Short Story Tanjung Rhu Form 4 Literature :

Theme
Traditional habit versus current patterns which is this short story focusing on Singaporean
Chinese life which contrast in terms of traditional and modern

Synopsis Tanjung Rhu Form 4 Literature

1) Simple yet profound story
2) This short story is about a successful man who forgets his roots as a kampong boy in
Tanjung Rhu and realises the importance and how much he misses it after his mothers
death
3) Relationship between Mr T.W Li, a rich businessman and Ah Ma, his mother
4) Mr Li has his office at Shenton Way and is modern in ways and ideas
5) Ah ma is traditional with strong religious beliefs and practices ancestor worship
6) The day after Ah Mas funeral, Mr Li recalls the day he told his mother about using
binoculars or see far glasses
7) Is also looks at the conflict, struggle and tension between modern and traditional
society in Singapore through the realtionship between Mr. T.W Li and his mother
8) Based on this short story Tanjung Rhu Form 4 Literature, Mr Li feels regret for the way
jhe treats Ah ma after this mother falls ill and later passes away
9) He never pays much attention to this mothers stories about the past and realizes a
little too late that most of his questions remained unanswered
10) Mr Li promises to fulfil her last wish but is unable to find the key

Tanjung Rhu Form 4 Literature : Setting

Tanjung Rhu : place in which the protogonist of the story spends his life with his late father and
Ah Ma.

Tanjung Rhu Form 4 Literature : Moral Value1) Although we live in

modern world, we must not forget our traditional values
2) We must learn to appreciate people while we can
3) Money cannot buy everything
4) Learn to respect and tolerate each other
5) We should consider and accept changes in our lives and progress with the time

6) We should always voice out our feelings especially if we want to express feelings of love for a
family member especially an old parent.
LETS DISCUSS THE THEME :

With close reference from the text, choose a theme from Tanjung Rhu.

Traditional habit versus current patterns.

The short story I chose is Tanjung Rhu by Minfong Ho . A prevalent theme in Tanjung Rhu is
Traditinal habit versus current patterns.It is strongly demonstrates in this story where we can see
Ah Ma uses the real candles to pray which is the traditional practice. In modern times, people will
use electric candles to ensure safety and reduce the hassle of lighting candles and cleaning up
after the burning ends.

Mr. Lis mother had refused to use anything except real candles until she had almost set fire to
the whole altar. Only then has she finally agreed to change to the electrical candles. All these
show us the difference between the old and the young. In our busy modern life, we tend to forget
or ignore our traditional practices, complaining that it is a waste of time since we lack of time.
Even if we follow the traditional practices, we tend to simplify the ways in order to save time and
effort. As time passes gradually, we do not practise them anymore letting our traditions die off.

In the end of the story, Mr. Li realized he had forgotten to take care of the altar which is a
traditional practice of the Chinese. It was what his mother wanted him to do after she died. He
put the photograph of his mother next to his fathers photograph. Then he bowed deeply three
times. Unfortunately, he could not find the joss sticks to burn for them since he did not know
where his mother put the key to the drawer. He regretted not talking to his mother more. The
story stresses (menekankan) to the readers the importance of traditional practices as we change
our life due to modernity.

--- THE END

INSTRUCTION: Analyse the sample below

With close reference from the text, choose a theme from Tanjung Rhu.
The short story I chose is Tanjung Rhu by Minfong Ho. A prevalent theme in Tanjung
Rhu is Kindness and love are more important than material possessions This means that
even though people say that money, wealth and fame is important, there are more important
things and values that are more important, that are kindness and love, because, at the end of
the day, those two are what make life worth living. In Tanjung Rhu, this theme is shown
through the relationship between Mr Li and his mother, Mr Lis failure to open the drawer in
the Altar Room and Yings error.
Firstly, this is shown through the relationship between Mr Li and his mother, Ah Ma
because Mr Li thinks that he needs to work hard and give material wealth to his mother. This
is evident in him asking Ah Ma to go up the 18th floor of his office, a symbol of his success.
He also tries to make Ah Ma see the extent of his success by making her see the view through
the binoculars.Nevertheless, Ah Ma, refusing at first to see through the binoculars, finally
concedes but only sees the past memories of her happier time at the beach with her young
son, Mr Li. This proves that Ah Ma only values the past as it was when they were happier and
had a closer relationship. To Ah Ma, binocular and the 18th floor office are nothing
compared to her son. This valuing of the past by Ah Ma proves the theme that Love and
Kindness are more important than material possession.
Secondly, this theme is shown through Mr Lis failure to open the drawer. He thinks
that he had done enough for his mother, that by just letting her live with him and making
sure she lives well, he has done enough and is a filial son. But he ignores his mother so much
that he dose not even know where Ah Ma puts her joss stick at the Altar Room and that he
does not even have the key to the drawer where she puts important stuff for praying means
that he has failed as a son. What Ah Ma needed was just his love and kindness, and his care
and attention, and he did not give her that. His failure to open the drawer is a reflection that
all his succes and material possessions do not make him a good son.
Lastly this theme is shown through Ying, Mr Lis daughter. Ying also mistakenly
thinks that she cares enough about her grandmother that she often argues with her
concerning the praying ceremony. She misunderstands that Ah Ma is a traditional person
and keeps urging her to change the wax candles into electric candles and also to let her do
the praying ceremony even though she does not know the proper way to do so. Ying here also
falls mistakenly into the trap that material possession is better-she urges Ah Ma to pray
quickly so Mr Li could go to work faster and to use better, safer electric candles. In the end,
she does not get the love and care she wants from her grandmother just because she thinks
what she values more are better.
In conclusion, the theme Kindness and love are more important than material
possessions are shown though the dynamic of Mr Li and his mothers relationship, Mr Lis
unsuccessful try of opening his mothers important drawer and Yings misunderstanding of
what is important for her grandmother.
ATTENTION SET 4A 2016!
QUESTIONS:

1. Label the sample essay above with the tags. Author, name of the novel, thesis
statement, main idea, explanation, example, link, and paraphrasing of the thesis statement.
The second paragraph has been done for you. Please label the rest of the paragraphs.
To illustrate
Firstly, this is shown through the relationship between Mr Li and his mother, Ah Ma
because Mr Li thinks that he needs to work hard and give material wealth to his mother. This
is evident in him asking Ah Ma to go up the 18th floor of his office, a symbol of his success.
He also tries to make Ah Ma see the extent of his success by making her see the view through
the binoculars.Nevertheless, Ah Ma, refusing at first to see through the binoculars, finally
concedes but only sees the past memories of her happier time at the beach with her young
son, Mr Li. This proves that Ah Ma only values the past as it was when they were happier and
had a closer relationship. To Ah Ma, binocular and the 18th floor office are nothing
compared to her son. This valuing of the past by Ah Ma proves the theme that Love and
Kindness are more important than material possession.

k, let's get a sample.

_________________________________________
The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English Language:
Step by wicked step Anne Fine
Catch Us If You Can Catherine MacPhail
The Curse Lee Su Ann
Choose any one of the novels above and answer the question.
Use information from the novel to support your answer.
Compare two characters in the novel you have studied. How are they similar and different?
Compare and contrast two characters.

The novel I have chosen is Step by wicked step written by Anne Fine. Colin and
Claudia are the two characters I have chosen to compare and contrast. Although they are
two differing characters, they also have some similarities.
Both Colin and Claudia come from broken or separated families. They both
have step parents. Colins mother has left his biological father and `took up with Jack. Jack
is the only father figure Colin ever know. However, Colins mum leaves Jack after a while.
This causes him to miss Jack so badly that it hurts. On the other hand, Claudias father has
left her mother for another woman, Stella. She feels disloyal to her mum whenever she has a
good time with her father and Stella. Both Colin and Claudia really want their parents to
reconcile as they pine for how it used to be when they were happy. And this aspect of
unhappy home is the first similarity.
Colin and Claudia also do not adapt to the drastic changes their families
undergo. Colins unwavering loyalty and want for his dad to be back and Claudias
misguided loyalty to her mother shows that these two characters find difficulties dealing with
changes. There are frustrations, fear and sadness. Furthermore, both Colins and Claudias
mothers do not take their emotions into consideration. It is as though everything is only
happening to them, and will never have an impact on the children. This is the second
similarity; the fact that the changes take time.
However, Colin and Claudia are markedly different individuals. They deal
with the changes in their respective families differently; Colin is portrayed as a boy
always pining for his father even after five whole years. However, Claudia becomes hostile
towards the new lady in her life, Stella, disregarding all the latters efforts to warm up to
her. These different treatments are proof of their dissimilarity.
Both Colin and Claudia have different personalities too. Colin is a dreamer
who dreams of an ideal life where his dad and mother will be together forever and happy.
He secretly keeps his fathers tobacco tin and saves money so that he can look for him one
day. This makes him too depending on his stepdad and emotionally attached to him. This is
probably due to the fact that he needs love from a man called father. Claudia is more of a
sensible and rational person. After seeing her dads friends ignoring Stella and judging it as
rude, she goes to compliment Stella on her stellar choice of green pyjamas. Claudia is more
independent and is not afraid to voice her opinions. Unlike Colin, Claudia is brave in coming
to terms with her parents separation. She is independent and not afraid to voice her
opinions. These dissimilar personalities differentiates them and hint at a different future both
might face.
Even though they experience broken family relationships and find it difficult to accept
changes, the way Colin and Claudia accept new additional member of the family is different.

They have different views in accepting reality and this has made the story more inspiring and
colourful.

TIPS
1. Fulfill the requirements. You must know TWO characters and state the character of
your choice.
2. Write a thesis statement, hinting and giving a general idea at what the readers will
read (purple colored)
3. Start every paragraph with a topic sentence that contain the main idea or keyword. For
example, the first main idea is 'both come from broken or separated family' (blue
colored)
4. After the topic sentence, elaborate and give example from the story to make your
points clearer. Do not retell the whole story.
5.You must link your points/ideas back to the question. Failure to link might cause you to
not achieve more than 4 or 5 marks for content.(yellow colored)
6. Close your essay with a simple restatement of your thesis statement, or restate your three
main ideas.(red colored)
7. Check your tenses. It must be in Simple Present Tense.
Posted by Duratul Naqiah at 00:05