The Merlion and other poems

Mr Tan,

I would like to ask u 2 qns.

What does the poet mean when he says that "...how it is poised so terrestrially, marooned on this rough shore, as if unsure of its rightful harbour." ?

Also what does "lymphatic" mean?

Kai Wen.

Jessica:

1.) Don't some of us feel ashamed when we embrace western culture and turn our back against our heritage? Nevertheless, we still proceed to do so. Perhaps it is Singaporeans' attempt to be practical in the face of globalisation. In a sense, perhaps it is "forced", because if we do not embrace western culture, it would be difficult for us to progress economically.

2.) spot on for the torrent of denial. think about who is denying what. are outsiders denying us our right to be singaporeans as well? Check out the life section of the straits times today. it is related to this poem.

3.) You have some interesting ideas here. You seem on the verge of coming up with your own idea and argument. For me, that desire to see paws on the Merlion appears to be just a frivolous attempt to criticise. Nothing valuable about paws - just a general dissatisfaction with all things singaporean.

regarding theme/subject matter - yes, subject matter could be "national identity". theme would be singapore's struggle to forge national identity.

Kaiwen,

that's the author's way of describing the Merlion's location. situated on land (terrestrially) overlooking the Marina Bay. Perhaps the poet is trying to say that its physical location/presence makes it look unsure of its true origins?

lymphatic - something to do with nerves/nervous system. go google "lymph".


i really hope these help. DO let me know if they are unclear and you need more clarification. I just got up and i'm having my coffee and breakfast as i'm typing this so i may not be in the best condition to reply. haha!

Hello, Sarah here.(:

I've a question to ask.
For Ulysses by the Merlion, is the poet trying to elevate the merlion's status as a national symbol? Trying to say tht its this symbol that brings Singaporeans tgt?

While in the poem The Merlion, the poet is trying to say that the Merlion is not enough to represent Singaporeans as one? Not enough to unify everybody?

So, its like these 2 poems are actually having the opposite meaning?

Thanks a lot.[:

Sarah - you could say that, but you have to justify it with evidence from the text. At your level, what is important is that you are able to link the ideas with the text.

Definitely Thumboo is trying to elevate the status of the Merlion, but how? I don't think Sa'at's The Merlion is intended to reduce the Merlion in status. you cannot align the persona and author. Sa'at may be criticising the younger generation of Singaporeans who are overly-critical of Singapore (symbolised by the Merlion). It is perhaps a bit to simplistic to say that they have opposite meanings.

The part where the persona started talking, Sa'at wrote tht the persona is "Eyeing the blond highlights in your black hair", " And your blue lenses the shadow of a foreign sky" and " ... you finally replied, in that acquired accent of yours,"

Are all these trying to convey a message that nowadays the younger generation are becoming more and more westernised? And can we say that its a lil' ironic that while the persona's friend is trying hard to act foreign, he/she is at the same time commenting on our national symbol, the merlion?

Thanks(:

Oh, another question.

Mr tan,

The part on " What sibling polarity, how its sister's lips are sealed with self-knowledge and how its own jaws clamp open in self-doubt, still surprised after all these years."

Is Sa'at trying to say that Singapore is still unsure of its identity as its still a young nation? And the comparison made between the Sphinx and the merlion, is it to compare Singapore, still a young nation, with Egypt, that have a longer history than Singapore?

Hey Mr Tan,
I have some questions here, and need some help.
Ulysses by the Merlion
1)What does it mean by, "Their spirits yearn again for images, Adding to the dragon, phoenix, Garuda, naga those horses of the sun, This lion of the sea, This image of themselves." ?

"dragon, phoenix, Garuda, naga those horses of the sun" refers to the 4 races, religions and cultures?

2)Why does Thumboo choose Ulysses as the persona?

The Merlion
What does it mean by, "Could it be that, having taken to this unaccustomed limpidity." ?


Sorry for the trouble, and thanks so much!
ShuHan here.

Sarah - yes to all. except for the irony part - gotta explain why thats ironic.

Shu Han,

You could say that those mtyhological creatures symbolise religion and culture - whether its specifically the 4 races is open to debate. I think what is meant there is that people yearn to establish some sort of meaning in their existence, and they do this through religion. After working so hard to feed their family and to establish their career here in Singapore, life has to have more meaning right? They do this by asserting their identity through religion and culture.

Ulysses as the persona - I believe i've mentioned this before. It has something to do with elevatin the status o the Merlion, or serving as some sort of comtrast. Perhaps one of you could answer this? Answering your friends' questions would help you learn and revise too.

The Merlion is not used to being on land. It is a sea creature (origins), and so it is not used (unaccustomed) to not having freedom of movement and feeling weak (limpidity).

@shuhan
for ur "why use ulysess" question..
if i'm not wrong,
thumboo uses ulysess as ulysess travelled to many differrent places and encountered different monsters, but had never seen before a monster that is so wierd as it ha a head of a lion and a body of a fish...
am i correct? do i need to put in more information?
hehe psps...i am still quite unsure how to answer..>.<

retarded-girl wrote:@shuhan
if i'm not wrong,
thumboo uses ulysess as ulysess travelled to many differrent places and encountered different monsters, but had never seen before a monster that is so wierd as it ha a head of a lion and a body of a fish...

Maybe I can add in that since Ulysses, such a person who had seen so many things, yet he was puzzled by the Merlion. This can means that the Merlion was very complicated and was so powerful that Ulysses thinks that "Nothing, nothing in my(his) days foreshadowed this(Merlion)... This powerful creature of land and sea."

Can i say something like this?

yes. and that in a sense, elevates the status of the Merlion because even someone like Ulysses is stumped by its appearance.

This can be interpreted both ways and some would say its negative - the merlion cannot be compared to all those other mythological figures.

Regarding the lymphatic memories, I dont see the link and i dont get it. Lymph is like a bulge kinda thingy in the blood right. so does it mean that the memory got problem, bulge (?!) okay i have no idea what im saying :X

Also, why torrent of denial?
okay, alot of denials, but from what?

draining the body of rivers of histories?
what histories? i thought we were kinda young with not much of a bg.

Hey mr tan, also what does 'what a riddle, this lesser brother....' the what a riddle means? what is the persona trying to imply??

tzuning,

the riddle is an allusion to the sphinx's fmaous riddle which i showed in class.

nut,

lymphatic memories - lymphatic is something related to the body. together with the idea of "draining the body of rivers of histories", they form a kind of metaphor, where the body of singapore (or the singaporean identity) is being comprised of memories and histories. So what it possibly could mean is that one's identity is a sum of one's history and memories. the draining away could possibly refer to how many young singaporeans are reluctant to embrace their cultural heritage, and would rather "drain away" or give up their cultural identity, replacing it with a new, western one.

torrent of denial - how some singaporeans continually reject/deny their cultural heritage and identity.

tzuning,

I think the riddle here is used a bit ironically too. since the Sphinx is famous for its difficult riddles, it is ironic that he the Merlion something of a riddle - puzzling and difficult to understand. So what the author could be trying to say is that The Merlion, to some, is somethign that is beyond comprehension, something completely puzzling.

It spews continually if only to ruffle
its own reflection in the water; such
reinders
will only scare a creature so eager to
reinvent itself

What does it mean to scare a creature so eager to reinvent itself? I understand that the reflection of the merlion can be seen in the water, but is the persona trying to say that the reflections would scare other creatures?

The Merlion represents a bunch of Singaporeans who are reluctant to embrace their cultural identity and heritage, so much so that they are even afraid to face the truth - that they are chinese, malay or indian. they are so desperate to be Western that they fear looking at their own reflection and facing the truth - that they can never escape their race and cultural heritage. Some parts of your identity can never be erased, no?

So the "reinventing" part is about these Singaporeans continually trying to forge a new identity for themselves.

its furious mane bleached the colour of a drowned sun?

Could this line be implying the merlion is colourless and thus giving the idea of Singaporeans having no identity? What does the "drowned sun" mean?

I mean, how does it move? Like a torpedo? Or does it shoulder itself against the currents, gnashing with frustration

What does this line mean? Or does it have no purpose other than emphasiziing how the is friend negative about the merlion and stating all the flaws?


Sorry for asking these questions last minute.

btw can we do a comparism to UBTM when answering questions for TM.
lyk saying the author wrote it in the 1990s where people were starting to be westernized as compared to the 1960s when ppl were very traditional

Thanks for your reply/answers!

nova (whoever u are)

look at the stanza where the persona is speaking. the one where he talks about the iridescent slime and the sting of salt. similar ideas there - the sun and rain are akin to western culture or foreign influences that are drowning out the "original" colour/identity/heritage of Singaporeans. the word bleach could possibly also have a double meaning - referring to those singaporeans who bleach their hair in an attempt to be westernised.

I mean, how does it move? Like a torpedo? Or does it shoulder itself against the currents, gnashing with frustration

possibly another frivolous rant by an unsatisfied singaporean.

don't do a comparison unless it is useful in answering the question. ALWAYS ANSWER THE QUESTION.

He's kai earm