Tanjung Rhu by Minfong Ho

Synopsis
Simple yet profound story. This short story is about a successful man who forgets his roots
as a kampong boy in Tanjung Rhu and realises the importance and how much he misses it
after his mother’s death. The relationship between Mr T.W Li, a rich businessman and Ah
Ma, his mother. Mr Li has his office at Shenton Way and is modern in ways and ideas. Ah
ma is traditional with strong religious beliefs and practices ancestor worship. The day after
Ah Ma’s funeral, Mr Li recalls the day he told his mother about using binoculars or see far
glasses. The strory also looks at the conflict, struggle and tension between modern and
traditional society in Singapore through the realtionship between Mr. T.W Li and his
mother.Based on this short story Tanjung Rhu Form 4 Literature, Mr Li feels some degree of
regret for the way he treats Ah ma after this mother falls ill and later passes away. He never
pays much attention to this mother’s stories about the past and realizes a little too late that
most of his questions remained unanswered. Mr Li promises to fulfil her last wish but is
unable to find the key.

Moral Value
1) Although we live in modern world, we must not forget our traditional values
2) We must learn to appreciate people while we can
3) Money cannot buy everything
4) Learn to respect and tolerate each other
5) We should consider and accept changes in our lives and progress with the time
6) We should always voice out our feelings especially if we want to express feelings of love
for a family member especially an old parent.

Exercise
Read the extract from the short story Tanjung Rhu. Then answer the questions.

1. ‘Edward’, she said, crossing her legs, ‘come and join us?’

He refused, and was just turning away, when she noticed the binoculars he was holding,
And asked what they were.
‘Oh, these,’ he said. ‘I bought theme today. For the children’. He could not think of anything
better to say. (p.20)
a.Who does the pronoun ‘us’ refer to?
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b.Why do you think Edward or Mr Li refuses to join them?
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c. In your opinion, why didn’t Edward tell the truth about the binoculars he
bought for his mother?
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d.What does this incident reveal about the relationship of these two characters?
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2. There was one drawer which would not open. The joss sticks, he thought, must be in
there, with all the things that were most important to her. He pulled again at that drawer,
harder this time, but it stayed shut. And then he realized that she always kept it locked. And
he did not know where she hid the key. (p.35)
a) Where is Mr Li?
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b) Why is he looking for joss sticks?
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HOTS c) What does the locked drawer symbolise?
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HOTS d) If you were Mr Li, what would you do in this situation?
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