#1 -Uncle sent Ah Kum upstairs to get something -She lingered, not wanting to go, for it wa dark at the top of the stairs, and Uncle's room was the one in which the old grandfather had died -She lingered, for the terror was mounting and she hoped, by lingering, she would not have to do the errand -Aunt looked at her sharply and prompted her sternly," Go! Does your uncle have to tell you a hundred times?" -Chuan Chuan knew the cause of her distress -He purposely yelled at her with a spiteful glee," Upstairs there's a ghost waiting for you! My grandfather's ghost is waiting for you!" -Aunt shrieked," Are you going to obey your uncle or not?" -Ah Kum walked up the long flight of stairs slowly, while Chuan Chuan watched with mirthful malice and Aunt with a severity that dared defiance. -She went into the darkened room, grabbed the spectacles or keys from the table and dashed downstairs -And in a haste, she fell and hit her head against the wooden staircase pillar -Aunt scolded her for being clumsy -Chuan Chuan laughed hilariously -Ah Kum stood there, gently touching the growing swelling on her forehead, not daring to cry -Auntie Siew Thong from next door came in, seeing Ah Kum in this state, clucked her tongue and took Ah Kum to have some oil rubbed on the swelling
My words: Aunt and Uncle did not care if Ah Kum was willing to do the errand or not as they expected her to obey their every word. Their son, Chuan Chuan, liked and enjoyed seeing Ah Kum in embarrassment. He was a sadist. He purposely teased her and scolded her. Ah Kum was a vulnerable girl and dared not disobey her uncle, aunt and Chuan Chuan. She unwillingly walked to the room she feared, slowly. She then took whatever she was supposed to take and dashed down. When She fell and injured herself, nobody at home showed care and concern about the swelling on her head. Instead, Aunt scolded her and Chuan Chuan laughed sadistically. Her 'saviour' was the neighbour, Auntie Siew Thong, who took her to have some oil rubbed on the swelling. She expressed her sym pathism toward Ah Kum by helping her when she was in need and on the spot then, she clucked her tongue, showing disapproval of the treatment Ah Kum was receiving.
#2 -She was taking the sheels off a plate of prawns in the kitchen -It was a cold, wet day and she was feeling very tired and sleepy -She must had dropped asleep, for when she opened her eyes, she saw the cat jumping off the table, and the plate bereft of half it contents -Chuan Chuan saw everything and brought his mother to the kitchen -Aunt's thin face quivered in fury, her pinched face took on an expression of concentrated loathing as her hand shot out to pick up the plate and bring it down resoundingly upon Ah Kum's head -Ah Kum's head hurt, and she began to cry -Aunt pinched her arm, shouting," What? What? You dare to cry?" -Ah Kum hoped Auntie Siew Thong would come in and comfort her, but the neighbour had gone visiting in a nearby town
My words: Aunt made Ah Kum do chores and errands even when she was tired. She did not bother if Ah Kum needed a rest. As Ah Kum was peeling off the shells off a plate of prawns, she accidentally fell asleep as she was very tired and sleepy. She realised that a cat had taken about half of the prawns on the plate while she was asleep, when she opened her eyes. Chuna Chuan who witnessed the incident immediately brought his mother to the kitchen. (Probably waiting to watch Ah Kum being scolded.) Aunt furiously picked the plate up and hit it upon Ah Kum's head, creating a resounding sound. Ah Kum cried as the pain on her head was unbearable. To Aunt, that was defiance; she did not feel Ah Kum's pain. Instead, she pinched her arm and shouted at Ah Kum so that she would be afraid and dare not be defiant. At that moment, Ah Kum washoping for the only person who showed care, love and concern to her, her 'heroine' or 'saviour', Auntie Siew Thong, to 'rescue' her from the situation and comfort her. But sadly and unfortunately, Auntie Siew Thong was not at home.
From these 2 incidents, we can tell that Uncle, Aunt and Chuan Chuan treated Ah kum as a servant, not caring much about her. These 2 incidents also let the readers know the extend of the cruelty Ah Kum had been receiving.
DURIAN INCIDENT
1. Describe Ah Kum's reaction from the time she first saw the durians to the time she was discovered by her uncle. -She had looked longingly at the fruits (durians). The smell of the fruits which filled the whole house, invaded her nostrils and made her salivate with desire. She longed for the scrumptious fruit so muxh that she could not help but to glue her eyes to the objects. -Chuan Chuan realised it, so he planted himself in front of the fruits on the floor, arm stretched out, to block them from her view, all the time facing her with a challenging glare. And when Ah Kum continued to looked on, he ran up and pushed her out of the kitchen. -When the family went out in the late morning, she stole back in the kitchen to have a look at the durians. She could see the rich creamy softness of the durian flesh through a large slit in one of them. -An overpowering desire to taste the flesh drew her swiftly to the fruit. She squatted down, pushed her small fingers inside the slit and scooped out a portion of the tasty stuff. A mixture of joy and terror causing her small body to quiver, she brought her fingers into her mouth, and visibly thrilled at the deliciousness of the durian flesh. -Every bit on the fingers was licked cleam; her tongue moved rapidly over the backs, the sides, and when her fingers were thus cleaned completely, her tongue moved slowly over her lips and beyong the lips to the chin, to rescue any smear of the precious stuff there. When it was all finished, she looked around her -- nobody was in sight -- her fingers shot into the slit again and brought out more soft golden flesh which she devoured just as greedily. And when she finished that, with an effort of will, she made ready to go, after turning the durian round so that the slit that her fingers had invaded would not be seen. -She was full of ner vous expectation and when the family came back, she kept her eyes on the ground and did not dare looked at them. -When, shortly after, she heard a loud cry from Chuan Chuan, followed by Aunt's shrill," Ah Kum, come here at once!" She knew all was lost for her. -She went very slowly, into the kitchen, her face lowered as she stood before the family in judgement; her eyes fixed themselves on the floor, while the muscles on her body were tensed for an onslaught of blows.
My words: Ah Kum had longed for the fruits, so much so that she could not keep her eyes off the 2 durians. Temptations aroused in her. She stealthilywent into the kitchen to look at the fruits she knew she she would not have a share of. And because of the arousing temptation, she pushed her fingers through the slit she saw. From the slit, she saw the precious flesh she longed for badly. She quivered in oy and terror; joy, for she had finallyget a taste of the delicious fruit she longed for and been eyeing on; terror, for she was afraid of being discovered as she knew the family would not give a share to her yet she stole part of it and also terror for guilty conscience. However, she was thrilled by the deliciousness of the fruit. This showed that she was enjoying every moment tasting the durian. Every bit of the fruit was percious to her. She licked her fingers clean and then moved her tongue slowly over her lips and beyond the lips to the chin, treasuring every single bit. She sticked her fingers into the fruit greedily again and scooped out the flesh after ensuring that nobody was looking. Trying to hide from the family, she turned the fruit around so that it would not seem obvious that someone had tried to steal some flesh. She was guilty all the time, having nervous expectations. For her guilty conscience, she dared not look at the fruits nor the family when they were back home. When the family discovered the missing portions of the durian and called for her, sher knew she was in serious trouble. Remorsefully, she walked slowly with her head lowered, eyes fixed to the ground, ready to face her judgement.
2. What were the effects of Uncle's punishment on Ah Kum? Uncle's slap made her cry as she knew she was guilty for eating the durian.
3. Aunt and Chuan Chuan felt the punishment Uncle gave was too slight. And so, the next day, Aunt called Ah Kum to the kitchen. Ah Kum, having just come in from the hot sun, was panting and sweating. Aunt had prepared 6 whole durians for Ah Kum. Aunt said in menacing deliberation," They're for you, Ah Kum. Every single one of them. Begin eating now." Chuan Chuan stood nearby, grinning savagely. The sharpness in Aunt's voice and the wicked gleam in Chuan Chuan's eyes could tell that the 2 of them were up to no good again. Ah Kum was forced to squat in front of the opened durians and when she still hesitated, the tears coming into her eyes, Aunt screamed," Eat! Eat!" She ate slowly and uncertainly. She made her tongue worked on the flesh so as to forget her fear. And for a while, she was actualyy experiencing sensations of pleasure. Aunt and Chuan Chuan were vexed that pleasure should be part of the punishment, shouted at her impatiently for her to eat quickly. After her 12th seed, Ah Kum could not take it anymore. Her face turned pale and she was feeling nausea. Aunt smiled and yelled at her to eat some more. She even went up to the girl, pointed at the rest of the durians and cried," Four more! You are to eat every one of them, do you hear? Every seed in every one of them!" And Aunt and Chuan Chuan watched with the lust of vengeance. But Ah Kum was struggling, as she tried to put the seeds into her mouth yet her throat and stomach were rejecting them. Even whenshe threw up, the mother and son were screaming for her to eat, enjoying the climax of the torture. She was then ill for 4 days; and never did she want to look at durians again.
Family's FALL in fortune: -Uncle fallen into debt -Uncle's coffeeshop seized by creaditors -Uncle having poor health, lame in one leg and almost blind -Aunt washed clothes in several houses -Aunt attended Uncle -They lived in a rented room in a dilapidated house -Their income from washing of clothes was inadequate for food, rent and Uncle's medical expenses -Chuan Chuan worked in Brunei and never came back or send back money. It was heard that he had a good salary. Ah Kum's RISE in fortune: -She left for another town to become a maidservant -Her good mistress allowed her to take up sewing -She then left and became a seamstress -She married a hardworking husband who drove children to school in the morning and sold noodles near a busy cinema at night
Ah Kum met Auntie Siew Thong. Auntie Siew Thong felt that Uncle and Aunt were very pitiful, and since Ah Kum had prospered, she could help them. Though the couple did not treat her well in the past, they had already received their punishment. Auntie Siew Thong requested a cash gift of $50 to the old couple. Ah Kum was reluctant, she even said with energy," Never!" She could never forget the day when she was forced to eat all the durians. Auntie Siew Thong continued to persuade Ah Kum to give the cash giftto her aunt and uncle. Also, she tell that Ah Kum was blessed with fortune.
Ah Kum seized the opportunity to take revenge since she was richer than Aunt and uncle. Instead of giving them directly the $50 cash gift, she bought 15 large-sized durians for them. In those days, the cost of those was actually moe than $50.
Ah Kum told Auntie Siew Thongto let Aunt and Uncle know that she was going to pay them a visit."'You are very good, and so God will bless you and your husband with greater prosperity," cried Auntie Siew Thong, now all smiles, as she prepared to leave and deliver the good news.'
The rented room the old couple was living ing was a small, dark, dingy room containing the bed of invalid, screened off by a curtain, a kerosene stove and an assortment of old tables and chairs. It gave off a smell of decay and death; everywhere were piles of old newspapers, rags, torn curtains and stained, dented utensils. Due to her busy working schedule, Aunt apologised to Ah Kum for not having time to keep the house in a presentable state.
Aunt had lost all her pride; she begged and borrowed. She was envious of Ah Kum's wealth. Her small eyes took in the jade-and-diamond ear-rings, the gold necklace, the sleek handbag as she spoke to Ah Kum. Aunt was eager for the cash gift as she was eyeing for Ah Kum to open the clasp of her handbag.
*The words 'magnanimity' and 'generous/generosity' used to describe Ah Kum are meant to be used in an ironic sense. We know that Ah Kum is not generous and when she suggests giving Aunt and Uncle a 'gift', Auntie Siew Thong thinks that it is a cash gift of $50 whereas we know Ah Kum does not intend to give cash to them at all. The gift turns out to be 15 large-sized durians.
*The last line of the story is ' "Eat!" cried Ah Kum with exquisite triumph," Eat! Eat!" ' The word "eat" was uttered by Aunt earlier on in the story when she forced Ah Kum to eat the 6 durians she had brought for her as punishment. Now, ironically, Ah Kum is using the same words "eat, eat" to get Aunt and Uncle to eat the durians she bought. By using the same words that her aunt did, Ah Kum is carrying out her revenge.
6:09 pm;
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know me
littlest of the Pang Family
people call me ChiawMIN or ZhaoMIN
was from Maha Bodhi School