SPM Literature Component : Short Story : Tanjung Rhu by MinFong Ho.

Assalamualaikum WBT,

In the previous post, I did write about another short story written by Minfong Ho. Now, I will write more on the other elements that you as students need to analyse and also write during the exam.

Setting

As for setting, we divided it into three parts, Physical Setting, Social Setting and Time. For the physical setting, as you read this short story, the physical setting was in Tanjung Rhu, Singapore. Mr.Li had big house and he had big office because he was the owner of a shipyard company. When he was younger, he was living in a hut at Tanjung Rhu with his parents.

Social Setting.

As for the social setting, after read this piece, we can easily say that Mr. Li was living in a rich neighbourhood. The reason why I said that is because Mrs. Li was shown as a woman who happened to have lots of activities including tea parties. Another character mentioned in the story was Mr.Li's son who were studying in Cambrige and his daughter, Ying, who are going to New York soon. And yet, his mum's altar , the big house and their lifestyle reflects their wealth and position in the society.

Time

The time set in the recent past and could be applied to the present times too.

Characters :

As for the characters, they were four people in this story and one was mentioned by the characters but did not appear in this short story. Let us see one by one.

1. Mr. Li

63 years old man who is very rich and owned a shipyard and he just lost his mother. Loves to count the ships at the shipyard. A caring man because he bought  binoculars to his lat mother just because he wanted her mother to see as far as she can. He loved his mother very dearly and she even scolded her daughter Ying for being rough with her. He was torn between traditions and modern ways. Even tough he was a successful man, he still believed in the parents' blessings in finding comfort and strength.

2. Li's mother

A very gentle lady, who has lived so many years and had gone through so many things in her life and now is old and frail. She loved her son very dearly and she did not need anything but loves and cares. She too loved her granddaughter, who is very proud that she can do lots of things. Li's mother was a very well-mannered woman and she hold to the traditions very strong. She strongly believed that custom and traditions need to be hold carefully and respectfully.

3. Helen

Mr.Li's wife and she really enjoys tea parties with her friends which it was very displeasure to Mr. Li.

4. Ying

The daughter of Mr.Li and Helen. A young and modern girl but very kind and understanding. She was very sensitive and she too was trying to build a bridge between her father and mother. 

Themes

1.Traditions and rituals count in life.

2. Love is a wonderful element in live.

3. Material things do not really count.

Moral Values

1.Respect

2. Traditions should be maintained

3. Kindness and consideration matter

Point of View

This story was written in the third person point of view. The whole story was from Mr.Li's eyes.

That is all for now, I will be back with Tone and Mood, Language and Style.

Thank you for reading my writings.

Assalamualaikum WBT

p/s: Keep on reading.