Serves as exposition for the reader
"Pa...The prawns are not jumping" (pg 16)
"Ma, Jie always finishes the good stuff before any of us gets to eat it!" (pg 4)
Character traits much the same as Angie, voices out their mutual feelings together, emphasises the generation gap/ related theme
Practically any line from Scene 1
Empathic, can understand and anticipate the mood of the family
"Aiyah, don't start again lah, can or not, you two" (pg12)
"No you eat, Angie. Daddy is trying to be nice by giving you his favourite part of the fish" (pg 13)
"She's just too soft-hearted to see the prawns die (in hokkien)" (Pg 15)
Food and family relationships
Food is a motif that is portrayed as special and a source of family union
Orh nee
"It's got lots of sugar and lard and everything bad. Just for tonight, I'll make a sacrifice and eat it. Just for your sake pa!"
After the argument between Mr Tan and Angie, Angie offered to order Orh Nee as both Angie and Mr Tan enjoy it, and as a reconciliatory gesture.
Sng Buay
"I'll go buy a big bag of Sng buay for all of us tomorrow."
Mr Tan offers to buy the whole family Sng Buay after Angie finishes all of them. He uses Sng Buay to alleviate the tension. This can also be said to bring the family together.
Drunken Prawns
"There would be a surprise dish."
Mr Tan's statement aroused the daughters' excitement, as they knew they would be having a special and expensive dish the next day. Food like this is special, as it is only eaten on special occasions.
Mediator, tries to break up fights within the family
Tries to calm Angie in (page 15, first line)
"Everyone in the restaurant is watching [...] So much drama, it's only a bowl of prawns" (pg 15)
Anxious and worried that he can no longer keep up with the world
Any line from page 20 essentially
Can also say that Angie makes her father feel like he does not understand the modern world. Quote anything from Angie.
Old-school values, believes in filial piety
"You don't be rude with me, all right!. You talk to your father like this, you are asking for a slap in public" (pg 8)
"You dare talk to me like that!!!!" (Pg 16)
Old-fashioned, does not understand modern life
Calls gigabytes 'giggle-bites' (pg 8)
"If my mother's sewing machine lasted 40 years, then the computer should last a bloody 3000 years" (paraphrased, pg 8)
Modern mindset, values speed and spending
"Oh...look, Pa...look! / It's the latest one, It's got the core 2 duo processor... and 4 -gigabyte RAM"(pg7)
Insensitive to the emotions and feelings of others
"Good. I'm glad they're already dead..."(pg17)
"Ya...the dinosaur gang"(pg10)
"Don't worry. When I go out and work, I'll pay you back for all the food I have eaten"(pg16)
Spiteful, always wanna get the last word
"Never mind, you drink lah"(pg5)
"I'm just trying to help you live longer"(pg13)
"Don't talk about souls, okay [...] I don't want to talk about your soul" (pg17)
Arrogant, wants to know she knows more than her parents
"They are scientist who changed the way we see the universe"(pg5)
"Coffee makes stains your teeth... makes you pee... and...and stops you from sleeping" (pg5)
Concerned for her family's health
"Liver is high in cholesterol, Pa" (pg 12)
"Caffiene is really bad for you (pg 5)
Connie
Mrs Tan
Mr Tan
Angie
Drunken Prawns
Themes
Generation gap
The daughters value speed and novelty contrasts with the parent's traditional values of filial piety and practicality.
Daughters:
"Oh...look, Pa...look! / It's the latest one, It's got the core 2 duo processor... and 4 -gigabyte RAM"(pg7)
"Computers are like dogs. One year in its life is equal to seven normal years."
"Ya, the dinosaur gang"
Father:
"What's all this Duo Quad nonsense? We already have a computer!"
"It's a machine, not a dog. Your grandmother had a singer sewing machine she used for 40 years!"
"You don't need duo 'giggle-bites' "
Conflict
Drunken prawns
Contrast pg 4, Mr Tan "looking dotingly at Angie"
Course of conflict (note: "P" stands for "Provoking conflict")
1
P: Angie: "If I throw you in acid, you will also jump around what"
Mr Tan angry: "You talk to your father like this, you are asking for a slap in public!"
Due to anger
Subtopic
Thinks that Mr Tan is torturing prawns
Not caring about prawns
Rude to father
Start: Angie: "the alcohol will burn them"
Angie vs Mr Tan
Mr Tan: should eat drunken prawns
Angie: should not eat drunken prawns
Cause of conflict
However, the main causes are:
They both want to have the last say
Mr Tan is hot-tempered
Angie is stubborn, refusing to eat the prawns, and is rude to her father
Misunderstanding
Mr Tan: thinks drunken prawns are nice to eat
Angie: thinks Mr Tan is torturing prawns
Already angry because of previous argument of liver and fish eyeball
Liver/ fish eyeball
Characters
