Lot 47, Hse 54,
Taman Sinar Baru,
88450, Kota Kinabalu,
Sabah.
8 August 2009
Dear Rita,
How are you? I’m fine and I hope that you are in the pink of health. As a reputable column advisor, I would like to address some of the problems that are faced by a modern teenager like me. I’m seventeen this year and I will be facing the SPM examinations end of this year. I hope that you will be able to give adequate and reasonable advice and tips on how to solve my problems.
As you know, I am facing SPM examination during the November and December months. This examination is critical to all form five students in order to pursue further studies abroad. It is like a passport to your future. The problem that I am facing is that I am not able to concentrate on my studies. My concentration tends to stray away and is distracted by minute complications like the arrangement of things on my desk and also I drift away in my mind. To achieve my ultimate goal of succeeding to be an engineer, I have to rely on the Hobson’s choice to fund my tertiary education, which is on scholarships. I know I am not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. To procure this, excellent results is needed. So dear Rita, I hope that you will be able to give me an elixir to my predicament.
Besides that, I am likewise to suffer from family pressure. My parents expect me to achieve creditable and admirable results in my SPM examinations. If I do not study hard enough, I will be penalize and they ground me. For example, if I fail any subjects that I am taking, my parents will cut me off from all source of entertainment and enlightenment like my music player, the computer and even the television. They will also nag at me constantly disregarding if I let my eyes off my book for a brief period. Furthermore, my parents also had fight with each other about financial woes. My father is just a humble office clerk while my mother is a housewife. In all, my father is the breadwinner for my family of six. As the eldest, I have the responsibility to tend to my younger siblings. As I care for them, I am fully aware that I am sacrificing time that I can use to do my revision. Almost everyday, I go to bed in the early hours of the morning. So please dear Rita, please provide me with some philosopher's stone to ease my burden.
Moreover, I am also faced with an uphill and a seemingly insurmountable challenge to balance my time between studying and co-curriculum. I am not able to focus during my revision because I am tired and lethargic after the activity. The consequence of this is that I am getting bad grads for my school based exam. I have less time to study because I have lack of time due to co-curricular activities. So in order for me to study, I have to burn candles at both ends in order to meet my target for my daily revision. I am the president of the school’s Football Club and also the president of the Boys Brigade of my school. These posts that I am holding demand my utmost attention and to deal with all the meetings is really a struggle and it seems endless. By the same token, I am facing relationship problem with friends. Friends, as we know, bring happiness and are able to relate to our problems. The unfortunate deadlock that I am in is that some of my friends fall out of favour with me. They seem to defame my credentials as a person who is arrogant. I am out of wits when I try to resolve this botheration. It proved futile. How am I supposed to do? Help me, dear Rita.
Lamentably, I have to stop penning at this very note. I look forward to your reply and will be all ears to your advices given to me. I genuinely hope that with your vast experience and knowledge in this field will you tackle this problem assiduously and I would like to thank you for your time in trying to reply me. Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Victor Wong
Monday, August 10, 2009
Ujian SETARA Q.3
What moral values did you learn after reading the novel ‘The Pearl’ by John Steinbeck? Support your answer with close reference to the text.
The novel, The pearl is a product forged in the mind of John Steinbeck in the 20th century. It is a brilliantly penned novel that explicits the oppressive nature of the colonial Spanish who ruled over the inferior nature of the native Mexican Indians.
There are many moral values that can be extracted out from the novel. These include the moral value of resourceful. Kino and his family live in utter poverty in the outskirts of La Paz city. Kino tries all means to make his family life a better one. For instance, when the scorpion stings Coyotito and the doctor refuse to treat him, they resort to traditional but unproven treatment. Juana takes some seaweed and grinds it into a paste. Then, she applies it onto Coyotito’s swelling and painful wound. This potion works for Coyotito and greatly reduces the swelling. I am truly admired by this event so much as when it seems that all things begin to turn against Kino’s family, they still manage to find an elixir for Coyotito. Besides that, when the attackers set fire to his shack and punctures a hole in his canoe, Kino is still undeterred. He finds another way that leads to the capital city and abandons his initial plan to travel in his canoe. The moral value of honesty be apprised of Kino not stealing another person’s canoe in order to aid in his quest to travel to the capital city to sell off the pearl to fulfill his dreams. I am full of appraisal for Kino’s decision making talent of not plagiarizing on other people’s prized possession. This split second decision by Kino is indeed a remarkable and deserves my full ovation. Kino, with the help of Juan Tomas and Apolonia, gathers supplies of food and water in preparation for the dangerous but rewarding trip to the city. They set off by foot. In these times of peril, Kino’s resourcefulness in getting his family to the capital city teaches me to be more resourceful in life and not to take things for granted. Who knows what the future may hold for me, I have to gear up and be prepared to face those critical predicaments and utilize the things given to me to the fullest extend.
Besides that moral value, I also learn the moral value of love. This moral value is seen in several particular events. For instance, Kino and his wife, Juana loves their first born baby, Coyotito. They shower him with love and care and will take any necessary actions to keep him out of harm’s way. When Kino sees a scorpion that is on the rope of Coyotito’s hanging box, he takes an instinctive action to eliminate the harm. Although the attempt fails and the scorpion manages to sting Coyotito, Kino still takes it as a threat to the family and eradicates it by “rubbing it into a paste”. I have learnt that I should take any actions that are deemed suitable to put my family in a safe zone even though it may mean that I need to sacrifice my precious life for it. Furthermore, seeing her son in agonizing pain, Juana takes the Hobson’s choice to suck the poison from the scorpion’s sting in Coyotito’s wound. This action may kill Juana as the toxins may poison her. She disregards her own safety by minimizing the scorpion’s venom in Coyotito’s little body through sucking truly portrays a motherly love to her son. Her actions truly deserve credit. I learnt that I need to show my love to my family and let them know I really love them.
Moreover, I also learn the moral value of loyalty. This is evidently shown where Juana still pledges her loyalty to Kino even though he punches and kicks her for trying to discard of the pearl which she foresees will bring bad luck to the family. Juana does not deserve the brutal assault from Kino and still she is loyal to her husband. This teaches me that I should be loyal to my wife and she too has to show her loyalty to me. This will result in everlasting love between both of us. Besides that, she is loyal to Kino by not splitting with his family when they come under attack from the trackers. Kino’s decision to split with his family is not net with Juana’s idea. She decides to follow him even though it means certain death. This truly demonstrates that the loyalty bond of Juana to her husband is not lost even though they are under the strain to stay alive. I should always be loyal and be content with my wife when going through rough times.
All in all, I have learnt to be a resourceful person by taking and using what is only given. Moreover, I will not buck under pressure when I am in a dire predicament. Besides that, I too learnt to be a loving person and to love my family more. Last but not least, I also learnt to be a loyal and faithful companion to my wife every time.
The novel, The pearl is a product forged in the mind of John Steinbeck in the 20th century. It is a brilliantly penned novel that explicits the oppressive nature of the colonial Spanish who ruled over the inferior nature of the native Mexican Indians.
There are many moral values that can be extracted out from the novel. These include the moral value of resourceful. Kino and his family live in utter poverty in the outskirts of La Paz city. Kino tries all means to make his family life a better one. For instance, when the scorpion stings Coyotito and the doctor refuse to treat him, they resort to traditional but unproven treatment. Juana takes some seaweed and grinds it into a paste. Then, she applies it onto Coyotito’s swelling and painful wound. This potion works for Coyotito and greatly reduces the swelling. I am truly admired by this event so much as when it seems that all things begin to turn against Kino’s family, they still manage to find an elixir for Coyotito. Besides that, when the attackers set fire to his shack and punctures a hole in his canoe, Kino is still undeterred. He finds another way that leads to the capital city and abandons his initial plan to travel in his canoe. The moral value of honesty be apprised of Kino not stealing another person’s canoe in order to aid in his quest to travel to the capital city to sell off the pearl to fulfill his dreams. I am full of appraisal for Kino’s decision making talent of not plagiarizing on other people’s prized possession. This split second decision by Kino is indeed a remarkable and deserves my full ovation. Kino, with the help of Juan Tomas and Apolonia, gathers supplies of food and water in preparation for the dangerous but rewarding trip to the city. They set off by foot. In these times of peril, Kino’s resourcefulness in getting his family to the capital city teaches me to be more resourceful in life and not to take things for granted. Who knows what the future may hold for me, I have to gear up and be prepared to face those critical predicaments and utilize the things given to me to the fullest extend.
Besides that moral value, I also learn the moral value of love. This moral value is seen in several particular events. For instance, Kino and his wife, Juana loves their first born baby, Coyotito. They shower him with love and care and will take any necessary actions to keep him out of harm’s way. When Kino sees a scorpion that is on the rope of Coyotito’s hanging box, he takes an instinctive action to eliminate the harm. Although the attempt fails and the scorpion manages to sting Coyotito, Kino still takes it as a threat to the family and eradicates it by “rubbing it into a paste”. I have learnt that I should take any actions that are deemed suitable to put my family in a safe zone even though it may mean that I need to sacrifice my precious life for it. Furthermore, seeing her son in agonizing pain, Juana takes the Hobson’s choice to suck the poison from the scorpion’s sting in Coyotito’s wound. This action may kill Juana as the toxins may poison her. She disregards her own safety by minimizing the scorpion’s venom in Coyotito’s little body through sucking truly portrays a motherly love to her son. Her actions truly deserve credit. I learnt that I need to show my love to my family and let them know I really love them.
Moreover, I also learn the moral value of loyalty. This is evidently shown where Juana still pledges her loyalty to Kino even though he punches and kicks her for trying to discard of the pearl which she foresees will bring bad luck to the family. Juana does not deserve the brutal assault from Kino and still she is loyal to her husband. This teaches me that I should be loyal to my wife and she too has to show her loyalty to me. This will result in everlasting love between both of us. Besides that, she is loyal to Kino by not splitting with his family when they come under attack from the trackers. Kino’s decision to split with his family is not net with Juana’s idea. She decides to follow him even though it means certain death. This truly demonstrates that the loyalty bond of Juana to her husband is not lost even though they are under the strain to stay alive. I should always be loyal and be content with my wife when going through rough times.
All in all, I have learnt to be a resourceful person by taking and using what is only given. Moreover, I will not buck under pressure when I am in a dire predicament. Besides that, I too learnt to be a loving person and to love my family more. Last but not least, I also learnt to be a loyal and faithful companion to my wife every time.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Pearl
Who is the main character in the story? With references to the text, give an account of why you consider him or her so.
Forged in the furnace of the imagination of John Steinbeck, ‘The Pearl’ is a novel that was splendidfully narrated by him in the 20th century. It depicts the lives of the native Mexican Indians who were under colonial rule of the atrocious and oppressive Spanish. I think that Kino, the protagonist in this novel should be the main character in this particular novel as he explicit the following attributes.
Among the reason on why I think Kino is the main character is primarily based on the factor that he is the dominating figure in his family and a caring person. Kino, who is born a man, naturally takes the helm of his family of three. He is known as the head of the family. He is the breadwinner of his family as he brings income and necessities to the family. Kino’s wife, Juana is unemployed as most women in that era do. This is by virtue of the thinking of the people at that women must only occupy themselves with house chores. Juana has to juggle between taking care of Coyotito, their first born baby and the labourious task of house labour. Besides that, he loves his so much that he brought him to the doctor. This act defies the norm of the society that Kino is associated with. The doctor, a rich and arrogant being, refuses to treat Coyotito and roared at that instance “Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for “little Indians”? I’m a doctor, not a veterinarian.” When the manservant conveys the matter of payment, Kino could only produce “eight small misshapen seed pearls” which are worthless. These acts truly display why I firmly believe Kino is worthy to be the main character of the story. This goes to show that in many instances Kino not only imply as the head of the family, he too is a humble and caring person.
Moreover, I am able to fathom Kino is a person who is courageous and brave. He does pretty well in protecting his family from harm’s way. This is unambiguously shown in the novel where Kino spots o balck scorpion which he fails to grab hold of and falls plumb into the hanging box where Coyotito is laying. The scorpion, in the act of self-defense, stings Coyotito in the shoulder. Acting upon instinct, Kino instantaneously seizes the scorpion and starts “rubbing it into a paste”. Kino’s ability to go further to protect his family truly deserves my plaudits and it is further strengthened by the fact that he manages to attack and wounds the intruders in their attempt to dislodge the pearl from Kino’s hold. The news of Kino’s find reverberates in the town of
The belief in me that Kino is the right person to be the main character is further boosted by the fact that he does not succumb easily to pressure. As we all know what pressure does to all mankind, it is the same what pressure does to Kino. For an instant, after finding the pearl, he tries to sell off the pearl to the local pearl dealers. Unknown to him, these unscrupulous pearl dealers ink a pact by oppressing the price of the pearl to a nominal value. Hoping that he will fall prey to this scheme, their hopes are dashed when Kino demands more money for the pearl. Even though he needs money badly to pay his son’s scorpion bite treatment, he does not give in to them. This leads them trailing him wherever he goes with the pearl. Ultimately, he becomes a fugitive together with his family. What truly sets him apart from other men is that he does not budge under severe provocations from the pearl dealers. He would rather dispose of the pearl and to lose his entire meticulous plan he has mastered than to let it fall into the hands of the pearl dealers, whom he regards as thieves and touts.
In a nutshell, it is undeniable and legitimately to deny Kino a rightful honour of being the main character as he has throughout in this novel impresses me with being the dominating figure in his family and also being a caring person. Furthermore, it is also absurd to say that he is not a courageous and brave person as he has again shine in this segment. Last but not least, he is a man of steel with a heart made up of iron. He does not fall prey to pressure; instead he has done wonderfully in impressing me and majority of readers like you. Kino again and again never fails to inspire me and will always be my choice of the main character of this novel.
By Victor Wong Vun Choy [2009]
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