Pictures Of Myself

Island Voices Quotes

Paper

1)"Whats wrong with this house we're living in?" - Pg 2
2)"Were still making, so not to worry". - Pg 6


The Martyrdom of Helena Rodrigues

1)"Georgie is such a good boy". - Pg 17
2)"I shall stay here with my mother," - Pg 18


Sundowner

1)"Selamat datang, tuan" - Pg 20
2)"Bidan help born Aman. Aman's wife, Minah, bidan help born. Same bidan there for Tijah..." - Pg23


Tanjong Rhu

1)"I am not, Ah-Wah, having my eyes sliced open" - Pg 30
2)"See far glasses? What do I want to look at faraway things for?" - Pg 31


Evening Under Frangipani

1)"More love, more passion." - Pg 55
2)"Who was the lucky man"


Lee

1)"Li Wen?" - Pg 85
2)"Don't you remember anything about your country?" - Pg 86


A History of Tea

1)"So who's your Eurasian girlfriend, Tien yee? What's the matter, Chinese not good enough for you?" - Pg 109
2)"The drive and teh-halia after make me feel better too. The strength of tea." - Pg 114.


A Dream of China

1)"The sad, sly eyes lost the wary hold they had gained on my sympathy" - Pg 12

2)"The years passed. I discovered that not everyone viewed China as my father did" - Pg 127


Release

1)"Why do you always speak for someone else?" - Pg 143
2)"She saw the man emerge from the shadows, wiping the spanner" - Pg 148


An Orbituary for Fifth Aunt Come Late

1)"Oh sorry, oh sorry, I'm very clumsy." - Pg 149
2)"She was my aunt, but I didn't make it a point to be her niece" - pg 149


Corridor

1)"Who said I wasn't happy at home?" - Pg 165
2)"You don't know those plants. You don't know what they need." - Pg 171


Mid-Autumn

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



Hamid and the Hand of Fate

1)"Hamid is such a good boy" - Pg 195
2)"No , no , every child is rezeki from God" - Pg 195


The Move

1)"The old lady was vaguely irritated for the first time" - Pg 205
2)"She locked up the old flat for the last time" - Pg 210


Pastime

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

Questions from Off Centre Guidebook

Q1) In your opinion, how key is the parent-child relationship to Vinod's inevitable end?

A. In my opinion, Vinod's parents were too busy with their career till they do not have time to care for Vinod. Vinod tries to impress his parents by ace-ing his tests and doing well for his academics. Children need parent support. In Vinod's case, he does not recieve this and he feels idle-ised. He becomes depressed and feels that he is a failure when what he has done is still not appreciated by his parents. Parent-child relationship plays a big role in a child's development
as without it, a child cannot progress towards his life and will always feel left out.


Q2) 'Vinod's high expectations of himself caused his downfall.' To what extend do you agree with this analysis of Vinod's predicament and tragedy?

A. Vinod has high expectations of himself. He has done well academically and feels that there are little things that he cannot handle. He feels that Saloma is a lost kitten and that he needs to look after her, to care for her. During the robbery, Vinod had failed to be Saloma's "protector". He was insulted by the robber and failed to take action during the robbery. With that, he felt that he was a coward and very disappointed with himself. When he finds out that Saloma is getting well, he becomes reserved and locks himself from the world , which led to his downfall.


Q3) Discuss the reasons for Saloma's transformation in the play.

A. At the start of the play, Saloma is a reserved and quiet person, she does not speak much. Saloma becomes more open whenever Vinod is around. Vinod tells her that audiences are not that scary and that she can talk to them. She becomes stronger and much more brave when she meets Emily at the Halfway House. Emily gives her motivation and encouragement, telling her "You are strong, nothing can destroy you" and "They are jealous because I am special". Saloma's faith in the medicine to cure her is very strong. She believes that the medicine can cure her.


Q4) "Though a minor role in the play, the character of Razali is key to the plot of Off Centre." To what extend do you agree with this assesment?

A. To a certain extent, I believe that the character of Razali is key to the plot of Off Centre because he is someone who knows how Saloma and Vinod feel and he is a fatherly-figure for the both of them. However, I feel that Razali and Vinod are similar at times as the both of them feel the need to protect Saloma and give her all the care, love and concern. Razali was the security guard at the HDB flats. He was supposed to protect. During the robbery, Razali was not present and Vinod started blaming him for the incident as he felt that Razali was supposed to protect them, he was supposed to be their guardian but he was just a security guard. Razali says that he has children to take care off. Vinod misinterpretes "children". He feels that he and Saloma are his children but they are not.


Q5) "Datta, Dayadhvam, Damyatta" 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.

A. Vinod exerts control by controlling Saloma's life. He thinks that he is the best "protector" for Saloma, as seen in the play. On the other hand, Saloma exerts control in her life by taking charge of her own life, she wants to earn a living, she does not want her illness to separate her from the cruel world so she controls herself.


Q6) Based on the text Off Centre, discuss how peer acceptance and family support are vital to social status and mental well-being.

A. Peer acceptance is when people accept others for who they are. Family support is needed so one does not go astray. In Off Centre, these two key points are very important as mental-patients need peer acceptance and family support so they gain confidence in themselves, knowing that there are people there who care about them and do not despise them. Without these two points, mental-patients will feel alone and idle, they do not know what to do and how to react to situations. They might not know that what they do is right or if it is wrong.

5 Memorable Quotes from Off Centre

1) "They are jealous... because I am special." - Act 2 Scene 2, Pg 54.

2) "Your mind is very pure Saloma. Very pure." - Act 2 Scene 2, Pg 56

3) "Good, you are very strong. Yah, you are very strong. Wah, I can see behind your eyes. You are so strong nothing can destroy you." - Act 2 Scene 2, Pg 58

4) "Eh, your boyfriend coward ah?" - Act 3 Scene 3, Pg 96

5) "Then why you want to control me?" - Act 2 Scene 1, Pg 48

QUOTESS

Paper
"It burned brilliantly, and in three minutes was a heap of ashes on the grave."
The paper house was burnt down quickly.

The Martyrdom of Helena Rodrigues
"She brought him up to believe that to insult his mother's devotion to him was the ultimate blasphemy."
It was that George was taught that going against her mother's instructions was a big sin.

Sundowner
"Too early for the screams of women beaten by men drunk on cheap liquor."
Drunk men not aware of what they do, beating up women.

Tanjong Rhu
"See-far- glasses? What do i want to look at faraway things for?"
Ah-Ma is stubborn and feels that she does not need the binoculars.

Evening Under Frangipani
"I'm so glad you've converted to Christianity. It would be such a pity if Elaine couldn't have beef."
The mother was being sarcastic to Prakash

Lee
"Clumsily he hugged her adn she accepted it with a sort of grudging nonchalance."
Their relationship as daughter and father is not good.

A History of Tea
"Storm in a teacup."
Small matters being exaggerated.

A Dream Of China
"Could I get him out of China?"
To get his father not to think too much of China.

Release
"She sat down, blinded by the scream that filled her mind."
The guy killed the puppies, Eileen was blinded by the scream that filled her mind.

An Orbituary for Fifth Aunt Come Late
"I don't even admit she is my auntie."
Even though both are blood related, she does not want to admit that she is her aunt."

Corridor
"I looked down, at her still-surviving plant, the branches stripped bare because my grandchildren had torn off all the flowers one day. When I looked back she was gone, but she had left her window open, for the first time in a long while.
The neighbour welcomed the arrival of the family

Mid-Autumn
"Waste money, very gek sim."
The author is very cautious of how she spends her money.

Hamid and the Hand of Fate
"Would I make good enough embrace with just one hand?"
This says that Hamid has been wondering if he were to be with the one he loves, would she think differently of him.

The Move
"Ma, don't bring those footstools with you."
Ma was not allowed to bring her old furnitures with her to the new house.

Pastime
"It's a hobby, a pastime. It's not real life."
It is something that he enjoys doing during his free time.

Unnamed (:

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

In Tanjung Rhu, Ah Ma represents the older generation people who is a parent and grandmother herself . She keeps talking about the past whereas it irritates Mr T.W. Li, her son. She has different perspectives of Tanjung Rhu. She thinks it as memories. Whereas her son sees it otherwise eg . when she followed her son to his work place she looked out the window through the binoculars. She still recollects times when her husband is still alive and Mr Li is still a boy playing by the sea. We gain a new insight by knowing about the past and those living around her.

In Corridor, The death of an unnamed and anonymous man in the common corridor outside a flat causes unease in an old lady whose family is involved in an "argument" with a neighbour. She wished that she was there when the unnamed man died, so that man didn't have to die alone without anyone looking out at him. She remembers the community spirit that recalled about kampong life in the past, and that as a child, she had saved her village from a thief who threatened its inhabitants. The conclusion discloses a sense of loss as the past cannot be brought back and relived again.





Choose 5 links and write comments of 50-100words about the content of the blogs.

-Julius
-Danial
-Nuraini
-Abdullah
-Edmund

Q2

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.

-Mid Autumn

A mother's pain and confusion takes place when her daughter decides to leave Singapore to do charity work in Uganda. After obtaining her GP qualifications, the daughter decides that lifestyle with "mobile phones, golf weekends and memberships" hold very little for her, whereas her mother has undergone a life of privation to make these options available for her daughter and it does not seem that her daughter is thankful for it.

-TanjongRhu

A successful executive who, following the death of his mother laments that he has forgotten so much about his childhood life by the sea. His grief at her death is filled with regret that in the last months of her life.