Pearlyn's literature!!

Island Voices Notes

Island Voices

Questions: 1, 2, 3 & 4 (pg 13 & 14 on notes)

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 profound purposes. The authors could be trying to present the tradition of Chinese people to people of other races to show that even after out ancestors pass away, we still pay our respects to them by doing things such as burning paper money and houses and lighting joss-sticks to pray to them. They are also trying to show to others that Chinese believe that by eating paper dissolved in drinks, it 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 that 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, we can see a number of elderly using things like handphones which proves that they are in touch with the contemporary world unlike those that do not own and handphones at all. 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 as anyone can achieve that just by not being too vain as to always want to buy new things like clothes even though they already have a lot in their closet.

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 a negative habit?

Looking back at the past is not necessarily a good thing but it is also not necessarily a bad thing. Looking back at the past allows us to remember happy moments that we have been through before and will make our day wonderful but it also reminds us of our sadness from before which may cause us to become emotional and may even start crying and that is when it can become a negative habit.

Labels: lit, lit N more lit...

posted by PeArLyN @ 5:43 AM