Setting Description – Macritchie Reservior

The water was calm. The lush green forest that surrounded the reservoir was a sign of peace and tranquility, or was it? In the middle of the reservoir, red and white buoys connected by thick nylon ropes formed six lanes of one thousand metres long. That distance was both short and long. Short in the sense that it could be over in less than five minutes; Long in the sense that it required over two hundred hard and powerful strokes just to complete that distance. I pondered for a while and decided that the latter seemed more appropriate – I could hardly see the end from the shore.

Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka

            The price seemed reasonable, location
            Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
            Off premises. Nothing remained
            But self-confession. “Madam,” I warned,
5         “I hate a wasted journey—I am African.”
            Silence. Silenced transmission of
            Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
            Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled
            Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was, foully. 
10         “HOW DARK?” . . . I had not misheard . . . “ARE YOU LIGHT
            OR VERY DARK?” Button B. Button A. Stench
            Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
            Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered
            Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
15         By ill-mannered silence, surrender
            Pushed dumbfoundment to beg simplification.
            Considerate she was, varying the emphasis— 
            “ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?” Revelation came.
            “You mean—like plain or milk chocolate?”
20         Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
            Impersonality. Rapidly, wavelength adjusted,
            I chose. “West African sepia”—and as an afterthought,
            “Down in my passport.” Silence for spectroscopic
            Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
25         Hard on the mouthpiece. “WHAT’S THAT?” conceding,
            “DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.” “Like brunette.” 
            “THAT’S DARK, ISN’T IT?” “Not altogether.
            Facially, I am brunette, but madam, you should see
            The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
30         Are a peroxide blonde. Friction, caused—
            Foolishly, madam—by sitting down, has turned
            My bottom raven black—One moment madam!”—sensing
            Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
            About my ears—“Madam,” I pleaded, “wouldn’t you rather
35         See for yourself?”

1.      This poem is full of colours not just that of skin, what do you think these colours signify?

Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka is a poem about discrimination of the African-Americans. This poem is full of colours which signify different things. Colours are used to express and show the characteristic of a person in the poem.

Colours are used to indicate the skin colour of the man talking to the landlady. The landlady uses words like “dark”, “light or very dark” and “dark or very light” to describe the skin colour of the man. The man in an attempt to describe his own skin colour uses words like “West African sepia” and “raven black”. The man also tries to persuade the landlady to make an exception and rent him a house by referring to the palms of his hand and the soles of his feet as “peroxide blonde”. These clearly show that the skin colours play a vital role throughout the conversation.

Colours are used to signify the anger of the African-American man when he was being discriminated due to his skin colour and was asked to rate his skin colour. Words such as “red booth”, “red pillar-box”, “red double tiered omnibus squelching tar” exhibited his anger. Normally, the persona would not have noticed a “red booth”, “red pillar-box” or a “red double tiered omnibus squelching tar”; however, the anger in him has caused him to notice the red items. The repetition of “red” is also used to emphasize the anger of the persona.

Colours are also used to show the elegance and wealth of the landlady. “Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled cigarette pipped” shows that the landlady is a supposedly respectable person, as lipstick and gold represent elegance and wealth respectively. This could both portray her as a person of dignity despite her racist words with the persona, or it could be used to portray her as a rich person who is ignorant of the rest. The formal is used to show the irony with the harsh words used by the landlady.

In conclusion, colours were used in for a variety reasons which are skin colour, anger, and the elegance and wealth of the landlady. The use of colours in this poem was to allow the reader to visualise these qualities.

2.     What does the dialogue in this poem reveal about these two characters?

Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka is a poem about discrimination of the African-Americans. It resembles a telephone conversation brings out the characteristics of the two characters.

The landlady is apparently an extremely racist preson. Not only does she reject the African-American man because of his skin colour, but she also tried to tease him about his skin colour. She asked “how dark” to the man when she finds out that he is a black. Despite knowing that the man has a dark skin already when he confessed “I am African”, she pestered the man to describe his own skin colour vividly.   The landlady also replied “What’s that? … Don’t know what that is” even after the man specifically said that he was “West African sepia”. She is also rather sarcastic and straightforward when she said “That’s dark, isn’t it?”.

The African-American man on the other hand is clever and witty. He was able to analyse the questions and words posed by the landlady. When the landlady asked, “How dark? … Are you light of very dark?”, he was able to see the question as a “Button B. Button A.”  Despite being agitated by the landlady, the man was able to stay calm and describe his skin colour with something neutral like “West African sepia.” He also used words to confuse the landlady by saying that “facially, he is brunette” and his “soles are a peroxide blonde” and his bottom “is raven black”. These words also hinted to the landlady that she was being too racist by focusing on skin colour in a conversation about house rental. The persona also acted dumb to show that the landlady is extremely foolish.

The landlady is outright racist with her direct and sarcastic remarks. On the contrary, the man was witty and countered her sarcasm with his own sarcasm.

3.     The poet dramatises a battle, who wins finally and why?

Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka is a poem about discrimination of the African-Americans. The poet dramatises a simple telephone conversation into a battle to show the extent of racism. It is hard to say who has won. Although the African-American man did not manage to meet his objective of renting a house, he did manage to end the conversation with the last laugh.

Technically, the persona did not win because the landlady hung up the phone and the deal of renting a house could not be closed. In fact, right from the moment the man told the landlady that he was black, he had already lost the deal to racism. Although the landlady seemed not to understand what the persona was trying to convey to her, she was aware of the fact that the persona is a black and that she did not want to rent her house to him. The man had failed to convince her that he was not completely black. Racism was so rampant that even the man’s witty words such as “palm of my hand, soles of my feet are peroxide blonde” could not convince her. In the end, she hung up the phone and so he could not argue back. The man was fighting a losing battle all along.

On the other hand, the persona had won the conversation despite not having rent a house. He had had last laugh by saying “Madam … wouldn’t you rather see for yourself?” The poem ended here and the conversation probably did too. The landlady probably found herself speechless and hung up the phone.

In conclusion, while the persona has lost the renting of the house, the landlady did not gain anything for herself except being portrayed as a racist person. With respect to who actually won the conversation about skin colour, the African-American probably won as the landlady was speechless in the end.

Singapore Short Story: World DragonBoat Racing Championships 2009

            In front of me lay the battlefield. It was a freshwater lake. The water was calm but my heart was not. It was churning with a whirlpool of emotions. A gust of wind swept past me, sending shivers down my spine. Ironically, it was summer – the hottest days of summer. Empty dragonboats lined the pontoon. They were meant to be filled with people who dreamed of becoming champions and bringing pride and glory to their country. I hoped that we were capable of doing so. I hoped that those months of training were worthwhile.

            In the year 2009, I joined Hwa Chong Junior College as a junior college freshman. I took up dragonboating as a CCA (co-curriculum activity). On my first training, I met our coach Mr Tan. He welcomed us freshmen and said that come August that year, we would all be participating in the prestigious World DragonBoat Racing Championships (WDBRC). He declared that we had only one goal – for Singapore to emerge as the dragonboating champion.

            At first I thought that Mr Tan was out of his mind. How could a country so small that it appeared as a tiny dot on the globe compete with giants such as China? For every one team we sent in, China could easily send in a hundred teams that were probably of the same standard or better. Winning was as impossible as finding a needle in a haystack or worse – finding a strand of hay in a stack of needles since the process was quite painful.

            Training started off with a 2.4km run at an unbelievable pace. It felt like I was doing 24 sets of 100m sprints continuously. If anyone tried to idle, Mr Tan would holler at him at the top of his voice. By the end of the run, I was panting for breath. I looked around and saw some of my teammates coughing hysterically. One of them nearly vomited. Mr Tan was furious with our poor fitness and punished us with one thousand push-ups … in perfect form.

            “In order to become champions, our training must be perfection. There cannot be any slacking nor can there be any sign of weakness.” That was Mr Tan’s speech about perfection.

            Next exercise was chin-ups. Mr Tan said that we had to do thirty chin-ups easily in perfect form. Again he reiterated his speech about perfection.

            Before we even did any dragonboating, I was dead tired from all those exercises. For our first dragonboating training, Mr tan taught us the strokes. He demanded perfection once again, “Even if the paddle is slanted by one degree or not completely in the water, the stroke becomes useless. Dragonboaters in China have perfect strokes and a much faster stroke rate. How are you supposed to win if you are not even up to their standard?”

            That was one day’s worth of training. This continued for months, training almost every day of the week. There were times when I felt that I could not endure the pain and could not make the sacrifices in order for Singapore to win.

            As the day drew near, Mr Tan announced that we would be travelling to Czech Republic from 30 July to 8 August for WDBRC. We would return to Singapore with the golden trophy as Singapore’s birthday present. After all, the next day would be National Day.

            Finally, we flew to Czech Republic on the 30^th July. The first race was 2000m race. It was just one race – no heats, no semi-finals – it was just the finals and whether you win or lose. We started off on high spirit and broke away from the rest. We counted loudly and following the beat of the drummer who sat at the front of the dragonboat. I could feel the power and the unity of the entire dragonboat. I could feel the unity and power of the entire dragonboat. Every time we pulled our paddles firmly through the water. Our boat would surge forward like a motorboat, causing water to splash form its sides violently. Mr Tan stood at the back of the dragonboat and controlled its direction using a rudder. At the same time, he shouted motivational phrases to make us paddle harder. Eventually, after sheer determination and mental strength, we crossed the finish line, gasping for breath, and emerging as the winner of that race. I did not expect to even get top three, needless to say first place. This definitely boosted our morale.

            However, we became over complacent in the next race, a 1000m race. The 1000m race was a straight-finals, meaning one chance only. We lost badly and China overtook us by 3 points. Mr Tan chided us, “I had actually expected you to lose this race. After yesterday’s race, you were busy celebrating. You became over-confident and as a result you lost.”

            In the next race, a 500m race, we won China hand downs. Unfortunately, China was still ahead of us by one point. Thankfully, we still had one more race to go. If we won it, we could take back the golden trophy for Singapore and Singapore will be declared as the dragonboating champion. Otherwise, we would have to settle for silver.

             “We will emerge as champions. We will not settle for second place, because to be second is to be last as we would have lost.” That was what Mr Tan said the night before the final race.

            The final race was the shortest distance: 200m. However, that meant that we could not afford to make any mistake. Unfortunately, the beginning of the race was not to our advantage. We missed the starting call and started off a precious one second late. As a result, China overtook us by one boat length. Our morale dropped rapidly as China continued its ferocious charge. Winning felt impossible.

            “What are you doing! Don’t lose hope! Come on, charge!” Mr Tan shouted at the top of his lungs. At that juncture, we felt a sense of injustice. Even if China won, we would not let them win easily. We would put up a fight – a fight to the finish. Then, suddenly and miraculously, our dragonboat burst forth and chased after China.

            “Come on! Keep this up! That’s the way!” Mr Tan continued to cheer us on. Two metres more … one metre more … and before we knew it we crossed the finish line with China neck-to-neck beside us. It was clearly a photo-finish but who won?

            Minutes later, the results were announced. We had won! By the whisker of the dragon head in the front of our boat. I immediately jumped up in feeling jubilant and a sense of pride. Tears of joy rolled down my cheeks. Months of effort had finally paid off.

 On the 8^th of August, 8am, our plane touched down on Changi Airport. As we walked out of the plane, Mr Tan held up the golden trophy, which glistened beautifully under the morning sun, and said, “For Singapore!”

            “For Singapore!” we echoed.

Notes form the author:

WDBRC is an actual dragonboat race. It is held biannually in odd-numbered years. In 2009, Singapore sent a youth team to compete in WDBRC. They won the championship title for Singapore. However, all characters in this story are fictitious and much of the story is fictitious too. This year, Singapore is also going to send a youth team to compete in WDBRC.

The American Civil War

a.      Identify the southern states.

The southern states are South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina. There are a total of 11 of them.

b.      Who was the US president who proclaimed war against the South?

Abraham Lincoln campaigned against the expansion of slavery beyond the states in which it already existed. However, the slave states rebelled and attacked a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina on April 12, 1861. Lincoln responded by calling for a volunteer army from each state to recapture federal property.

c.       Why was the Civil War fought?

The Southern side wanted to preserve slavery and the Northern side to preserve the Union and then later, to end slavery and free the African-American men.

d.      When was this war fought?

The Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1665.

e.      What was the outcome of this war?

The Union (north) won the war and slavery was abolished



Slavery

a.      When and how did slavery begin in the Southern States?

Slavery in the southern state first began in 1619. The Southern States traded rum and mollasses with Africa in exchange for slaves it was called the triangle trade.

b.      Which country were the slaves brought from?

Most of the slaves came from Africa although a small number were Europeans, mostly English but also Scottish and Germans, who were brought over in as indentured servants.

c.       Who traditionally bought and owned the slaves?

Slaves were traditionally owned by plantation owners who needed labour. The land in the south was richer and better for plantations, thus slavery was found mainly in the south.

d.      Were there laws/rules that the slaves had to abide by? If yes, what were they?

Slaves had to abide by certain slave codes. Slaves were allowed to be punished by the plantation owner or master, his wife, children (white males), and most often by the overseer or driver. Punishments include whipping, being placed in chains and shackles, or in various contraptions such as metal collars, being hanged, or being forced to walk a treadmill. Slaves could be punished for a variety of reasons, most of the time it was for working too slow, breaking a law such as running away, leaving the plantation without permission, or not following orders given to them.

e.      How does the notions of slavery relate to the novel? Does the study help you understand the novel better?

Understanding slavery in the Southern States allows me to understand the racial discrimination between the Whites and the African-Americans which is the main theme of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’.

Forms of Discrimination

1.       Race

2.      Religion

3.      Age

Person A: 27 years old

Person B: 50 years old, more experienced than Person A

An employer who discriminates by age might hire Person A instead of Person B even though Person B has more experience. Such an employer thinks that old-age hinders someone’s ability.

4.      Nationality

5.      Gender

In some schools, girls are not allowed to take up certain courses such as carpentry.

6.      Sexual orientation

7.      Education

8.      Reverse discrimination (discrimination against discrimination)

9.      Employment

10.   Appearance

A nerdy-looking student may be teased by his peers.

11.    Intelligence

12.   Perception

13.   Medical problems

14.   Marital status

15.   Background

16.   Economic status

17.   Political view

Shel Silverstein Poems

The Little Boy and the Old Man

Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."

Said the old man, "I do that too."

The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."

"I do that too," laughed the little old man.

Said the little boy, "I often cry."

The old man nodded, "So do I."

"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems

Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."

And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.

"I know what you mean," said the little old man.

1.       What is the underlying message that is being conveyed in this poem?

Shel Silverstein uses the conversation between a little boy and an old man to tell us that adults are selfish people who care only about themselves and not their children (represented by the little boy) or their parents (represented by the old man.

2.      Has Shel Silverstein used any particular poetic technique that brings out this message more clearly?

Shel Silverstein draws a comparison between the little boy and the old man, and brings up many similarities between both of them, including the fact that adults do not care for them. Shel uses words like “the warmth of a wrinkled old hand” and “I know what you mean” to tell us that the old man does not just sympathies the little boy but also understands the little boy because he himself has experienced it.

Messy Room

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!

1.       Can you say that the poem is humourous? If so, how?

Messy Room by Shel Silverstein is a humourous poem about the persona describing the messy state of a bedroom only to realise that it is his. I find it humourous that the persona can notice the “underwear [that] is hanging on the lamp ... workbook [that] is wedged in the window ... smelly old sock [that] has been stuck to the wall” yet does not realise that the room actually belongs to him. The persona is even shocked when he realises that and exclaims “Oh, dear”.

2.      What aspect of the human character has been highlighted in this poem?

The poem highlights that humans are always quick to point fingers at others but slow at reflecting on themselves. Humans are quick in blaming “Donald Robert or Willie” or anyone but themselves. When someone says that it is their fault, humans would always give a “Huh? You say it’s mine?”.

Cloony the Clown

I'll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown

Who worked in a circus that came through town.

His shoes were too big and his hat was too small,

But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.

He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes,

He had a green dog and a thousand balloons.

He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall,

But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.

And every time he did a trick,

Everyone felt a little sick.

And every time he told a joke,

Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke.

And every time he lost a shoe,

Everyone looked awfully blue.

And every time he stood on his head,

Everyone screamed, "Go back to bed!"

And every time he made a leap,

Everybody fell asleep.

And every time he ate his tie,

Everyone began to cry.

And Cloony could not make any money

Simply because he was not funny.

One day he said, "I'll tell this town

How it feels to be an unfunny clown."

And he told them all why he looked so sad,

And he told them all why he felt so bad.

He told of Pain and Rain and Cold,

He told of Darkness in his soul,

And after he finished his tale of woe,

Did everyone cry? Oh no, no, no,

They laughed until they shook the trees

With "Hah-Hah-Hahs" and "Hee-Hee-Hees."

They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks,

They laughed all day, they laughed all week,

They laughed until they had a fit,

They laughed until their jackets split.

The laughter spread for miles around

To every city, every town,

Over mountains, 'cross the sea,

From Saint Tropez to Mun San Nee.

And soon the whole world rang with laughter,

Lasting till forever after,

While Cloony stood in the circus tent,

With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent.

And he said,"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT -

I'M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT."

And while the world laughed outside.

Cloony the Clown sat down and cried.

1.       Explain the irony in this poem.

Cloony the Clown by Shel Silverstein is a poem about how an unfunny clown became extremely funny unexpectedly and rather sadly. The irony in this poem is that Cloony tried extremely hard to make his audience laugh but they just would not laugh, and when he was serious his audience simply laughed away.

2.      Does Shel Silverstein manage to convey some harsh realities in this poem?

Shel Silverstein conveyed the harsh reality that people are not appreciative of other people’s actions.

3.      What poetic devices has the poet used to effectively convey his message?

Shel Silverstein used irony in conveying his message about people not being appreciative. Shel wrote how Cloony tried desperately to make his audience laugh, how he “had a trombone to play loud silly tunes”, how he wore a shoe “too big” and a hat “too small” and other tricks which a clown performs. However, Cloony’s audience just “felt a little sick … looked awfully blue … fell asleep” but did not laugh at his tricks. Yet, when Cloony told about “how it feels to be an unfunny clown”, his audience “laughed until they shook the trees” and “laughed with all howls and yowls and shrieks”.

Which of the above poems can you identify with the most?

I can identify with Messy Room. When things go wrong, I am quick to put the blame on other people, and most of the time I am the one who is at fault.

I like to keep my room neat; however, sometimes due to my laziness my room hardly stays neat. Once, I found my cupboard in a mess and immediately I blamed my brother who likes to dig through my stuff. I ranted at him all day long. When my father realised this, he told me that the mess was actually my fault. The previous day, I had been digging through my cupboard for my test-tubes. Through the process of finding them, I had messed up my cupboard. When I found it, I simply walked away without arranging my stuff neatly. Upon realizing this, I quickly apologised to my brother.