Similarities and differences between Lamb to the Slaughter and The Way Up to Heaven

Similarities

- In both stories, the husbands got murdered by their wives, directly or indirectly. 

- Both wives manage to get an alibi for themselves and got away with murder.

- The husbands took their faithful wives for granted.

- The wives were shrewd and cunning but these traits were covered up by their faithful and over - pleasing natures.

Differences 

- In Lamb to the Slaughter, the plotline sounded more interesting than The Way Up to Heaven. This is  because of the fact that Mary Maloney had to find a way to get rid of the murder weapon that she had 

used to kill Patrick Maloney. She also had to act as if she was not the murderer by acting shocked 

and innocent. In The Way Up to Heaven, Mrs Foster had to pretend that her husband was taking too 

long and to ask to chauffeur to just drive when she realises that her husband is trapped in the lift. All 

she needed to do was to wait until after her visit to her daughter. This was to let starvation cause the 

demise of Mr. Foster. It sounded very convenient for Mrs Foster to do that as compared to Mary's.

- In Lamb to the Slaughter, Patrick directly hurt Mary's feelings by giving her the shocking news. However, in The Way Up to Heaven, Mr. Foster indirectly tortured Mrs. Foster by taking his time when he went off for an outing with her, even though he knew perfectly well that she hated being late.

- In Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary wanted to kill her husband was because of the fact that she was 6 months pregnant and Patrick still only cared about his life and career. In The Way Up to Heaven, Mrs Foster did the same thing due to pure hatred for Mr. Foster.  

Chinese New Year

Hi all!

I hope all of you have enjoyed your Chinese New Year's break. Chinese New Year (CNY) is really part of my growing up years but it is not one of my growing pains. I have not celebrated CNY like most of my friends. I did not visit relatives until most recently. Therefore, I did not have many 'ang pows'  to collect. I also have to travel a great distance for my reunion dinner.  In fact, I have not celebrated any CNY celebrations at my schools.I would be travelling in my father's car to Kuala Lumpur (KL). I remember leaving home as early as 5 in the morning so as to avoid the jam at the immigration points. I think my father would like to squeeze as much time as we could spend with my grandmother as possible. Don't bother pitying me - I enjoy the cosiness and coldness in the car early in the morning. It is something that I look forward to. It is the same feeling that I get as if I was going on a vacation and I look forward to seeing my grandmother and cousins.

Most of my paternal relatives are in Penang. I only have one grandaunt to visit in KL. So I only get to collect red packets from my granny and the relatives at my grandaunt's place only. My mother said that before I started Primary School, we used to spend a week or more in Malaysia. After the reunion dinner, we would go to another part of Malaysia for a vacation. We had stayed in Lake Kenir, visited Cameron Highlands and the west coast of Malaysia, stayed in a condominion in Port Dickson, etc.

At my grandmother's place, there are 2 dogs, a coconut tree, chickens running around, (and even two turkeys in the past!) These are eye- openers, things that I do not usually see in Singapore. I really enjoyed waking up in the morning to feed the chickens (predominantly hens). As things in Malaysia are a lot cheaper than in Singapore, my father would bring my grandmother together with us to check out different restaurants in KL. During my recent trip to KL, my grandmother brought us to Kajang, a town in the outskirts of KL, where I had the most delicious satay I have ever tasted. It is the famous Kajang satay. The chicken satay which I had was simply soft and juicy and the satay sauce was delectable.

As we went to KL a day before the eve of CNY this year, many shops were opened and I came home with new shoes and clothes. We even managed to catch the movie that I wanted to watch at just 10 RM which is about S$4  only! I would recommend my friends to watch it  -' Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. It had a good story line, good effects  and good looking actors and actresses. However, what I missed most was buying 'illegal' firecrackers and lighting them up. It was very exhilarating and fun. However, I was a bit fearful of the sparks when I was younger.

But for now it is back to work, tests are coming, (sigh). Au revoir till next year, year of the rabbit...

                                                        My cousins burying me in the sand

Bathing the dog with my aunt

Flying Free Lyrics

This song is dedicated to my music teacher, Mr. Tan, who introduced to me this song. I believe the song is really appropriate as it fits the context of me as a teenager.Thank you Mr Tan for this lovely piece!  

There is a place I call my own
Where I can stand by the sea
And look beyond the things I've known
And dream that I might be free


Like a bird above the trees
Gliding gently on the breeze
I wish that all my life I'd be
Without a care and flying free


But life is not a distant sky
Without a cloud, without rain
And I can never hope that I
Can travel on without pain

Time goes swiftly on it's way
All too soon we've lost today
I cannot wait for skies of blue
Or dream so long
That life is through


Alto: So life's a song that I must sing, a gift of love I must share
Soprano: so lifes a song, a gift of life I must share

Alto: And when I see the joy it brings, my spirits soar through the air
Soprano: and when I see, my spirits soar through the air

All: Like that bird up in the sky, life has taught me how to fly
For now I know what I can be
And now my heart is flying free

Oooooo...

Allergies

When I was very young, I did a skin prick test at the hospital. The technician marked my left forearm with pen for 30 different allergens.She then 'pricked' the surface of my skin and put tiny drops of liquid containing the different markings on my skin. I remember waiting for a long time for the allergens to take effect. As I was allergic to almost ten of the allergens, that wait was torturous for me as I suffered tremendous itches to my arm. Finally, itchy bumps appeared on my skin next to the markings of what I was allergic to.

It seemed that I was allergic to canary feathers, kapok seeds, fungus, cat's hair, cow's milk, egg, shellfish etc. However, the doctor said that I was most likely only allergic to eggs. She also advised my mother against giving me anything that was artificially coloured such as sweets and anything that contained caramel which included Coca-Cola! So it began a most agonising period of my childhood where I could not eat one of my favourite food,eggs cooked in all its glorious forms. I could not eat cakes and ice-cream, pastries and lots of other food as eggs and colours are included in some form or other in the food. I could not eat sweets and could not drink coke... It must be the end of my childhood ...





I did not look forward to my next birthday because I thought I was not going to get a birthday cake. I was pleasantly surprised when my mother managed to get a 'heavenly' cake that did not use eggs. I thought it was the best cake I had ever eaten!

When I was six years old, I remember just as I was going to bed, I started to have difficulty breathing, my whole body broke into rashes and I was itching all over, my nose and ears were swollen, my eyes were itching terribly too. It turned out I was allergic to pistachios too so till today, "Pistachios, stay away from me!"

To relieve the symptoms, I would use a nasal spray before I slept and took an oral antihistamines in the morning.The first time I used the spray, it was like I could finally breathe in fresh air, as my nose was unblocked, my eyes and nose were no longer itchy.

In 2005, I went to see another allergy specialist. I had outgrown my allergy to eggs. Hooray! I could eat eggs again! I could eat cakes and pastries too! However another skin prick test and I was found to be allergic to dust mites.

It was a terrible feeling, having itchy and dry eyes all the time, itchy nose too, that is why I am often wrinkling my nose and blinking my eyes! My mother was also not comfortable about me having to pump my body with so much medicine. One day, while surfing the internet, she came across an article about the neti pot. It was actually used originally by yogists as a form of personal hygiene but has now become quite widely recommended by some western doctors as a good way to flush out excess mucus, viruses and allergens from the nose and sinuses. I use warm sea salt water with sodium bicarbonate as a buffering agent.  

However, the neti pot was losing its effects on me after a year and I often have to take 'Clarinase', an antihistamine, to relieve my dry itchy eyes and non stop runny nose. Then, in 2008, my mother decided to let me try reflexology and guess what? It works for me. Finally there is a short term cure to my problem without the inconvenience of daily having to 'wash nose' or taking medicine. However, it seems after an hour of reflexology session, I will be relieved of my symptoms for about 3 months. It is about three months since my last session, I am hoping that I might have finally outgrown all my allergy problems, but I think not because I do still have dry itchy eyes but I do not have runny nose yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed...    

Stories with a common theme - Deception

Deceptions in Lamb to the Slaughter

Mr Maloney

- Mr. Maloney is a detective who probably did care for his wife. This is shown by the fact that he takes his wife out to dinner every Thursday. It was their time together.

- However, as the story approaches the climax, a different side fo Mr. Maloney is presented. He turns out to be callous, uncaring and not bother about leaving his wife in her extreme state of pregnency. He is only bothered about her not creating a 'fuss' as it may be bad for his career prospects.

Mary Maloney

- Presented in the beginning of the story as a loving wife and perfect housekeeper, blissful in her 'perfect' world. The murder is a reaction brought about by her disillustionment.

- The woman presented to the readers is shrewd, calculating and an extremely talented actress. She shows no remourse and accepts her husband's death with a lack of emotion which is in sharp contrast to the woman in the beginning of the story. The story ends in her giggles - probably because she knows she has got away with murder. Which one is he real Mary Maloney? One can only guess.

Deception in 'Male Child'

- Chuang Phoon has 6 daughters and yearns for a son. He has a devoted wife and he cares for her. He is a dutiful husband and father and believes he has been cursed with 6 girls, because of sins he has commited. He prayed everyday for a son.

- However, one visit to the brothel changed all that. He was so enamoursed by the wiles and charms of the prostitute that he wants to marry her. He needs an excuse to leave his wife and now starts praying for a daughter.

Deceptions in Love


- Frankie, who was drawing good income, and Pearl were truly in love. It was love at first sight. However, Frankie was dating Mee Choon. Frankie' s heart was now given over to Pearl. He betrayed Mee Choon, but can Mee Choon forgive Frankie's insensitive decision and never bear any grudge?

- Frankie decieved Pearl into being engaged to him. He said that his father was ill after a accident, but it was actually a heridity illness. All this for the sake of marrying Pearl. This nearly caused Pearl to marry him.