Picture Description-Ocean

  As the waves continue their mesmeric movement of lapping up the beach and crashing against the sand, I watched as two young boys, at most seven or eight, huddle with each other with that joy for every aspect in life that seem to be lost on most, if not all, adults. Their dark skin is a stark contrast against the pure white sand beneath their feet, so white as if it came from the hourglasses in heaven itself. They shrieked in delight as the fresh, brisk wind blew through their nostrils and tousled their hair, as it also propel the seagulls and pelicans on their sleek, graceful flight, potrayed in stark contrast on the blue canvas of the sky, as blue as a kingfisher's wing. Behind them, a sea of turqoise slapped against the sand, with waves topped with pearl white foam. A flat island of the lushest green floated on the water, providing the perfect backdrop on this scene of the innocence of youth.

24 Jan LA Online Learning Comic Strip

By LuWenHao | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

By LuWenHao | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

A1. I chose the different backgrounds (a MRT Station, Changi Airport, Central District, and the ICA Building) becaue they can best reflect the unique trademarks of Singapore and thus best convey my theme "Becoming" to the viewers.
A2. They contribute to the elements of my narrative by enhancing the elements abd making the settings more vivid, thus figuratively transporting the viewers into my narrative and understand it better.
A3. I make use of the different elements to contribute to the theme I had chosen, "Becoming", by choosing uniquely Singaporean backdrops, settings, and a molding plotline to gradually mould the main character to become Singaporean, thus the theme "Becoming".

Historical & Cultural 3 Questions

1. Why is it necessary to understand the historical and cultural context of the novel?
2. How does it help to understand the author's background? Is it neccesary to learn about the author's background?
3. Is it possible to appreciate the text without pre-reading about the historical and cultural context of the novel / background of the novel?

A1.      It is necessary to understand the historical and
cultural context of the novel as to appreciate the author’s viewpoint, we have
to understand the context of the novel. In To
Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee wrote the novel in a time when most white Americans
are prejudiced against the Negroes, which is clearly shown and documented by
the frequent use of “nigger” and the mention that a jury had never ruled in
favor of a Negro against a white in a case like Tom Robinsons. If the reader
does not know the context, then he would feel disoriented and confused by the
author’s remarks.

A2.      It helps to understand the author’s background
as sometimes; authors who publish racism-themed novels themselves have been a
victim of racism before, et cetera. In the case of To Kill a Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee, had studied law at
the University of Alabama, which may be the reason of the vivid description of
Tom Robinson’s case in the novel, or perhaps its presence at all. However, it
is not always necessary to understand the author’s background, as more often
than not the author will include clarifications and/or elaborations.

A3.      It is possible to appreciate the text
without pre-reading about the historical and cultural context of the
novel / background of the novel, as the author usually includes a description
of the background in the first chapter of the novel, and usually the context of
the novel is not obscure and could be understood by someone with a sufficient
knowledge of history and culture.

Prejudice

Prejudice is an assumption made of someone/something which the person does not have enough knowledge to make an accurate judgement, but instead made the assumption based on incorrect factors such as race, gender, religion, social class, et cetera. Prejudice is common in both history and today's society, with people prejudicing against blacks, homosexuals, muslims, et cetera. Prejudice could be planted in one's mind through the environment in which he had grown up, his/her personal factors, and outside influence.

What I wanted to learnm more about prejudice is the prejudice of different groups and societies throughout history and their origins, as well as the modern-day prejudices.