The Thing
In the ending scene of The Thing
Complete the quote:
The father goes to the kitchen and begins to make ____________.
dinner
Uncle Boon uses this "cryptic or ambiguous reply" to describe his life. It highlights his boredom and lack of purpose in a home where he feels unwanted
Complete the quote:
"_____________lor. _________________"
"Waiting lor... Just waiting."
This powerful simile establishes the core conflict of the story: the deep emotional gap between the narrator and her father.
“It was like we were _______________________, never to make contact unless there were some cataclysmic event."
“It was like we were planets orbiting a sun, never to make contact unless there were some cataclysmic event."
What does the sewing machine symbolise?
Aunty Loh’s life force and competence
For Uncle Mang, the clock doesn't represent family time for him, but rather a countdown to his only joy: escaping into the world of ___________
soccer
After finding the mother's personal items (like her "anniversary bracelet") hidden inside the wool, the father experiences an involuntary reaction.
Complete the quote:
It is only then that he realises___________________
he has been crying
This moment reveals Lynn’s sharp perceptiveness and empathy. Complete the quote:
“The man sitting across from her is old... looking at him, she wonders how it must feel to be _________ in your mind but ____________ in a __________body.”
“The man sitting across from her is old... looking at him, she wonders how it must feel to be active in your mind but trapped in a failing body.”
The narrator shows her desire for a connection that she is not yet ready to fully embrace when she said this:
“I wanted to say that those were the memories that I still cherished about him. Seeing him as he was now, this evening’s events, was a recollection I wanted to bury.”
What about her father is she referring to?
His current "subservient" job as a security guard
This moment illustrates the deepening bond between Nicky and Aunty Loh after Pei Fen’s miscarriage.
Complete the quote.
“Aunty Loh didn’t turn on the TV and neither did I, as if my _____________ was a way of showing _______________”
“Aunty Loh didn’t turn on the TV and neither did I, as if my abstinence was a way of showing camaraderie.”
Complete the quote:
Mother: "If she didn’t hear the door slam by 7 o’clock, she’d grumble, ‘Where’s he gone? Buying 4-D again, that _________________.’
"If she didn’t hear the door slam by 7 o’clock, she’d grumble, ‘Where’s he gone? Buying 4-D again, that lousy gambler.’
Complete the quote:
The son has taken to coiling it around his neck, a __________-scarf-___________.
shackle-scarf-noose
This quote reveals Lynn's dream:
It’s all study-study-study now. So boring. I want to...
It’s all study-study-study now. So boring. I want to be old enough to travel around the world.
This quote highlights the narrator’s sense of self-alienation. She views her social interactions as a way to "kill time" rather than build meaning.
“It was odd to be caught with two men I did not really want to spend time with, but maybe dividing my time between them would make_____________________.
“It was odd to be caught with two men I did not really want to spend time with, but maybe dividing my time between them would make the hours pass faster.”
What does the baby pillow symbolise? State how the symbol changes.
The baby pillow represents___________, then later ____________.
Hope ...and later vulnerability/grief.
Complete the quote by Mother:
“Not to curse you, nothing __________________________________________”
“Not to curse you, nothing good will come of this marriage.”
Complete the quote by the principal during the meeting in the office with father:
We can’t ________________behaviour
we can't condone antisocial behaviour
This quote reveals a similarity between Uncle Boon and Lynn that strengthens their friendship. Complete the quote:
Uncle Boon, I’m also like you, ...
Uncle Boon, I’m also like you, waiting. Waiting so that I can leave this place and go far away.
I continued to hold onto the phone. I was not squeezing hard, but I wondered whether, if I did so long enough, it might break apart slowly in my fingers.
Which part of the story can this lines be found?
The ending.
I opened the phone and saw a message from my dad. I hope your friend is all right. Good luck with swimming. And studying. I looked at the phone, the light from the screen illuminating my face, my ngernails still tinged with dried blood. I wanted to reply, but I did not know what to say. e screen turned itself off after a while. I continued to hold onto the phone. I was not squeezing hard, but I wondered whether, if I did so long enough, it might break apart slowly in my fingers.
This closing line is a powerful symbol of recovery and connection. Complete the quote:
With bated breath, I inched closer to take a second look, only to realise it was simply a __________________________.
With bated breath, I inched closer to take a second look, only to realise it was simply a clump of black thread
Who is the biggest foil to Jiahua's mother in the HWLN collection?
Aunty Loh
What other four names for The Thing did Yeoh Jo-Ann have?
1) A woollen ________
2) grounded _______
3) _________ of folds
4) comforting __________
A woollen snake, grounded cloud, monster of folds, comforting companion
Complete the 2 most important quotes involving drumsticks:
First quote: Chicken drumsticks are only for the boys. My brothers always get to eat them. I _______________________________instead...
Second quote: Just had the best Hainanese chicken drumstick! I’ll __________________________.
First quote: Chicken drumsticks are only for the boys. My brothers always get to eat them. I pretend to like chicken wings instead...
Second quote: Just had the best Hainanese chicken drumstick! I’ll bring home one for you.
I continued to hold onto the phone. I was not squeezing hard, but I wondered whether, if I did so long enough, it might break apart slowly in my fingers.
What does the phone represent?
The phone represents her only link to the outside world (Stephen, Alice, her father).
Her urge to "break" it suggests a desire to shatter the pressures and "strained relationships" that define her life.
Before Nicky ever meets the Loh family properly, the sparse items in their home symbolize the dysfunction and emotional distance in their family.
Name two items.
“Twelve o’clock exactly. The only moment the hour, minute and second hands come together.”
What does this final image/ending emphasise?
To Jiahua, there are only brief moments where everyone in his family is on the same page.
For the rest of the day, the family members are moving in different directions, unable to connect.