Short Story - Hungry Ghost by Hwee Hwee Tan

We were both searching for the same thing, me through my books, and him…I guess he wanted me to relieve from the agony of hell by offering him food, hugging his grave…(pg 65).

1. What was the narrator searching for?

I think the narrator is searching for the truth about the life after death and the forgiveness for all the bad things or sins that was done by the narrator during her life after death, so that her fear is lost and she is not going into or relieved from the hell. It is because the narrator knows that he is going to the hell because he stole something in her life. Same things goes to her grandfather where he wants the narrator to relieve him from the agony of hell by offering him food, hugging his grave and burning money for him to spend. So, that’s what I think the narrator is searching for.

2. In your perception, why does the grandfather…..“wanted me to relieve him..” and relieve from what?

From my opinion, the grandfather says “wanted me to relieve him” is because the grandfather has told the narrator about the punishments on every sin that was done by the human after death. So that, the grandfather hopes the narrator already understand about what he is going to tell or explain by bring the narrator to all the places and will helped him relieved from the hell after he died to avoid him go through all the punishments in the hell.

3. What do “offering food”, “hugging grave” and “burning money” symbolize?

From the story, “offering foods” symbolize for prepare the death person favorite foods for them to eat after they died like what the narrator’s mother did to her grandfather where her mother prepared all her grandfather’s favorite foods like Bee Hoon: hard-boiled eggs soaked in soy sauce, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Guiness Stout by place the foods on the altar for her grandfather to eat. Next, “hugging grave” here symbolize for a pray for the dead person like what the narrator’s grandfather wants her to do to him after he died which is to relieved him from the agony of the hell. Then, “burning money” is symbolized as pocket money for the dead person to spend on during their vacation on earth. For example, the narrator’s mother will light on each of ghost money one by one from the temple, then drop the burning paper into an empty Graham Crackers tin for her grandfather to buy new clothes, a car and a condominium. All those things are usually done during the Hungry Ghost Festival which was celebrated every August by the Chinese people because there is a believed that the dead person was released from the hell to enjoy themselves on earth for a month.

Short Story - The Interview by Gopal Baratham

1. According to Mason, “Deprivation is largely an attitude of mind”. Discuss this quote by Mason and describe what deprives you?

From my opinion, what Mason means by ”Deprivation is largely an attitude of mind" is our mind plays a very important roles when someone or himself faced with hardship, especially when you're been a Japanese prisoner of war where all your needs were taken away from you. It can be say also as our mind set when we face with difficulties and suffers like our freedom, foods and etc that were taken away from Mason by the Japanese army. On that kind of situation, we must thinks positive, be patient and do not easy surrender or give up because we need to stay calm and strong to keep on our life even though you’re not very sure about your future or your life after this whether you’re going to die or been released by the Japanese or not. It is because when something that you needed in your life like foods were taken away from you, it makes your mind weak and or can be said that it’s controlled your mind. So, it makes you can’t think wisely and rationally because you don’t get the energy and power to keep on your life and keep thinking on how you’re going to survive from that place. So, I think that are what Mason mean by that sentence.

2. Mason also realizes that “how little is really absolute necessary for life and even happiness”. What “necessary” for Mason’s life at that time? What is necessary for you to have in life?

From my opinion, “necessary” here means your needs in life such as foods, drinks, clothes, living, freedom and etc or can be said as a lifestyle. It is because in the real life, I mean not during the war period of time, we’re sometimes don’t think about the important of those things in our life. Sometimes, we as a human never felt grateful of what have been given or rewarded to us. For example, me, myself sometimes like to waste my foods when I eat it. So, the situations become very different when you’re in the war or prison when all those things were taken away from you. Then you’ll realize how much you need and important of those entire things in your life on that time. For me, the necessary in my life are as usually that people needs likes foods, drinks, clothes, living, peace, freedom and etc. For me, all those things are really important because we do really need all those in this century. As we all know, we needs foods and drinks because we needs energy to keep on our live. Other than that, we need living because of we need a place to live in to avoid us from danger. We also needs peace and freedom, so that we can perform or carry out our daily activity as a human being in this world to make sure that we get a good or better life for ourselves or our family. We also free to do anything and go everywhere that we want if there is peace and freedom in our life. For example, like what had happened in Iraq, people there live in scared and suffered because there’s no peace in their country. So, they can’t do their daily activity likes going to job because afraid that they might be killed while they’re on their way to their office. So, from here we can see that it is really important or necessary to have peace and freedom in our life nowadays.

Poem

New Hope by Ascky....


I'm always wonder,
why does life become hard,
deep through in my heart,
i felt like I'm almost drown,
drown upon a wide blue sea,
waiting for a hope,
a hope that someone will come and save me,
bring me to a new world,
a world that no ones know me,
a world that full of joys and happiness.........

Here, my space is empty and lonely,
each and everyday,
like a bird trapped in a cage,
although there is smiles and laughs,
look happy from the outside,
only god's know the pain in my heart,
still i never showed my pain,
so that i love to be under the rain,
coz no ones know that i'm crying,
no one can see there is tears in my face,
that showed i am sad.........

Time by time,
i became more stronger,
coz life had taught me a lesson,
never ever surrender in life,
once you surrender life is meaningless,
wake up, wake up and wake up,
i juz have to walk straight that will bring me to a light,
a light that will shining back my life,
a shine that help me forgot past memories,
that would only make me cry..
a shine that give me another chance,
to keep on a new life..............

With a love from family and friends,
i strengthen back my spirit,
juz like i free out from my cage,
to followed my dream destination,
in a new hope.............

Short story: Bugis by Alfian Sa'at

The ending for Bugis..


The next day, the narrator went to school like usually and pretends like nothing happened yesterday. Then, she get into her class and Salmah was already at her place. Both of them keep silent and not talking like they don't know each other. Time passing very fast and the bell rang which means the end of the day for their school. The narrator walked home at the same way and place like before she used to be but the different is she is alone without Salmah. While she walked at the skateboard place, she saw Sazalie was playing his skate with his other friends. The narrator keep walking and suddenly Sazalie stands in front of her. She felt a little bit scared but she stay calm and make herself look brave to face with Sazalie.

Then, Sazalie ask her that they need to talk about what had happened yesterday. They went to the chair not to far from the place and talked. The narrator felt very nervous because it was her first time sitting next to Sazalie alone with just the two of them in the same chair. She felt very happy and glad at least she got the chance to talked to Sazalie face to face after what had happened between her and Salmah. Then, Sazalie ask her to told him the reason why actually she pulled Salmah's tudung yesterday. So, the narrator decided to tell Sazalie about everything about her feelings towards Salmah as long as they be as a friend before.
After heard what the narrator said, Sazalie then understand about her action towards Salmah and he forgive her. Then, she went home and felt so relief from the pressure about thinking Sazalie will misunderstanding her about yesterday. But, she doesn't tell Sazalie her feelings toward him and decided to see Salmah the next day at school. At school, the narrator and Salmah had a talked. They tells everything about their satisfaction towards each other and they become friends again. Everything back to normal like before and they become a good and close friend than before.

Alfian Sa'at...Bugis

ALFIAN SA'AT

Biography

Early life

Alfian bin Sa'at (born July 18, 1977) is a Singaporean writer, poet and playwright. A Malay Muslim of Minangkabau, Javanese and Hakka descent,he is often referred to as his country's enfant terrible, known for his provocative works.An alumnus of Tampines Primary School, Raffles Institution, and Raffles Junior College, Alfian was the chairman of the drama societies in both RI and RJC. He also took part in the Creative Arts Programme twice - once at fifteen, and a second time at seventeen - both times under the mentorship of Haresh Sharma. He has since returned to the programme as an occasional mentor. During his two years at RJC, Alfian received the Kripalani Award for Outstanding Contribution to Creative Arts. Alfian attended medical classes at the National University of Singapore but did not graduate.

Career

In 1998, Alfian published his first collection of poetry, One Fierce Hour at the age of twenty-one. The book was acclaimed as "truly a landmark for poetry [in Singapore]" by The Straits Times, and Alfian himself was described by Malaysia's New Straits Times as "one of the most acclaimed poets in his country... a prankish provocateur, libertarian hipster".

A year later, Alfian published his first collection of short stories, Corridor, which won the Singapore Literature Prize Commendation Award. Seven of the short stories from the collection have since been adapted for television. In 2001, he published his second collection of poetry, 'A History of Amnesia', which was hailed by The Straits Times as "one of the most powerful collections by a Singaporean" in addition to being shortlisted for a Kiriyama Asia-Pacific Book Prize. Alfian won both the inaugural National Arts Council-Singapore Press Holdings Golden Point Award for Poetry in the same year, as well as the National Arts Council's Young Artist Award for Literature.

Alfian's plays, written in both English and Malay, have received broad attention in both Singapore and Malaysia. His first play was produced when he was 19, and he has had a long association as a playwright with theatre group The Necessary Stage as well as with Teater Ekamatra, a Malay theatre group known for articulating minority concerns in Chinese-majority Singapore.

Alfian is currently the resident playwright of theatre group W!LD RICE. He is currently enrolled for an undergraduate course at the School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University.

Works

Plays

English

• Fighting (1994)
• Korban (1995)
• Black Boards, White Walls (1997)
• Yesterday My Classmate Died (1997)
• sex.violence.blood.gore (co-written with Chong Tze Chien) (1999)
• Asian Boys Vol. 1 (2000)
• What's The Difference? (2001)
• Don't Say I Say (2001)
• poppy dot dream (2001)
• The Corrected Poems of Minah Jambu (2001)
• The Optic Trilogy (2001)
• 7 Ten: Seven Original 10-minute Plays: Not In (2003)
• Landmarks: Asian Boys Vol. 2 (2004)
• Tekka Voices (2004)
• Mengapa Isa? (2004)
• The Importance of Being Kaypoh (2005)
• Harmony Daze (2005)
• Confessions of 300 Unmarried Men: Blush (2006)
• Homesick (2006)
• Happy Endings: Asian Boys Vol 3 (2007)
  

Malay

• Deklamasi Malas (Declamation of Indolence) (1997)
• Dongeng (Myth) (1997)
• Anak Bulan di Kampung Wa' Hassan (The New Moon at Kampung Wa' Hassan) (1998)
• Madu II (Polygamy) (1998)
• Causeway (1998)
• Peti Kayu Ibuku (My Mother's Wooden Chest) (translated into Malay from Kuo Pao Kun's translation of Ng Xin Yue's original Mandarin text) (1999)
• The Miseducation of Minah Bukit (2001)
• Tapak 7 (Seven Steps) (2001)
• Selamat Malam Ibu (adapted from 'night Mother by Marsha Norman) (2003)
• Keturunan Laksmana Tak Ada Anu (adapted from Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral by Kuo Pao Kun) (2003)
• Minah & Monyet (Minah & Monkey) (2003)

Mandarin

• Fugitives (失控)(co-written with Ng How Wee) (2002)

Prose

English

• Corridor (SNP, 1999) ISBN 981-4032-40-9

Malay

• Bisik: Antologi Drama Melayu Singapura (Whisper: Anthology of Malay Singaporean Drama) (Pustaka Cipta, 2003)

Poetry

• One Fierce Hour (Landmark Books, 1998) ISBN 981-3065-18-4

• A History of Amnesia (Ethos Books, 2001) ISBN 981-04-3704-8

Awards

• 1995 - Kripalani Award for Outstanding Contribution to Creative Arts
• 1998 - Commendation Award by the Malay Language Council for Causeway
• 1999 - Singapore Literature Prize Commendation Award for Corridor
• 2001 - Golden Point Award for Poetry
• 2001 - Young Artist Award for Literature
• 2005 - Life! Theatre Awards for Best Script for Landmarks: Asian Boys Vol. 2
• 2006 - FRONT Award