MAJOR CHARACTERS

He is a successful businessman in the shipping business.

He is meticulous. This is observed as he keeps track of the number of ships every day by counting them. He always made sure that everything was done the right way.

He has had a good and a happy childhood with his family in Tanjung Rhu. Apart from that, he himself enjoys a happy family life with his wife, son and daughter. In addition, he has a close relationship with his mother.

His ways and ideas are modern which he takes pride of. He does not interfere with his mother’s ways which are rather traditional. This shows that he is tolerant. Being a filial son, he made sure that the funeral of his mother is done in the right way, which is, following the customs and traditions.

He expects his daughter to respect elders. This is an example of his strict characteristics where he does not entertain disrespect from the young.

His only regret is not listening to his mother when she talked.

Mr Li’s mother is small and thin with grey hair and a bent back. She is a mother of nine, grandmother of thirty-four and great-grandmother of seventeen.

She has a traditional mind set with strong religious beliefs. She still keeps chickens in the garden and practises the old Chinese customs and rituals. She is in fact, very particular and meticulous when it comes to taking care of the altar and performing her prayers. She keeps all the prayer paraphernalia under lock and key. When she performs her prayers, she talks to her dead husband.

Although she has cataracts, she does not believe in having an eye surgery to fix it.

She yearns to see Tanjong Rhu, where she used to live years ago.

She seems to cling to the past. She is proud of her son’s success. Overall, she is a simple woman who is content with what she has. She is the daughter of Mr Li and Helen. She has an older brother at Cambridge University. Ying is leaving for New York. She speaks English to her father and Cantonese to her grandmother. She takes the customs and rituals lightly and does not seem to acknowledge the importance of it.

She loves her grandmother very much and is very close to her, so much so that she takes care of her grandmother at the hospital and gives her blood. She is also very anxious that her grandmother is dying.