Father and Son

After watching two short clips on Forever Fever - the first having the highly-favoured son announcing on his 21st birthday dinner that he was going for a sex operation; the second portraying the son who was cross-dressed (ie. man in woman's clothes) and facing his father.

It is vital to remember that the son, Leslie, said that he studied Medicine only because he wanted to live up to his parents' expectations and that he actually hated the subject all along. At age 21, he has now made a decision to stop living the kind of life that his family wanted; and it is time for him to be who he really wants to be.

In Singapore, we have to face our family and society's traditional values and judgement. To Leslie, he felt that he could only be the good son that he had always wanted to be by living out his parents' dreams for him to become a doctor. His father, in the second clip, could not even recognise him when his son came home looking for 'Hock' (his elder brother) dressed up like a woman.

Likewise in our Literature story, Father and Son , Andrew was influenced by several factors around him and decided to pursue his dreams. He also cross-dressed like Leslie and even boldly entered the Oriental Queen Competition. His father chased him out of the house like the one in Forever Fever as he claimed that he could not face his friends again. To him, he has lost a son (and thus published an obituary) because (1) his son has literally turned into a female (2) he wanted to forget his son (3) his expectations and hopes of his son had died. However, it is important to note that Andrew did not fulfil his parents' expectations by doing well in school or qualifying for the Medicine School.

Reflection question:If a close family member of relative is Andrew, how would you and your family react?

*Remember to discuss about tradititions and expectations that your family will have and why it is wrong / acceptable to have a member of the family becoming a transvesite.

Welcome!

Welcome dear 2E1'09!

This is your class' Literature blog. You are allowed to comment on your friends' opinions, and all are allowed to have different perspectives, but make your remarks responsible and constructive. We are here to learn, and not to insult.

Before we proceed, here are some guidelines that all of you should adhere to:

(1) Write your name after your comment
(2) Check for grammatical mistakes (spelling, tenses, punctuation)
(3) Re-read your comment to see if it makes logical sense and that you have organised your argument properly
(4) Ensure that no Singlish (or Singapore slang) is present

I am looking forward to a fruitful and super-fun time with all my Literature classes for 2009, just like the many I had before you guys. Loosen up, pay attention and get ready for the ride!