BOOM

BOON(Character traits)Determinedfor hisowngoalstobemetHENCEhedisregardstheviews/desiresofMother ⇒looksdownonMother’swishestostayduetosentimental value “Throwawaythesehideousstatues”“Thirty-sixstoreyshigh”“I don’t knowhowyoucanliveinthisdump”“not everydayisasirrational asyou” - saidtoMother“It’soldandrotting” - Boondescribesthehouse Determinedtogetout of thehousewithMother “Ma, I knowyou’rereallyattachedtothisflat but it isfallingtopieces”“youwant tostayinsemi-Dalsocan”“Wecanmovetosomewherewithafantasticviewof trees.Hundredsof them, if youlike” BOONTALKSTOTHETREE[Pg95] - Cuttingdownof tree“You’rejust atree. Just astupidtree” *Thisisafter whenJeremiahtellsthefamilythat YFisdead“Youknowit’strue. Don’t you?” ‘atranscendental smilelightsuphisface, ashewatchesthespirallingashlikealittleboywhosedreamhascometrue’ ● Tryingtorationalise/convinceMothertomoveoutbytryingtoappeal toherinterests Hateshischildhood⇒traumatisedbyit BOON’SDREAM“But howtoerasethehistoryof your ownlife?”“Supermanstickersrefusetocomeoff”“blackgrimestranglesbathroomtaps”“Hemight aswell still behere”“buriedlikeKryptoniteinthesewalls”“got todotherescuingyourself” BOON’SMONOLOGUEABOUTTHETREE“Fifteenyearslater. AndI amstill chainedtothat bloodytree”“Canstill feel theroughbarkscrapingagainst myback”“I wantedtodietoshowhimwhat amonster hewas”“But thenI lookedupandsawher. AndI knewI couldn’t doit” MOVINGOUT[Pg11]*Mother wastellingBoonabout howhelikedsuperheroes/thingsinBoon’schildhood“Boondoesn’t reply”“after alongpause. Kryptonite” BOONBREAKSTHEBADNEWSTOMOTHER[Pg83]“Bullshit. Bullshit. I amnot likethat bastardat all”

Wishestolivelavishlyjust likehispropertyagentfriends(comparison)⇒resentment innotbeingabletoliveluxuriouslylikethem “I hatebeingapropertyagent. I seebeautiful condosbut thengobacktothat pigsty” HOUSINGAGENTS- TEASINGBOON[Pg18]“[Boon] reachesfor thekeys”“Noneof your business” +“Oi!” (CHILD)Imaginative,energetic, playful MEMORYOFTHEREDUNDERWEAR[Pg38]“dahdahdahDAHDAHDAH”“I’mClarkKent!”“Superman” Caresfor Motherandwantstoalsoensureherhappiness⇒I thinkhefeelsbadfor her MOTHERANDBOON[Pg98]“Stopit Ma! Or you’ll havenothingleft” - whenMother isthrowingher statues“But Boonsquatsdownandstart tapingthebrokenstatuestogether” MOTHERDREAMSOFBECOMINGAMYNAH“Hekeepsasking, doyoulikeit?”“I knowhe’strying” MOTHER(Character traits) Wantstoholdontothepast &not let itgo⇒keepspastmemoriesclosetoher asshetreasurestheir sentimentalvalue/cherishesherpast memories&whatever makesherremember them “Penang. July1978” “Don’t youdaredoanythingtomyhome” “Don’t youdaretouchmywalls” “Thisplaceisworthmorethananyamount of money” “Whereelsewouldyoube?Hesaid. WhereelsewouldIbe?” “Wahai dengchu” - whichmeansI want togohome MOTHERDREAMSOFBECOMINGAMYNAH[Pg101](memorisehighlightedquotesinbook) →Shecherishesthesentimentalvalueof her possessionsastheyaresymbolicof ahappymemorythat sheisremindedof whenevershehastheseitems- House,Statuesetc →Eventhoughthenewestatehasmanyluxuriousfacilities, Motherdoesnot careabout themaswhatshetreasuresarethehappymemoriesinher past that arerepresentedbyher olditemslikestatues&most importantlyher

house→Shefeelsresentment towardsthepeopleinher estatewhostrivefor luxuryasit isduetotheiraspirationsthat shelosesherhumblehome→Shefeelsresentment aswhilethepeopleinher estateareabletofulfil their aspirations, sheisforcedtomoveout of her home&leavebehindthethingsthat sheholdsdear &closetoher heart Doesnot want tomoveonandchoosestostayinthepast ANEIGHBOURLYCHAT[Pg31]“Wegot nofuture. Our futureishere” LovesYFverymuch “Don’t want hundreds. I onlywant one. Mytree” “Thisplaceisworthmorethananyamount of money” “BecauseI amstill here” MOTHER’SDREAM[Pg86]“shouldershunched”“but I onlycut myfinger openwiththeknife”“youidiot, youstupidfool” ⇒triestoremaindefensive“All I wantedwastohear himsaymyname”“Just once” ● HangsontothehopethatonedayYFwill returntoher● Still lovesYFassheisstillwaitingfor himall theseyears● Yearnsfor thepresence&returnof YF Stubborn- Wantstoavoidthetruth-Doesnot want toaccept YF’sdeath REVELATIONS[Pg88]“Heisapieceof dogshit but heisnot acorpse!” ACCEPTINGTHETRUTH“He’salousyliar” - Mother saysthisabout Jeremiah YOUNGMOTHER (SIG) Thecharacter of YMallowsaudiencetoseethedevelopment ofYMtoMother &understandMother’semotions&thoughtsthroughexperiencesinher past →sothat audiencecanbetterunderstandMother’semotions&preferences

JEREMIAH(Character traits) Contemplative “reluctantly”“uncertaintly”“But…” “I’vealwayswondered…what thoselast momentswerelike. Insideher head” ⇒heaskedCorpsefor what it feltduringone’slast moments Selfless- Goodperson-Wantstodowhat isright- Righteous Compassionate/Empathetic “They’vesufferedsomuchalready. Shouldn’t theyhavetheright torest inpeacefor abit longer than15years?” Uncertainabout hisdecisions/leaningsattimes (1) HEISANEMOTIONLESSBUREAUCRAT(StrugglingtodiscoverwhoheisasJeremiah)“Wehavetotry. Or at least showthat wearetrying”“We’reabout policies, not people”“Nothingpersonal” THESERVANTANDTHECORPSE[Pg21]“AndI amhereto…” +“readsobedientlyfromthefile” ⇒hedoesnot usehisownwordsheretotalktoCorpsebutreadsoff fromthefile CHORUSOFCIVILSERVANTS[Pg33]“Weareunabletomakeanexceptionfor your case”“Thankyoufor your feedback” JEREMIAHANDBOSS[Pg41]“Yes. I meanno. I mean. Mondayisfine” ⇒hesaysthiswhenDirector instructshimtogobacktothegrave (2) HETRULYCARESFORTHEPEOPLE GRAVESIDESCENE[Pg48] ● Heisunsureofwhoheisasaperson⇒hetriestoemulatetheactionsofprofessionalbureaucratsasacivil servant andinthisprocessloseshisownownself-identity● Hetakesawhiletodecidedlyfindwhoheisasaperson- JeremiahasJeremiah, notJeremiahthefacelessbureaucrat ● Jeremiahstrugglestofightfor what hebelievesinduetothedemandsandnatureof hisjobasabureaucrat →DeterminedtohelpCorpse

Contemplative “reluctantly”“uncertaintly”“But…” “I’vealwayswondered…what thoselast momentswerelike. Insideher head” ⇒heaskedCorpsefor what it feltduringone’slast moments “I thinkI maybeabletohelpyou” +“There’sgot tobesomething” JEREMIAHTALKSTOCOLLEAGUE[Pg79]“Um…no” ⇒Herefusedtoget inDirector’soffice“Well, I alsohavepriorities, Director”“What exactlyiswrongwithmyattitude?Just becauseIcareabout what happenstosomebodyother thanmyself,evenif it’sjust arottenoldcorpse…whydoesthat makemetheonethat’sscrewedup?”“Now, if you’ll pleaseexcuseme, I haveasitevisit tomake”“ScrewthePQ!” →Thiswasthefirst timeJeremiahever defiedDirector directly →Here, Jeremiahstandsfirmlyinwhat hebelieves →Hedoesnotdiscriminateevenacorpse →Theuseof theinformalword‘screw’ reflectshowJeremiahisnot tryingtoact primandproper asabureaucrat (byalwaysspeakinginaprofessionalmanner), but isusingwordsthat reflect hisunfilteredthoughts →Caresabout helpingthepublicandtakingintoconsiderationtheir viewpointsthanmerelyexecutingthetasksrequiredtoget done-whichgoesagainst thecoreidealsofBureaucracythat involvesgettingthingsdonewithout theconsiderationof humanemotions CORPSELoveshiswife, YoungMother, alot(Character trait) CORPSEFINALLYREMEMBERS[Pg75]“Shelovedtrees” BOONCUTSDOWNTREEANDJEREMIAHTALKSTOCORPSE[Pg96]“I hadtogobacktothetree, thehouse, toher”“WhenI reachedthedoor, I bangedonit until eventhedriver alsocurseandswear. SoI cursebacklah” →YMisthelast thingon

“IntheflamesI seeher face” CREMATION[Pg103]“She’ssquattinginthekitchen”“Her favouritespot”“Andshesays, whysolong?Si LangTau”“AndI knowI amhome” hismindbeforehisdeath →Remembersheractions, preferences →Corpse’sdefinitionofhomewhereby‘home’ forhimisaplacehebelongstoandcherishesiswithhiswife, YoungMother →YMisthelast thingonCorpse’smindbeforeheiscremated →MinutesbeforeCorpse’scremation, hereminiscesabout YMandhowbeautiful it wouldbetoreturnbacktoher (SIGNIFICANCEOFCORPSE) CorpseallowedJeremiahtogrowasacharacter +interactionswithJeremiah THESERVANTANDTHECORPSE[Pg21]“(readsobedientlyfromthefile) Inlinewiththegovernment’stripleREstrategy” GRAVESIDESCENE[Pg48]“I thinkI maybeabletohelpyou”“There’sgot tobesomething!”“You’rejust acorpsetakingupunnecessaryspaceintheground. WhydoI evenbother withyou?”“I would’vebecomeaconstructionworker! Not abloodybu