Literature Project 2010 - Characters
Characteristics - Corridor
1. Mak
- Peaceful
Pg 164 " I wish she had just kept quiet, because the best old people to live with are the dull ones."
- Not petty
Pg 162 " or if their children scribbled someone's face with blue beard and spectacles, we would close an eye."
- doesn't like the outdoors
Pg 164 " you just stay in the hotel room the whole day", I am an old woman".
- not materialistic
Pg 164 " there's nothing I want".
- Observant
Pg 165 " I wanted to tell her it's because you never pass by his house".
- Righteous
Pg 170-171 " I had made up my mind to apologize to my neighbours".
2. Daughter
- Protective
Pg 164 " my daughter so eager to come to my rescue, said it's because she has a sharp mind".
- Caring
Pg 164-165 " At home, you're not happy, bring you here, you're still not happy. Tonight dinner...come with us, Mak".
- Revengeful
Pg 173 " My own daughter, whom I raised in the best manner I could, once while sweeping the corridor, brushed most of the rubbish towards their doorstep".
3. Son-in-law
- Inconsiderate
Pg 172 " he was the only one who ended up singing into the golden microphone, sitting on the sofa, making his voice have echo effects, sometimes even with his working socks on".
4. Neighbours
[Lydia]
-Secretive
Pg 162 " She always keeps her windows closed and once in a while she would bring a man back to her house".
- Fashionable
Pg 164 " Anyway she is always well-dressed, she knows how to wear shoulder pads and stockings".
[Indian man]
- Prideful
Pg 165 " you can see through the window all these cups and trophies and medals in the living-room.
- Athletic
Pg 165 " the indian man was a marathon runner".
[Indian woman]
Literature Project 2011 - Theme
Theme - corridor
Family
Pg 165 "We are so scared leaving you alone at home, Mak. With that kind of neighbour."
Personal comment
My opinion of the theme "family" is that to know each other in the family through arguement. For instance, author did not want to leave her mother alone in the house in Singapore due to the increditable neighbour. However, Her mother refused to listen because she was home sick. From this evidence,both author and her mother gained bond between each other because they understand each other through arguement. Therefore, family bond can be tighten through arguement.
Mystery
Pg 166 "Who is that man?"Pg 168 "There are naughty kids. Sometimes they urine on the stairs."Pg 172 "There was urine one day at our doorstep"" "We found a clump of earth beside the televisions."
Neighbour (negative)
Pg 165 "We are so scared leaving you alone at home, Mak. With that kind of neighbour."
Pg 171 "Our slippers went missing.""Someone's fist knocking on the door.""The next door is avoiding my eyes."
Pg 172 "neighbours slamming shut their door."
The issue of trust
Pg 172 "My son-in-law one day almost wanted to buy a video camera because he 'wanted to catch them in action' so that we could show the evidence to the police."
Theme - The Move
Family
Pg. 206 "Teos live in one bedroom, with a screen-off cubicle for Mum and Dad and three sponge matteresses for five kids."
Present
Pg. 206-207 "I'm lecturing today on labour laws to protect immigrant textile workers in New York's Garment District."
Pg. 209 "ok. Be careful in the air," said the old lady, who distrusted aeroplanes."
Pg. 210 "Smiled a little when she saw that one of the boys prised the metal door plate -02-04- off the front door as a souvenir."
Past
Pg 207 "Oh, in my time it wasn't that bad. They paid about fifty cents per pair of jean. That was good money then."" "She wondered if the boys would be hungry when they arrived with the lorry." All they and their wives and kids ate these days was food out of cans and boxes. They even drank out of boxes. Like astronauts."
Pg 208 "They'd stopped selling chickens on the premises- The government siad it was unsanitary."" "To each of the boys' questions, "Why take this?" She answered, "Then you don't have to buy a new one."
