Reading reflections

Hey guys! The three texts I will be covering in my post are: (1) Emily of Emerald Hill, (2) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and (3) Pride and Prejudice.

Here’s my short (and by short, I really mean short. haha) summary of these texts:

(1)   Emily of Emerald Hill (by Stella Kon)

This play is a one-woman monologue about a young girl who marries into a rich Peranakan household and how she manipulates her way around the household. While she manages to gain power and status, her tight control over the family and household affairs results in: the death of her son (he commits suicide!), her husband had an affair (and he doesn’t want to see her on his deathbed!) and her other children leave the mansion (she is left all alone!). The play ends tragically as Emily descends into madness.

(2) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (by Mark Haddon)

This novel is revolves around the life of, Christopher Boone, a fifteen year-old Math prodigy with Asperger’s Syndrome. The story, told from Christopher’s point of view, starts out with his discovery of the carcass of his neighbour’s dog and he subsequently attempts to find out who had killed it (hence the title!). His father, however, is vehemently against this but Christopher stubbornly continues to investigate into this curious incident. During the course of his investigation, he finds out that his mother is not dead (his father had lied!) but had actually had an affair and had moved to another part of the country to start a new life with her partner. He also uncovers the truth behind the killing of the dog—his dad’s the murderer! (the horrors!) The story ends on a happy note with Christopher getting a dog and an A for his A-level Math paper (which is damn amazing ’cause he’s only fifteen. I mean I can’t even solve simple Math sums). J

(3)   Pride and Prejudice (by Jane Austen)

A story about an average family with five daughters (and a horribly annoying mother) and their attempts at getting married to rich men, and how pride and prejudice (along with issues of class and status) get in the way.

Chosen text

The text which I feel is suitable as a secondary/O-level text is… The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time! (No prizes for guessing correctly! Ha!) I think the book, apart from being entertaining, interesting and atypical (I might be biased), touches on the themes of disability and discrimination which are pertinent, though perhaps often overshadowed by other forms of discrimination such as racism and sexism. That disability is often ‘invisible’ makes this text all the more useful as a rich resource in developing students’ awareness and ability to think critically. This text also facilitates discussion of other similar issues such as mental illness. In addition, the text is not intimidating as it is not hard to understand and the language used is also simple, making it appropriate for secondary school students. I really think students (and everyone else who haven’t read it) should be encouraged to read it even if it’s not a set text!