Page 25 - PRAKTIS HEBAT SPM ENG TG4

English Form 4 Answers
traditional values. The story is set in present day Singapore number of ships in the harbour. He does this because to him
in Mr Li’s house and office. numbers are strong and they fix him in time and place. This
A character that I disliked the most in this story is Mr Li’s means he has a good grip on the present his world.
wife, Helen. I find Helen to be very pretentious and fake. She Mother, on the other hand, sees the world by living in
comes across as a socialite who is very prone to flaunting the past. She recalls clearly their past, like their early days in
her wealth and lifestyle. Her outlook of life is very different Tanjong Rhu where they used to have a shipyard and where
from that of her husband’s. She seems to be disconnected they lived. She recalls the days when she walked on the
from Mr Li’s life. She devotes much of her time entertaining beach and caught crabs with Mr Li. She even remembers
her friends and inviting them to the house for tea. Mr Li how Mr Li enjoyed the sand between his toes. This is how
dislikes this as he finds them pretentious and idling away she keeps alive her past. As she says, ‘I can see Tanjong
time. Her character seems to be rather unremarkable and Rhu just fine. Behind my eyes, that’s how I can still see it.’
disappointing. Thus, when she goes to Mr Li’s office, she does not need the
There is only one mention of Helen in the story and it is see-far glasses to see faraway places physically.
possible that Mr Li and Helen do not have much in common. When Mr Li tries to recall his childhood days, he seems
to have forgotten it all. This could be because he lives very
Practice 2 much in the present. Mother, on the other hand, revels in the
past. Thus, while one looks at the world in the present, the
The story, Tanjong Rhu, is about Mr Li, a rich and other looks at the world by going back to the past. They do
successful businessman who lives in a very modern lifestyle see the world in different ways.
with modern beliefs. His elderly mother, Ah Ma, however,
has very traditional values. The story is set in present day Practice 4
Singapore in Mr Li’s house and office.
As can be seen in the story, Ah Ma upholds certain Tanjong Rhu is the story of a successful businessman
traditional Chinese customs and beliefs. These customs with modern ideas and ways. He has an elderly mother who
and beliefs are very important to her as she has lived her is traditional in her ways. The story is set in the present and
life following them. She does not see the need to change the office of Mr Li and his house in Singapore.
her beliefs even though her son and grand-daughter have The story portrays a few social issues and one of the
different values and think differently from her. She takes her social issues portrayed in the story is generation gap which
time to appease her ancestors at the family altar. This can means the young and old approach certain aspects and
be seen in her habit of ritually taking care of the family altar issues of life in different ways. There is a generation gap
over the years. Even the grandchildren use to help Ah Ma between Mr Li and his mother and between grandmother and
clean the altar when they were younger. Ah Ma refuses to granddaughter, Ying. Mr Li being a successful businessman
use electric candles for the altar until after she almost set in Singapore adopts modern ideas and ways. For example,
fire to the altar. Ah Ma has little use of material things. She he looks only as old as he chose by keeping his hair carefully
believes that respecting the ancestors will bring the family dyed except for a little grey. He feels his mother should go
together and the younger generations will be blessed. for a cataract operation or use binoculars to see clearly.
From here, we can see that the belief in tradition and But, mother refuses to have the eye operation or use the
customs are very important to Ah Ma. binoculars. She does not relish the idea of having her eyes
cut open and she does not need binoculars to see far. Her
Practice 3 idea of ‘seeing far’ is to recollect the past while Mr Li means
the physical distance.
Tanjong Rhu is the story of a successful businessman Ying and grandmother also have generation gap in the
with modern ideas and modern ways. He has an elderly way of praying to the dead. Ying feels that doing the essential
mother who is traditional in her ways. The story is set in the physical practice of lighting the joss sticks and bowing to
present and the office of Mr Li and his house in Singapore. show respect is good enough. However, grandmother feels
The two main characters are Mr Li and his mother and it should be done properly and leisurely with actions and
they see the world in very different ways. Mr Li is a successful words.
businessman in the shipping business. As such, he lives very While Ying feels that it is not rude to talk about her
much in the present with his modern ideas and ways. He is grandmother to her father in English, a language her
practical and realistic and indulges in the habit of counting the grandmother does not understand well, Mr Li feels this is

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10 ANS PRAK HEBAT ENG F4.indd 15 02/03/2020 3:25 PM