference in the generation's thinking.

Kerene - http://lit-44-2010-kerene.blogspot.com/

There are quite alot of reasons and evidences of why Madam Teo did not welcome the changes in the first place. She could also explain to us, why Madam Teo didn't welcome the change of moving house. beside that, she also has evidences of when Madam Teo started to accept the changes when she is talking to Ah-Pek. She also has example and reasons to show us the changes in her feelings before and after. i find that it would be better if she has given mroe points. overall, she did a very good job.

Juvena's - http://lit-44-2010-juvena.blogspot.com/

I think that it will be more better if juevena could try to add more points and evidences in her answer. She tried her very best to answer the questions and i find that she did a very good job. She could have put in more effort by including the thinking for her daughter, to show a clear difference in the thinking to the olden generation and younger generation.

Genevieve - http://lit-44-2010-genevieve.blogspot.com/

Points are elaborated very well. readers could understand what she is saying. She did a very great job by elaborating the importance of each story. Stories are well elaborated and very detailed. She also got the facts right and she wrote quite long. overall, she did a great job.

TszHo - http://lit-44-2010-wongtszho.blogspot.com/

He is not specific about who the old generation people are, and he has been using alot shortform which is very bad and not very nice for the readers. He could also include the younger generation people like, Beverly and TianYee in his answer, to show the differences in the thinkings between the generation. over all, tszho no short form please! u did kinda great job anyway =)

Island voices 2

1. How is motherhood presented in any two stories in the collection?

Story: Mid-autumn
The narrator worked hard for her daughter hoping that she will have a better future. She raised her daughter on her own. she gave her daughter the best education by sending her to one of the best school in Singapore and also sent her to art, piano and ballet classes at the communtiy centre and she even paid for the her daughter chinese tution. her husband didn't paid because he said when he was young, he didn't went for those classes. her husband also took away twenty-thousand dollars from her joint account and sold the bedok flat which she paid. when she knows about this she thought of running away. when she reached downstairs she felt drips of water and it remind her of her daughter's tear. when her daughter had grown up, she did not repayed her mother left to Uganda,to become a social worker. the narrtor do not like her daughter being a social worker still, she loves her daughter very much and she hopes her daughter would come back and see her. she also treasure the letters that her daughter send her. hence, every mother willing to do lots of things to protect their children and gives the best to their children even sarcrifing their life for them. this shows how motherhood is important.

Story: Paper
even thought the children are obessed with money. the mother play a big part in the story. Tay Soon fall sick as he lost all his money in shares and stocks. when he fall sick, his mother took charge of the situation while his wife, Yee Lian, did not do anything. his mother brewed him chinese medicines and even cal chinese medicine man to come to have a look at him. when he was beyond touch of healing, they sent him to the hospital. his mother also paid for Tay Soon's funeral. she bought him the best thing and gave him the big house that he always wanted. beside that, he also gave him cars and money. the mother play a big part when the child went bankcrupt. this shows how important motherhood is, in the story.

2.Select two stories in which there is conflict between parent and child and show how far there is some resolution of these differences at the end of the story.

Story: Mid Autumn.
the mother's pain and confusion takes place when the daughter decides to leave singapore and work in Uganda as a volunteer. even though the daughter obtained her GP qualifications, she wants to be different from other GPs. she don't want to be characterized like wad other GP who have mobile phones, golf weekends and membership in Club Langkawi. the narrator was very sad as she has go through a very tough life to raise her daughter up hoping she will have a better future.

Story: Lee
Lee comes back to Singapore after her mother death in America. since young, she had been staying with her mom in America. Lee and the father find it difficult to communicate with one another. Lee is rude, inconsiderate and straight foward. she like to insult people of her country and her father hate the way she insulted singaporeans. her father had to tolerate her behavior because he always wanted his daughter to come back to his side.
The resolution between Lee and her dad is when he told her of the story of how the Chinese and Indians had magnificient culture while the Caucasians were still not settled yet. He also told her about how things changed at the end and became that the Westerners were the one who ruled. He told her of how the Chinese and the rest looked like fools.

3. With reference to suitable stories, discuss how far there is change shown to be either welcomed or feared.

Story : Lee.
The relationship between a Singaporean father and his Americanized daughter, the eponymous character he hardly knows and re-enters his life following the death of his ex-wife. the awkward, uneasy relationship between father and daughter dramatizes the clash between the "Asian" and "Western" culture.

Q4. How are young people and their ideals presented in 2 or 3 stories in the collection? How far do you identify with those young people?

Story: Lee
Lee grown up in the States. we can see that the ideals of the young people presented in this story is that Lee, is a person who loves music. This may seem like its only based on one character, we can also identify with the author that youngsters nowadays live for music. This is one ideal of youngsters that is shown in the story. Lee she doesnt feel awkward or bad whenever she shows vulgaric behaviour in public. even when some random guy whistled to her, she immediately flashed him the finger wihout hesitation. Lee's dad who is obviously of a much older generation had to sustain a shock from seeing Lee do that. Lee does not like thinking in the conventional way. This shows the ideal of youngsters nowadays as they do not really think in the same steroetypical way as the older generation. Lee also dresses very casually. People from the older generation thinks that it is very normal and a must for youngsters to know their own dialect. When Lee met with her Grandmother who wanted to speak to Lee but couldnt because they both spoke different languages. This shows that the older generation which does not applies to the younger generation. We, yougsters does not think it is relevant to know much less understand the dialects because the world is changing and it is more important to speak languages that are relevant to the society.
Therefore this concludes the ideals that are presented in the story.

Q5.Choose two stories that reveal the thinking of an older generation of Singaporeans. What new insights have you gained from such a revelation?

Tanjong Rhu

Tanjong Rhu reveal the thinking of an older generation because of the Mr. Li's mother, as known as Ah-ma, shows that people from a older generation has a different thinking. Mr Li, could also be counted as a person from the older generation. Ah-ma, is thrifty, she doesn't want Mr. Li to waste his money, as she knows that she had everything that she need. For her eyes operation, she describe it as having her eyes sliced open. Like a clove of garlic or what, talking about peeling my eyes. People of the older generation also thinks of the past, unlike, modern people, who think of enjoying life and forget that happen in the past. When Ying, Mr.Li's daughter wanted Ba-ba [ ah-ma ] to go with her father, she volunteer to help ba-ba with the praying, but her ba-ba in the end, scold her and asked her stuffs like whether ot not, does she even know how to address her grandfather. Mr. Li also scolded her daughter for holding open her ba-ba [ ah-ma, po-po ] eyes.

ISLAND VOICES

Evening under frangipani

Conflicts:
Prakash’s internal conflict

Pg 47, tried to appear attentive
Prakash and Elaine’s external conflict
Pg 49, better to develop our full potential

Climax:
Pg 62, When Prakash laughed while Elaine and he were making out. Prakash commented about Elaine’s beetle-like-hand. Elaine got offended by the comment. Just because of that comment, the relationship between them changes and they soon realize their ways

Resolution:
Open-ended

They did not the readers why Prakash and Elaine broke up and what causes them to break up.

Characters:
Prakash
He is a nervous-wreck (during job interview, pg 27)

Crude (“very witty,” he said quietly, running the segment through his teeth, pg 57)
conscience about people suffering ( where stranger meet to buy and sell the time of others, pg 50)

Elaine
Casual (wearing light cotton slacks and a loose white t-shirt, pg 51)

Feminine (“ I don’t agree … marriage has got nothing to do with the fulfillment of women ….”, pg 49)
Caring (she had saved it to cheer him up if he was depressed by an aggressive unsympathetic interview and to add to his happiness if the interview had gone more successfully)

Mother
Sarcastic (the mother is sarcastic and unfriendly, pg 58)

Unfriendly (the mother is sarcastic and unfriendly, pg 58)
Judgmental (considered prakash slow and stupid, and imagined him as physically aggressive, worrying that he would bully Elaine out of her depth, pg 83)

The most interesting segment is: Elaine wanted to meet at the park as she wanted to tell Prakash that her parents are going to Malaysia and the whole house would belong to them. While they were talking, Elaine felt that Prakash is sweet when he took out a pamelo and opened it.

Lee

Conflicts:
Lee’s dad internal conflict

Pg 87, felt awkward to be in the car with lee
Pg 88-89, doesn’t like it when lee talks about alau pisoopo.

Climax:
pg 99 When lee finally talked about her mother’s death relating it to a david hockey print.

Resolution
Complete ending

Lee finally did not resent being a Chinese as much as she did before after lee’s dad had said something. Even though, nothing is resolved, lee’s dad was happy and satisfied. The inner Conflicts of his were genes.

Characters:
Lee
Healthy (pg 91, I am interested in health food and stuffs)

Vulgar (pg 90)
Loves criticizing others (pg 95)

Father
Hot tempered (pg 97)
Cultural (pg 103)

Grand mother Cultural (pg99)
Concerned (pg 100)

The most interesting segment was: Lee went to her grandmother’s house for the family reunion and learns about the culture and tradition of her family. It shows how Lee is different from Singaporeans with her westernized culture.

A history Of Tea


Conflicts:
(internal)
The internal conflict is when Beverly said that she is going to China and she looks forward to it. It is despite the fact that she knows that most travellers find the food disgusting yet expensive. (pg 112)
(external)
The external conflict is the opium wars. The Opium Wars broke out with the English ready to go to war to get free trade against the Chinese government, who opposed the trade of opium fearing their addictive and dangerous values. (pg 119~120)

Climax:
The climax began when Beverly mentioned that she was going around Asia. It gave the author of the story something to think about his travels and how he has never gotten a chance to explore Asia. (pg113)

Resolution:
Complete Ending
The conflicts are all resolved and when the narrator opened the lid to his tea, he saw in it all his relatives and his future.

Characters:
Narrator Simple
(Pg 108, He did not use a mug that had complicated patterns on it like Beverly had.)
Good sense of humour (Pg 109, Laughed at a joke, "not my cup of tea")

Beverly Fussy
(Pg 109, she was choosy about the type of tea she liked.)

The most interesting segment is: Beverly talks about her Jewish Boyfriend and about her parents’ objection of their relationship.

4. Release

Conflicts:
Eileen & the Female Neighbour (Pg 140 & 141, The neighbour compared Eileen together with their dog as they were both pregnant , this showed a form of disrepect)
Eileen & her Husband (Pg 140 & 141, Her husband was irritated by the fact that Eileen forgotten to collect his suit)
Eileen & her neighbours (Pg 141, They cut down her guava tree while she was at the supermarket)
Eileen & her neighbours (Pg 142, They moved into theit property when they were away)
Eileen & her husband (Pg 143, Philip was angry over the fact that Eileen were taking trival matters so seriously)

Climax:
(Pg 145 & 146)
When Eileen couldn’t take it anymore , she decided to do something about it , she decided to wait for the person who gave the dogs their food , to do something to solve the problem .

Resolution:
Open ended The problem is only partially solved. It is only partially solved because, the dogs are quiet now, but they are already dead as the man used the tools to kill them.

Characters:
Eileen
Friendly (Pg 139, She went over to say hi to her new neighbours when they were moving in)
Petty (Pg 142, Her neighbour only intruded a small section of her garden and she became all furious and agitated)
Patient (Pg 144, She talks and rock her baby even though it keeps crying)

Philip
Petty (Pg 141, Just because it slipped Eileen’s mind to collect his suit , he became angry)
Understanding (Pg 143, He was telling Eileen to let their neighbours to have that tiny bit of space since they don’t do gardening anyway)

The man who took care of the dogs
Kind (Pg 146, He offered to carry Eileen’s baby , and he even stroked the baby’s cheek)
Understanding (Pg 147, He agreed to shift the dogs to another place , to help Eileen solve her problem)
Evil (Pg 148, He killed the puppies one by one to silence them)

The most interesting segment is when Eileen got very angry with the dog’s noise. She could not take it any longer, so she phoned the police for help and even thought of calling SPCA to help resolve the problem. Getting the police involved in such a trivial matter is uncommon. She was showing signs that she was slowly becoming mad because all she wanted is to let her baby and her catch some sleep.
5. An obituary for fifth aunt come late

Conflicts: External conflict
Between the aunt and her father. When the aunt was sick during her childhood years, her father lost patience with her and did not feel it was right to spend the family fortunes to cure her when he should be spending it on his boys.

Climax:
Pg 156, when the Japanese forces invaded and occupied Singapore. It added excitement to the story and change the lives of the main characters in the story.

Resolution:
Complete resolution: the aunt has lived a full and fulfilling life despite some setbacks. And at the end, she died peacefully, knowing that her life she lived is not quite fortunate compared to the lives of people who lived today.

Characters:
Aunt
Obedient (pg 152, she always did the chores her parents assigned her)
Hardworking ( pg 149, she helps the author’s grandma by doing chores)
Dress maker Kind-hearted ( pg 158, he told aunt not to go to work on realizing the soldier’s intentions)
Welcoming ( pg 157, offered tea to the Japanese occupiers’)

Aunt’s parents
Old Fashioned ( pg 151, they prefer to have son)
Caring ( pg 153, sent aunt to another family for a better life)

The most interesting segment is: when aunt joined another family, it is pretty much the start of a new life and a lot of unexpected things happen from this point until the end of the story. It made the reader wonder whether aunt will finally be treated fairly or she will still be treated when she was with her old family.

 Pastime

Conflicts :
Mr Lee & Tai Poh (External)
There was a psychological conflict as they try to trick each other into admitting to something.
Mr Lee & Tai Poh (Internal)
Mr Lee was laughing on on the inside as he thinks that he thinks that Tai Poh has failed in trying to fool him .

Climax :
The start of the climax is when Mr. Lee started on his own “Story”

Resolution :
Nothing changed as its just a story, it was just a past time and nothing was real .

Characters:
Tai Poh
Quiet (Pg 212, He did not talk to the passengers nor disturb them in any way)
Observant (Pg 212, He watched and carefully considered before he picked the person to feature in his story)
Secretive (Pg 217, He stopped to check his face , it betrayed nothing nor let anyone know anything through his face expressions)

Mr Lee
Vigilant (Pg 216, He was prepared)
Cunning (Pg 217, It betrayed nothing and he expected it, he was not simple minded. After living through so many years this way, he could not be simple minded.
The most interesting segment is: Mr Lee decided to tell Tai Poh his own story which he made. This made the reader more hooked to the story.