Do the respective authors use these traditional Chinese rituals ( eating paper dissolved in drink , burning of paper money and houses , lighting joss sticks and praying to dead ancestors ) just for irony or for more prefound purposes ? What are these purposes ?

In paper , the mother fulfilled the desires of her love son by burning paper substitutes of money , houses , cars , concubines and other worldly goods to him . In Tanjong Rhu , Madam Li
attachment to his dead father , and respect for all the traditional rites and observances , form the centre of her existence . Madam Li always 'talked' to her dead husband in the ancestral tablet . It is only the way the living can communicate with those they loves and who have died and demonstrate the love and connection often unaccomplished in the busy-ness and distraction of daily living . Therefore , it is for more prefound purposes .

Would you yourself , as a mordern young Singaporean , see the relevance of such cultural rituals in your society as necessary still , or are hindrance to progress and enlightened thinking ?

I think that having such cultural rtuals is very troublesome but the elders think that it is a traditional culture and they believed the person they talk to , will be able to hear what they said to them . I find that it is not necessary to burn paper substitutes of money , houses , cars etc . Overtime , the younger Singaporean will not follow such cultural rituals .

Do you think the elderly in Singapore are out of touch with the contemporary world ? How far is it a virtue to remain contented like old Mrs Li and think that there is nothing more that a person, especially an elderly one , can want ?

I think that the elderly in Singapore are not out of touch with the contempoaray world . There are still many elderly studying and learning things ( example ; computer ) nowadays . Er , i don't know already ><

Is looking back at the past necessarily a good thing ? This particular story uses the past to affirm strong ties , emotion and sentiment , but when can fit become a negative habit ?

Looking back is a good thing as we can remember the times we spend with our love ones . It can become a negative habit as we can recall what we have regret of not doing something like in the story of Tanjong Rhu . Mr Li regretted for not asking his mother about his childhod by the sea when she was still alive .