Emergency IT Lesson 4: Theme: Gambling

Materials: Three short stories: Catherine Lim’s Little Ironies, Paper and Lottery and D.H. Lawrence’s The Rocking Horse Winner.


1. In relation to Paper, you should explain exactly what the title refers to and why it is so significant to gambling, gains on the stock market and ultimately the conclusion of the story.

Paper seemed to be the reason that started this whole problem. Paper made me think of money as money is made if paper. They decided to make quick money in the stock market. They were making lots of money and their shares' worth were going to hit a million soon. However, the stock market plunged and they found themselves losing a lot of money. In the end they had no money to even buy their dream house. A house made of paper was built instead. Thus, here is where paper comes in again.


2. For Lottery, do an analysis of 100 words in which you look at Ah Boh’s superstitions regarding gambling.

Ah Boh is overly superstitious. Everyday she tries to recall her dream hoping to be able to translate them into numbers.She even used the weight of a cat to allow her to choose her numbers. She also asked a baby to choose numbers for her. New - born babies, children celebrating their birthdays and newly - weds instantly interested her as they were supposed to bring luck. She would even go to accident scenes to copy down the registration plates of vehicles that were involved in the accident. She prayed to gods and her late husband hoping they would bless her and let her strike it rich. Any little thing was thought to be a sign given to her from her late husband.


3. For The Rocking Horse Winner, write a paragraph of 100 words in which you point out who was responsible for Paul’s death.

I think no one but Paul was responsible for his death. He was overly-obsessed with the whispers in his house and wanted to get rid of them. However, as he earned more money the whispers became worse and he began to go mad. He would only concentrate on one task and that was to get rid of all the whispering in his house. He was actually as good as being possesed when he would ask his wooden horse for the correct horse to place his bet on. This made him go crazy.

Emergency IT Lesson 3: Analyzing & Composing poem

The Son is in Secondary School by Affran Sa’at

My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something

At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem
It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays

I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts

The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another

Seven to the power of five is unreasonable

On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo

The capital of Singapore is Singapore

My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’s
For his Chinese LanguageMultiple-choice paper

In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me

Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment

When my eyes were actually closed



The poet is actually relieving the good old days when he was still in school.

He was probably quite happy thinking about those good memories that he had shared with his friends in the past and probably just a little sad as he misses them.

I definitely share the same sentiments. My best memories of my primary school life is when I was in Primary 6. My friends and I were exceptionally close as we were taking our PSLE that year and would not hesitate to help those in need. We also learnt to treasure our friends as we knew that that was our last year in our primary school.

I have many fond memories of my primary school life although some may not be so pleasant. I had many good friends and I enjoyed my life there.

I memory that stuck in my mind is during the day where we received our PSLE results. Everyone was very tense. At the same time, we were also quite sad that we had to leave our school and friends. That was the day which many handshakes, pats on the back and words of encouragement were exchanged.

My Poem

The Day the Results were Released.

The day the results were released,
Everyone was pretty pleased

Amidst all the celebrating,
There was one thing

It was the last time we would be in school with our friends

We could not bare to leave them,
Handshakes and hugs were exchanged

Emergency IT Lesson 2: Favourite Poet

A Brief introduction of Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein was born on September 25, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois and began writing and drawing at a young age. He became a cartoonist, playwright, poet, performer, recording artist, and Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated songwriter.

Silverstein is best known as the author of iconic books of prose and poetry for young readers. His works include such modern classics as Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back (1963), The Giving Tree (1964), A Giraffe and a Half (1964), The Missing Piece (1976), and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O (1981). His immensely popular poetry collections are Where the Sidewalk Ends, a 1974 Michigan Young Readers Award winner; A Light in the Attic, recipient of the School Library Journal Best Books Award in 1982; Falling Up (1996); and Don’t Bump the Glump! And Other Fantasies, which was originally published in 1963 and reissued in 2008. Runny Babbit, a posthumous poetry collection of spoonerisms, was conceived and completed before his death.

Silverstein’s books, which he also illustrated, are characterized by a deft mixing of the sly and the serious, the macabre, and the just plain silly. His unique imagination and bold brand of humor is beloved by countless adults and children throughout the world. He died in May 1999.


Critics generally agree that the greatest strength of Silverstein's poetry for children lies in his effective use of humor.

I definitely agree in that although my favourite poem "A Boy Named Sue" does not include any humour. It is quite a touching poem with a twist at the last part.

The reason why I chose Silverstein was because his work is very engaging. When I read his poems, I feel like I am in another world watching every scene in the poem.

I feel that Silverstein is a very talented writer. His poems generally promote peace over violence and diversity over prejudice. Many people have applauded his actions. He is probably my most favourite poet.


Three Fantastic Poems by Silverstein


Where the Sidewalk Ends (Poem is in my previous blog post)

Falling Up

I tripped on my shoelace
And I feel upto the roof tops,
Up over the town,
Up past the tree tops,
Up over the mountains,
Up where the colors
Blend into the sounds.
But I got me so dizzy
When I looked around,
I got sick to my stomach
And I threw down.


A Boy Named Sue

Well, my daddy left home when I was three,
and he didn't leave much to Ma and me,
just this old guitar and a bottle of booze.
Now I don't blame him because he run and hid,
but the meanest thing that he ever did was
before he left he went and named me Sue.

Well, he must have thought it was quite a joke,
and it got lots of laughs from a lot of folks,
it seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
and some guy would laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell you, life ain't easy for a boy named Sue.

Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean.
My fist got hard and my wits got keen.
Roamed from town to town to hide my shame,
but I made me a vow to the moon and the stars,
I'd search the honky tonks and bars and kill
that man that gave me that awful name.

But it was Gatlinburg in mid July and I had
just hit town and my throat was dry.
I'd thought i'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon in a street of mudand at a table dealing stud sat the dirty,
mangy dog that named me Sue.

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
from a worn-out picture that my mother had
and I knew the scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old
and I looked at him and my blood ran cold,
and I said, "My name is Sue. How do you do?
Now you're gonna die." Yeah, that's what I told him.

Well, I hit him right between the eyes and he went down
but to my surprise he came up with a knife
and cut off a piece of my ear. But I busted a chair
right across his teeth. And we crashed through
the wall and into the street kicking and a-gouging
in the mud and the blood and the beer.

I tell you I've fought tougher men but I really can't remember when.
He kicked like a mule and bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laughin' and then I heard him cussin',
he went for his gun and I pulled mine first.
He stood there looking at me and I saw him smile.

And he said, "Son, this world is rough and if
a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
and I knew I wouldn't be there to help you along.
So I gave you that name and I said 'Goodbye'.
I knew you'd have to get tough or die. And it's
that name that helped to make you strong."


Yeah, he said, "Now you have just fought one
helluva fight, and I know you hate me and you've
got the right to kill me now and I wouldn't blame you
if you do. But you ought to thank me
before I die for the gravel in your guts and the spit
in your eye because I'm the nut that named you Sue."
Yeah, what could I do? What could I do?

I got all choked up and I threw down my gun,
called him pa and he called me a son,
and I came away with a different point of view
and I think about him now and then.
Every time I tried, every time I win and if I
ever have a son I think I am gonna name him
Bill or George - anything but Sue.





References: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/104
http://www.enotes.com/poetry-criticism/silverstein-shel

Emergency IT Lesson 1: Figurative Language

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein


There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.


Hyperbole – The sentence “To the place where the side walk ends.” is repeated many times in this poem. The poet might have wanted to express his great desire to go to the place where the sidewalk ended by repeating the sentence many times.
Personfication – In this poem, the “chalk-white arrows” are assuming human actions by leading the poet “To the place where the side walk ends.” The poet might have chosen to include this in his poem to make it more interesting.
Metaphor – “a walk that is measured slow” is a metaphor for life. The poet might not have wanted to simply write the word “life” but let his readers guess the meaning of “a walk that is measured slow”.
Simile – There is no simile in this poem.
Symbolism – The first paragraph represents good times while the second paragraph represents bad times. The writer used different things to show the difference between good times and bad times.

This poem is very expressive. The sentence “To the place where the side walk ends.” is firmly stuck in my mind after I have read this poem. I like the face that the poet used the grass, sun and birds to represent good times while black smoke and dark streets were used to represent bad times. This is a very unique way of showing the contrast. Silverstein has written an excellent poem.