РефератыИностранный языкPoPostmodernism Essay Research Paper In

Postmodernism Essay Research Paper In

Postmodernism Essay, Research Paper


In “Foreign Bodies”, although Hwee Hwee


Tan explores what has been done before ? the blend of East and West, themes


both light and serious ? the treatment has her own signature, and the political


satire existing side by side with the Christian preaching is unique. The


main effect that emerges is that of humour through the contradictions within


each component and against each other, in the motley selection. Especially


engaging is the exposé on the cultural practices, idiosyncrasies


and two-facedness of Chinese Singaporeans. On the one hand, both local


and non-Singaporean readers derive fun as the former see themselves in


a comically unflattering but true light, while the latter get acquainted


with the local culture in an entertaining way from Tan’s light-hearted


portrayal. Later in the book, deeper issues push to the droll surface because


facing the characters in the end is the dilemma of life-choices and moral


integrity. This engages the reader into a contemplation of serious issues


beyond Tan’s wit. On the other hand, alienation may also result from readers


in disagreement with her views on certain aspects of Chinese culture, those


who find her pro-Christianity stance too forward and those unable to identify


with the characters.


The novel acquaints non-Singaporean readers


with Chinese moralistic myths and legends like the eighteen levels of Hell,


Chang-E the maiden of the moon, and Mu Lian who saved his mother from hell.


They learn about interesting Chinese beliefs like “that it was good luck


for gifts to come in pairs” or that a pregnant cat can resurrect a corpse


by jumping over it. National pastimes including karaoke, gambling and soccer


mania are described as staples of the general populace. Singlish as an


essential part of everyday communication is illustrated by Mei’s conversation


with an MRT warden after Andy spilled a drink at the station, which is


followed by an explanation to Andy who does not comprehend the language.


The reader is introduced to Mei’s prying relatives (which are, of course,


ubiquitous creatures that anyone from any culture will know). “They only


want to know so that they can say bad things about us. Laugh about us.


They only want to gossip”. Other perennial topics for idle local gossip


revolve around discussions of property prices after an arrest etc. In addition,


a keen sense of home is recreated for Singaporean readers. The strong Singapore


feel comes from the Singapore slang words kaypo, wah leow, eng, lah, xiao,


ang moh, ai-ya, gek sim, pei she, chin-chai, ca jiao etc; familiar place


names such as General Hospital, Woodbridge Hospital, Geylang, Tiong Bahru,


East Coast Park; and Singaporean’s love for acronyms POSB, HUDC, HDB, CID,


NTUC, MP etc.


Slices of life distinctively Singaporean


are drawn from social, moral and cultural issues. The gold tooth of Mei’s


grandfather, which is “his only luxury”, symbolises the frugality of the


older generation that scrimp on themselves. The preoccupation with good


fortune is made comic. For example, Eugene’s parents have his original


Chinese name changed into an auspicious one because the number of strokes


in the original name was unlucky, or Mrs. Lam nags at her maid Melissa


that she sweeps away luck for using broom during the Chinese New Year.


Food and bingeing serve as a form of consolation for Singaporeans (with


an emphasis on local cuisine) ? “I got the most calorific dishes possible


? roast pork rice, fried kway teow, and fried carrot cake?and burped. It


felt so good” after being dismissed by Andy from representing him.


Many instances of Tan’s portrayal of Chinese


culture are often hilarious. In the extended family situation, it is hard


for Andy to remember Mei’s niece and he calls her “Zhen Chou” (really smelly)


instead of “Zhen Cai” (genuine fortune), besides showing the language difficulty


for non-Chinese speakers. There is a stigma of being an older unmarried


woman as Mei’s mother worries about her daughter who is nearly 30 years


old and reaching the “expiry date”. She likens marriage to going to NTUC


to “grab first, worry later”. This “kiasuism” is compounded with the pragmatism


of Singaporeans who see divorce as easy, “can refund or exchange” if not


satisfied. Mei’s mother also typifies the Chinese Singaporean housewife


who has the superstition that Fengshui improves luck, to the extent of


writing to a member of Parliament requesting that a tree affecting her


HDB unit’s Fengshui be cut down. The humour sometimes comes to the level


of pastiche, for example, when Mei is asked by her mother “You pass motion


now still got bleed or not?”, the “bad taste” of alluding to bodily functions


effectively indicates the mother’s concern. Little is known about Singapore


expatriate children and it may especially pique the curiosity of locals


to learn more about their own “exports”. The reader is probably shocked


to find that the Singapore expat kid shoplifts, “kicks from smashing in


headlights, lobbing lamp-post bulbs, and watching porno videos”


Irony suffuses many situations such as


“In other countries, if you’re a kid dying of a terminal disease, you do


interesting things like try to break a world record?(a Singapore boy) achieves


6 A1s, but doesn’t live to see it”. Tan criticises Mei’s relatives who


gossip about uncle Cheong that he “Go world tour” after his wife’s death,


not understanding that grief can be private without an overt show of tears.


In fact, the gambling at funerals and the hired professional mourners do


not escape Tan’s eye as she comments on the “misplaced” sense of proper


respect to the dead and the hypocritical pretence at mourning. The accent


of Chinese values on filial piety is fodder for irony too since Mei’s grandfather


is sent to an old folks’ home after a stroke. His own children do not look


after him and becoming a ‘recipient of Interact Club care” that is hardly


a part of his family adds to the irony.


The political arena is another area that


Tan practises he

r wit upon. She reminds Singaporeans and informs non-locals


of the inevitable “Big Brother is watching” part of Singapore society.


In the MRT incident, spy cameras catch the recalcitrant Andy spilling his


drink under the “No food and Drink sign/ $500 fine” sign and he gets into


trouble. Andy’s frustrated question: “How come betting on horses is legal,


but betting on soccer is not?” provokes speculation on the government’s


efforts at the profit aspect of state control over gambling rather than


for reasons national welfare. Tan suggests that the press is the primary


vehicle for government propaganda: “Andy was the foreigner, the evil outside


influence, the ang mo; Eugene was the Singaporean kid led astray by corrupt


Western expatriates; and me, I was the local, naïve, suaku mountain


tortoise of a girl who should have listened to her mother and not fallen


for a criminal like Andy”. The racism of the judge at Andy’s last hearing


is brought into the fore by Andy’s statement: “When a crime occurred, it


would be too easy to blame it on someone like me, to see him as the foreign


body, the element that infected a once healthy society.” Tan’s mild political


satire maintains a wry humour that complements the general comic tone.


It may be objectionable to some readers


to have the didactic preaching of Christian values thrust upon them. In


fact, some of the supposedly Christian values exist in other religions


(e.g. unconditional love in Buddhism). The born-again Christian passages


of Andy and Mei are reminiscent of the pamphlets about Christian conversion


stories distributed by overzealous preachers in the streets. The rather


bleak ending, but containing sentimental pseudo-enlightened feelings, does


not break from the mould, common nowadays, of gritty stories finally expressing


unconditional faith, to attract the world-weary youth.


The championship of the Christian cause


appears to be an attack on Chinese folk religion. Tan’s character Mei makes


a judgement of the religion by focussing on the negative aspects. She believes


that the religion is built on the premise that “You are guilty until proven


innocent”. She elaborates that “The King of Hades judged the deceased’s


popularity by the amount of tears shed for him, hence the professional


mourners. Volume, not sincerity, counted.” Tan also presents a jeering


unsympathetic view of the funeral rite, that is never alleviated in the


book: “An army of priests?ready to storm Hell with their rituals and rescue


(the grandfather) from the demonic clutches of Yuen Thou Wong”. While it


is quite fair to judge human actions (within certain limits), the criticism


of a religious ritual that cannot and does not contain good or evil, claims


no credibility. It is a very different thing to attack wayward religious


followers and to attack the religion itself, no matter how pious one is


to one’s own.


There are characterisation flaws in the


novel that may disengage the reader. Mei is too clever and her humour seems


slightly forced and out of place since it is unlikely anyone real perceives


things the way she is portrayed. She feels neither Singaporean nor European,


but perhaps she is a hybrid that Tan intends to represent the new cosmopolitan


Singaporean? Andy, too, is unconvincing and will not be immediately identified


by the English themselves. He is a romanticised picture of a simple English


lad by the Singapore-Party-Girl-like Mei who has a slight Pinkerton syndrome.


However, it is possibly Tan’s attempt to exoticise the West in reaction


against the popular exoticism of the Asian girl. The reader is hard-pressed


to imagine a simpleton with brains, who can put a tin of beans into the


microwave oven, and unexpectedly displays an artful self-defence in court.


Some issues that are foreign to Singaporean readers may also alienate instead


of engage them. The yuppie lifestyle of Loong and Eugene, and the friendship/romance


between a local and foreigner are unfamiliar to most, therefore may do


little to engage.


Tan is more successful in her secular


contemplations as they provide valuable insights to the Singaporean psyche


and greater awareness of painful truths through the experiences of her


various characters. The obstinacy of blame of Mei on her mother whom she


has not realised to be every bit as much a victim to her father’s oppression,


disappears as “Now (she) realised that (her) mother did nothing, not because


she didn’t want to, but because she couldn’t”. She begins to understand


that it is human nature that “If anything went wrong, we acted like it


never happened” because reticence is a safety mechanism against further


hurt. The belief in the “correlation between moral fibre and good grades”


is inadvertently challenged by the actions of Loong who tortures animals


for fun and who has little regard for human life. Eugene “want(s) people


to know PSC scholars are not synonymous with moral virtue. (He) want(s)


the world to see that Loong is evil”. However, the adage that hatred makes


one becomes what one hates used for Eugene’s characterisation has not received


much development and remains a cliché. Yet, the fact that Eugene


is unwilling to bail Andy despite being his fault because “(He) only want(s)


justice if it costs (him) nothing.” is fully believable. He has little


contact with Andy and Tan is justified in the negligible involvement of


the Eugene character in the plot. And the most poignant and candid observation


of all is from Andy who says “Losing isn’t romantic, life-enhancing or


artistically inspiring. Losing sucks.”


In conclusion, Tan combines elements


of postmodernism to create a refreshing way of perceiving the world. Her


mixing of different genres ? politics, social situation, culture, humour


and irony ? and probing of the polemic binaries of the East and West, and


the flippant and the solemn, distinguish her writing as her very own. Furthermore,


the fluid and deliberate intertextuality of pastiche and allusion dissolves


the distinctions between high and low culture.

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