PARAGRAP The Points The Full Answer

H
1        State the title of                The short story that I have studied is Tanjung Rhu. This story is set in contemporary Singapore in a
the story
       Synopsis
Chinese family. It is about the bond between a son, Mr Li, and his mother, Ah Ma. At her later age, Ah Ma
lived with Mr Li in his house. Then Ah Ma became very ill and she passed away.

2        Describe
the             Mr Li is 63 years old. He is a successful shipping businessman who has a posh office on the 18th floor
characters
of a tall building at Shenton Way, Singapore. He has two children. His wife is Helen. Mr Li owns a luxurious
mansion that has a swimming pool.
               Ah Ma was an old woman. She was small, thin with grey hair and bent back. She had cataracts so she
could not see very well. Ah Ma lived with Mr Li.

       Differences                 Mr Li is very different from his mother. He is a modern man who is influenced by Western lifestyle.
His Western name is Edward. He speaks English except when he speaks to Ah Ma.  He owns a modern office
and a modern house with a swimming pool. His children receives Western education. His eldest son is finishing
his studies in Cambridge University while Ying, his youngest daughter, is going to further her studies in New
York.
               On the other hand, Ah Ma was very traditional. She could only speak Chinese. She still called Mr Li
by his Chinese name, Ah Wah. Although she lived with Mr Li in his modern house, she still reared chicken and
fed them. She refused to opt for modern treatment for her cataracts.
          
3        Similarities &                Both Mr Li and Ah Ma believe in Chinese rituals of worshipping ancestors but it is only Ah Ma who
Differences
firmly practiced the rituals. There is an altar in Mr Li’s house. Ah Ma looked after the altar when she was still
alive, lighted the electric candles there and burn the joss sticks when she prayed. She hung her late husband’s
photo at the altar. In the morning when she was going to Mr Li’s office, she did the ritual and spoke to her late
husband’s photo. When Ying tried to hurry her, she even insisted that the ritual be done properly. Although Mr
Li does not practice the ritual, he instructed Ying to learn how to do it from Ah Ma.
4        Differences                   Ah Ma is different from Mr Li in the way she cherished her past memories while Mr Li was not
really interested in his roots. On the day when Mr Li gave Ah Ma the binoculars, she eagerly shared with him
the memory when Mr Li was still small. However, Mr Li easily grew bored and wanted to end the conversation.
Even when she was at his office, she told him that she saw him on the beach looking for crabs when he was still
 young. He was not interested and he stopped her from continuing.

       Similarities                 Mr Li’s character had a drastic change after Ah Ma’s death. A day after his mother’s passing, when
he was at his office he started feeling nostalgic. He reminisced the smell of food in his house when he was
small and the feel of sand on his feet. He even had a few questions that he wanted to ask his mother, but it was
too late.
               Then, Mr Li rushed home to the altar and looked for the joss sticks so that he can pray to his mother.
He couldn’t find it because it was locked away in a drawer that only his mother knew where the key was.
Instead, he lighted the electric candles and spoke to his mother.
5 Conclusion                From the discussion above, it is very clear that Mr Li and Ah Ma are very different from one another.
What hold them together are the bond that they have between a son and a mother as well as the memories that
they shared together.

PARAGRAPH
The Points
The Full Answer
1
· State the title of the story
· Synopsis
The short story that I have studied is Tanjung Rhu. This story is set in
contemporary Singapore in a Chinese family. It is about the bond between a son, Mr
Li, and his mother, Ah Ma. At her later age, Ah Ma lived with Mr Li in his house.
Then Ah Ma became very ill and she passed away.

2
· Describe the characters

Mr Li is 63 years old. He is a successful shipping businessman who has a posh

· Differences
Mr Li is very different from his mother. He is a modern man who is
influenced by Western lifestyle. His Western name is Edward. He speaks English
except when he speaks to Ah Ma. He owns a modern office and a modern house with
a swimming pool. His children receives Western education. His eldest son is finishing
his studies in Cambridge University while Ying, his youngest daughter, is going to
further her studies in New York.
On the other hand, Ah Ma was very traditional. She could only speak
Chinese. She still called Mr Li by his Chinese name, Ah Wah. Although she lived with
Mr Li in his modern house, she still reared chicken and fed them. She refused to opt
for modern treatment for her cataracts.
3
· Similarities & Differences
Both Mr Li and Ah Ma believe in Chinese rituals of worshipping ancestors
but it is only Ah Ma who firmly practiced the rituals. There is an altar in Mr Li’s
house. Ah Ma looked after the altar when she was still alive, lighted the electric
candles there and burn the joss sticks when she prayed. She hung her late husband’s
photo at the altar. In the morning when she was going to Mr Li’s office, she did the
ritual and spoke to her late husband’s photo. When Ying tried to hurry her, she even
insisted that the ritual be done properly. Although Mr Li does not practice the ritual, he
instructed Ying to learn how to do it from Ah Ma.
4
· Differences
 Ah Ma is different from Mr Li in the way she cherished her past memories
while Mr Li was not really interested in his roots. On the day when Mr Li gave Ah Ma
the binoculars, she eagerly shared with him the memory when Mr Li was still small.
However, Mr Li easily grew bored and wanted to end the conversation. Even when she
was at his office, she told him that she saw him on the beach looking for crabs when
he was still young. He was not interested and he stopped her from continuing.

· Similarities
Mr Li’s character had a drastic change after Ah Ma’s death. A day after his
mother’s passing, when he was at his office he started feeling nostalgic. He reminisced
the smell of food in his house when he was small and the feel of sand on his feet. He
even had a few questions that he wanted to ask his mother, but it was too late.
Then, Mr Li rushed home to the altar and looked for the joss sticks so that he
can pray to his mother. He couldn’t find it because it was locked away in a drawer that
only his mother knew where the key was. Instead, he lighted the electric candles and
spoke to his mother.
5
Conclusion
 From the discussion above, it is very clear that Mr Li and Ah Ma are very
different from one another. What hold them together are the bond that they have
between a son and a mother as well as the memories that they shared together.