I Stand Here Ironing (Task 1)

Answer the following questions after reading this text:

1. Who is the narrator in this story? What is the point of view (first person, limited omniscient narrator, omniscient narrator, interior monologue)?
2. Who does the narrator seem to be addressing?  (That is, who is the “you” in the first sentence of the short story?)
3. How old was the mother when she gave birth to Emily, her daughter?
4. What situation was the young mother in?
5. In what ways does the mother try to follow the advice of experts? What are the results of following the advice of experts?
6. What has been the relationship between the woman’s daughters, Emily and Susan? Why?
7. The mother reviews the many hardships her daughter Emily suffered:  lack of a father’s presence in her early years, a mother distracted by work and poverty and then by other children in the home, sibling rivalry, unpopularity at school, childhood diseases that separated her from her family. How have these hardships affected Emily?
8. What talent has Emily discovered she has?
9. How does the mother decide to respond to the request to go to the school to discuss her daughter?  What justifies her response?
10. What do you think the iron and ironing board symbolize in this story?

(taken from http://www.anitagale.com/classes/ctc/1302-summer/Olsen_I_stand_here_ironing.pdf)

The Disappearance (Part 1)

Read the following short story and answer the questions that follow:

    Page 1                                      Page 2

    Page 3 (Click to read)

     Page 4                                     Page 5

    Page 6

1. Does the title hint at anything ominous? How?
2. The father does not give any indication to the son that his mother is coming back. Why is that so? Do you think it is acceptable to tell a white lie?
3. Do you think the saying 'out of sight, out of mind' summarises this short story? How?
4. Do Americans and Indians share the same values? Explain.

The Jade Bracelet (Part 2)

There are eight pages in this short story written by Mary Frances Chong. To read,  click on each page to enlarge it unless you have bionic eyes.

The Jade Bracelet (Part 1)

I would like all of you to answer the following questions and publish them to your blogs as you go through the text:

The meaning of the jade bracelet

1. What is the relationship between Mrs Wong and Mrs Lee?
2. Is Mrs Wong a filial daughter? Give three reasons.
3. What is Ah Kow's real name? How is he related to the dying woman in the short story?
4. Why is Sam Poh Tong mentioned in the short story?
5. What do you think the jade bracelet symbolises? Give your reasons.
6. Do you think Siew May is naive? Cite your reasons with quotations.
7. Did Siew May get the jade bracelet in the end? Why?
8. Do you like the story? Why?

So so Serendipitous

Incidentally, one of the members in this group is celebrating his birthday today. As luck would have it, his name rhymes with, you guess it, luck. It is also serendipitous that his age is eighteen, which brings to mind the Chinese song 十八姑娘一朵花.

During class this morning, he appeared dispirited. When I was informed of his birthday by his classmates, I thought they were pulling my leg. After all, he had every reason to be grateful unlike the protagonist in Birthday. To be remembered is better than to be forgotten. I guess his joy was slightly marred by the fact that he couldn't feast on anything--it is the month of Ramadan after all. 

Perhaps when he breaks his fast, a smile would be imprinted on his face. The food may satisfy his cravings but all that counts for nothing if it is not shared with the people that he loves. So on this blessed day, may he be blessed with long life. Here's a peach:

Birthday (Part 5)

Speaking Task

Imagine you are Uncle Teng and you feel disappointed about the spilling incident. What will you tell your parents upon reaching home? You might include the following in your conversation with your parents:

• your initial perception of the girl
• your perception of the grandmother
• your perception of C.B
• your plans after the accidental spill

Make a recording of your conversation and post it in your blog. The recording should be about 4 minutes long. If you find it difficult to speak off-hand, you can write out the conversation first. Once you are happy with your recording, you can upload it here and embed it in your post.

Birthday (Part 4)

One of the dangers in talking about cultures is the tendency to fall into stereotypes. In order to avoid that, there is a need to support the said argument with evidence taken from a reliable source. If that is not possible, then tentative words should be used. As I was going through the posts pertaining to Birthday written by Lee Kok Liang, some questions came to mind:

• Were women then supposed to get married by the age of 18?
• Eighteen is an ideal age for marriage for a girl which was made into a song 十八姑娘一朵花. However, it is not always possible to attain the ideal.

•  Is the protagonist clumsy?
• Granted, the protagonist spills the curry. Are there any other instances to show that she is a bumbling bumpkin? It is important to justify her 'clumsy' act.
• Who branded her as 'clumsy'?

• Is the protagonist lonely?
• The first paragraph hints at her desire to have a child of her own. Does wanting something mean that one is lonely? Is there any indication throughout the story that shows her loneliness?

• Do the Chinese believe in arranged marriages?
• Could that be the case in the past? And is the notion of an arranged marriage confined to the Chinese community?

Birthday (Part 3)

Lee Kok Liang in this short story shows the fate of a 25-year-old unmarried girl. In just one paragraph, much can be gathered as shown in the following:

Twenty-five years old today, she thought. No one remembered her birthday. But she again crept up to the loft when she had cleared the table, and took out a dark coconut box. At the bottom there were pieces of red string. She took them out and counted twenty-four. From the pocket beneath her blouse she drew out another piece. Now there were twenty-five.

Answer the following questions based on the excerpt above:

1. Why is her birthday not remembered, even by her grandmother?
2. What is usually prepared for a traditional Chinese who's celebrating his/her birthday?
3. What do you think is the significance of the red string?

Birthday (Part 2)

If you don't have a copy of the short story, you can read the story below. Click on each text if you want to magnify it.