WS 6 Setting

7/31/2019 WS 6 Setting

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Name: .. (

) Class: 1__

Setting

Setting is the and where the story is set.

Can you describe the setting in this play?

Time Frame: ..

Place:

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.

What do you know about Singapore during this time period?

..

..

..

.

.

..

..

.

.

..

..

Places mentioned in the play

There are several places mentioned in the play.

1. off Orchard Road (Emerald Hill)

2. Siglap

3. Methodist Girls School

1 NCHS Secondary 1 Emily of Emerald Hill (Shahnaaz

Sidik 2012)

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4. ACS

5. Cold Storage

6. Ang Mo Kio

7. Sennet Estate

8. Robinsons

Significance of the places mentioned

1. Why do you think Emily sent her boys to Anglo-Chinese School? What do

you know about this school and what does it tell you about the Emily?

.

.

2. Emily sent Richard to London to get his law degree. Why do you think she

chose London and not Singapore? What does it tell you about Emily?

.

.

3. Looking at the different places in Singapore mentioned in the book, what do

you think the author is trying to say about the people of Singapore back

then?

.


Sidik 2012)

Class Discussion:

What do you know of these places as they are now?

How do you think they were like about fifty years ago?


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Suggested Answers/Teachers NotesSetting

Setting is the time and place where the story is set.

Can you describe the setting in this play?

Time Frame: 1950s. The play starts in the year 1950 and moves to the

1970s (new modern flats p48; Edward moved to Ang Mo Kio built in

1973)

Place:

Singapore. Emerald Hill is the place where most of the story is centred on.

What do you know about Singapore during this time period?

1950s Singapore: Singapore

Still under British rule

A lot of people lived in kampongs and slums

Schools were already built but divided into English medium

schools, Chinese and Malay schools


Sidik 2012)

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Places mentioned in the play

There are several places mentioned in the play.

9. off Orchard Road (Emerald Hill)

10.Siglap

11.Methodist Girls School

12.ACS

13.Cold Storage

14.Ang Mo Kio

Significance of the places mentioned

1. Why do you think Emily sent her boys to Anglo-Chinese School? What do

you know about this school and what does it tell you about Emily?

ACS was a prestigious school, near Orchard Road. Emily assumed that

her husband would bring [Richard] to see the Headmaster as he was

an old boy, but according to Emily, he couldnt be bothered and told

Emily to arrange it. Because she wanted to send Richard to ACS, she got

to know the ACS Headmaster and his wife. This tells us that Emily is

status conscious and hobnobs with the influential in order to meet her

goals.

2. Emily sent Richard to London to get his law degree. Why do you think she

chose London and not Singapore? What does it tell you about Emily?

Singapore then was still under British rule and so it was more prestigious

for a local to be educated in the UK. Furthermore, the Peranakans were

mostly affluent people who speak English and it was a natural choice for

many affluent local families to send their children abroad for further

studies. Emily chose London instead of Singapore because it would mean

better prospects for Richard to have an overseas law degree so that he

would work with Mr Chan. She already made plans for him to study

overseas in preparation for him working for Mr Chan. This tells us that

Emily is again status conscious but at the same time, we also have tounderstand that it was the norm for the affluent back then to send their

children abroad.


Sidik 2012)

Class Discussion:

What do you know of these places as they are now?

How do you think they were like about fifty years ago?


5/5

1. Looking the different places in Singapore mentioned in the book, what do

you think the author is trying to say about the people of Singapore back

then?

There is a class system that was quite apparent in Singapore back then,

just by looking at the setting mentioned in the play. Emily lives in

Emerald Hill, near Orchard Road and sends her sons to ACS, which is aprestigious school for the affluent. Connection and influence may matter

when it comes to enrolment. Also, she shops at Cold Storage (upmarket

supermarket) and later on in the play, we learn that she has a house at

Sennett Estate (a private housing estate), another affluent estate,

though not as prestigious as Orchard Road. On the other hand, she also

visits the market to buy her local food item, immediately before the

scene at Cold Storage. Robinsons was also another upmarket outlet

(Emily wanted to buy roller skates for Richard there). This juxtaposition

of the rich and poor tells us that the author wants us to understand the

diverse classes of people in Singapore back then, mainly the rich and thepoor. This is seen not only through the use of setting but also in Emilys

relationship between her servants, and her ability to code switch

(speaking in complete Singlish and then at another turn, in perfect

English). We also see her able to squat comfortably in the market and

at the very next turn speak in a posh accent the different places

allow Emily to interact and behave according to her setting. Hence, we

see her ability to interact with all sorts of people, the rich and the

common man.


Sidik 2012)

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WS 6 Setting