Telltale: 11 Stories

Telltale• adjective• revealing, indicating, or betraying something.• "the telltale bulge of a concealed weapon“OR• NOUN• a person, especially a child, who reports others'

wrongdoings or reveals their secrets.

Understudies: Satire to laugh or cry?

• It is easy to recognize the story as typically dystopian, warning of the dangers in the present time. 

• Singapore’s highly organized society, with the Government apparently exercising central control, granting little personal freedom, is the target of examination and criticism. 

Understudies: Simply Sci-fy?• The Metaphor of the Understudy:• A Perfect Clone?• Who doesn’t follow the script> Hui

Ling, Soon Cheng Jessie• Under what circumstances, can the

understudies replace.

Structure: Parallel Plot Lines

• Sydney’s Past, Sydney’s Present and Beta Sydney• Beta Sydney’s story runs parallel and eventually takes

over Sydney’s story.• Wonderful play on the idea of cloning and replacement.

Main Theme: Surveillance – 3CS Conformity, Compliance and Compulsion

• Who are the Monitors?• A commentary on Singapore’s

society: class system• One party state: Totalitarianism?• Strict rules/laws• How can we reconcile our need for

freedom and the demands of society?

Dehumanization and Replacement

• Sydney’s generosity and compassion towards Soon Cheng is not a factor in the government’s desire to maintain the class system.

• We are not even sure if the understudies are not androids or the products of sophisticated technology since science is so revered.

• When human beings are considered mere digits or cogs in an efficient machine, such parts can be easily replaced.

• Are we Betas as well? Who do we wanna be?

Who wins?• The conclusion is contained in the last two

episodes. • The terrifying climax comes with the scene in the

bathroom when Sydney is carried out unconscious, presumably injected with some sedative, or something worse.  

• Then comes the anti-climax of the scene in the supermarket at Carrefour when Julie mistakes the trolley attendant for her father

• What does Julie represent?

The Man Who Was Afraid of the ATM

• Alien• Belonging to a foreign country/ unfamiliar

and disturbing• Within the context of one man’s

experience, Wena Poon brings to light the kind of problems faced by Singaporean parents of offspring who have done well in the globalised world.

Chang VS Sylvie• Generation Gap • What are the value differences?

Chang VS the (changing) World

• Geographical• … in a strange country p93• …same route..few variations p96• …felt happy in Chinatown p96• Chang is struggling with his new surroundings

Chang VS the World• Linguistics/ Ethnic-cultural• … “two large tribes of Chinese people in Singapore –

those who received their education in English, and those who went to traditional Chinese schools” p89

• .. “Our English is not good enough for the English, and our Chinese is not good enough for the Chinese” p98

Chang VS Himself• Chang admits that he himself has been guilty of referring

to those from other ethnic groups as “these people” p 101• How much of Chang’s ostracism in actually self-imposed

Aging• In Canada, Chang is relegated to being the family’s maid,

butler and chauffeur. To him, “when he was younger, he was feared” 93 now he “lives by grace” 94 and “what else were old people good for?”

• What does this tell us about the challenges of an increasingly ageing population – how should we go about taking care of the elderly

Chang as a microcosm of the conflict within our own society: Singapore

• “Who would want to live next door to a Singaporean anyway?” p98

• Singaporean Chinese – yet diverse and different• How some Singaporeans feel in Singapore, 6.5 million bug

bear.• A commentary on the fragility of Singapore, for we are

just like Chang, created out of necessity: faced by Sylvie (changing youth/asprations), ATM (unknown challenges/changing world), losing our value yet still very important.

East VS West• Chinese being backward, p90 unlike Harry Potter• Do we suffer from an inferiority complex?• Chinese books vs English Paperpacks, p 90

The place of women• Chang feels uncomfortable with the thought of a world

where a woman could go running for hours alone. • Afraid that Sylvie will transform into Annette, a

mechanised, modernised, Americanised future (p93)• Is his view on women justified? Why and why not

KENNY’S BIG BREAK • Teenage angst / Singapore Style / World of the 16 year old• Comical, slapstick drama• Tale of the underdog• SINGAPORE SUCKS!• Dramatic, exaggeration, wit, slang• Irony

The new generation of Singaporeans

• self-centred, materialistic and opportunistic

• Traitor, quitter, army drifter” p. 208, reminding us of former prime Minister Goh Chok Tong’s reference to “stayers” and “quitters”

• If Margaret, Kenny and Chee Beng are the result of an education that emphasizes the intellect, it is an education that nurtures the mind but not the heart.

The Ugly Singaporean

• The particular faults of Singaporeans, whether young or old, are evident

• Money-making• A country of complainers• Chee Beng’s father, the public, weary

principal, Margaret. What types?

Peeling beneath the skin

• This story illustrates interesting trends in Singapore

• Inter-racial marriages and its lingering prejudices/reservations.

• Elaborate weddings• Attitudes towards marriage, tradition and

religion. • (Ham and corn soup instead of sharksfin

soup)

Teenage Angst or Teenage Dreams?

• It’s easy to see Kenny’s criticism of women, marriage and anything romantic or sentimental as part of this passing phase of early adolescence

• HIGH IQ LOW EW• But are they wrong?

Common Motifs

• a dominant or recurring idea• Money• Film: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck• Claustophobia•  long, dull hours of rote learning in sub-baked

classrooms (p.219)• internment camp of school and confines of suburban

homes or HDB flats, (p. 207).

Justin and the Cenotaph

• A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere.• The design of the Cenotaph relates to the

artist and his noble, aesthetic purposes, but it is also a reference to God or a creator who may have his own reasons for ordering things in nature.

Continuity and Change: Weaving Plotlines

• Justin and Rebecca’s journey• Layered Narrative – Elliptical Fashion• Justin’s reminiscent of past( Student,

Solange)• Mum’s memory of Queen’s coronation• Singapore’s colonial past• The current project for Justin - Cenotaph

A Tale of Two Cities

• London and Singapore• The city is a picture of loneliness with its silent, shuttered

storefronts and only tourists were foolish enough to brave the cold, aimlessly walking past souvenir stands.  (p. 139)

• The latter is a country of bonds, invisible chains (p. 139) where discipline and control are also practised.

Style : Introspection • Introspection is the examination of one's own

conscious thoughts and feelings.• There is a controlled sadness in the story,

emotions held in check.• In the story, there is a sense of life not being fully

lived because of these bonds and restrictions.• Rebecca is a constant foil to Justin’s solitary,

reflective nature.

Memory

• With the Cenotaph as the central symbol, we are constantly reminded of the power of memory and remembrance of things past.

• On a personal level, Justin has tried to bury memories of the love affair with Solange, but when it comes to him through the evocation of music

• There is so much sadness that he had to pull over by the side of the road, unable to trust himself to drive until it was all over. (p. 146)

Great Sweep of History

• There is that sense of the great sweep of history against which man feels relatively insignificant and helpless against perhaps.

• “I feel very small all of a sudden”. (p. 150)• When Justin tells Solange that onl… the architect- can see the

design, not you, and that one has to trust the architect to build the grander design around you (p. 150)

• This suggests that, as part of this great design, Justin and Solange’s love was not meant to be permanent. EMO.

Motifs

• The weather: Solange = Sun,• Technology = changing one’s relationship• Music: evocative

•https://www.dropbox.com/s/niscdmcefxk7q7o/Telltale%20Revision.pptx?dl=0