Views On The Casino

Knowing the plights of those who have gambled and lost all their money, I am against gambling and thus does not hope for the casino to be built in Singapore as this means that more people can gamble and once again, more people will suffer at their own hands due to gambling.

However, after reviewing the current situation, I have decided to change my point of view.

The construction of the casino might be a good thing after all. With the current economic downturn, many people are losing their jobs and source of income, but with the casino, more people will be able to get jobs and some who are lucky might even get rich after gambling. Thus, I guess I am alright with it. My parents also have the same mindset as me in the sense that this is what's best for Singapore. Besides, with the casino, more tourists might be attracted to Singapore and this may lead to more money earned.

"There is an assumption out there that casinos are recession-proof." I guess this statement makes sense.

Poetry On Gambling

I think the comparison should be made like this:

1. Tom Beatty - The Rocking Horse Winner

2. The Green Clothes - Paper

3. One-Dollar Gambler - The Lottery

My reason:

1. Both Tom Beatty and The Rocking Horse Winner are talking about gambling, luck and also of the consequences if you are obsessed with it. In The Rocking Horse Winner, Paul's mother told him of luck and how it could bring them money. In order to silence the voices in the house and to help his parents earn money, he went in search of luck. But his desparation to earn even more led to him becoming insane and finally dying. From this, we know that his parents were to blame. In Tom Beatty, they also said that you can waste seventy years to gamble but ultimately, you will not win and will still die.

2. Both Paper and The Green Clothes are similar in terms of tips, dry lips and all that was spent in vain. In Paper, Tay Soon and Yee Lian heeded the tips and bought the stocks that were rumoured to bring them more money. When the stocks crashed, Tay Soon and Yee Lian lost all their money. Devastated, they cried and this was what caused the dry lips. All the money they invested in the stocks were all that was spent in vain.

3. In Lottery, Ah Boh was similar to the blind man in the sense that they both failed to see what gambling can do to them. Similarly, number 13 also symbolizes Ah Boh's superstition. Finally, when Ah Boh lost all her money, she would have zero dollars left.

Gambling Materials

1. Paper, the title of the story, is actually a form of symbolism, which represents something insignificant and of little value. "It's just paper gains so far" tells us that the money they made through selling stocks and shares so far is merely a fraction of what they can get in the end if they continue. Proving that the amount of money they had then was as insignificant as paper which can be easily replaced as it is cheap and of little value. What's important to them is that they must have more money and fulfil their dream of living in a grand house.

Also, when gambling, people rarely consider whether they are wasting money or not as what is of utmost importance to them is to strike the lottery and gain a huge fortune. Even if the money is wasted, they would not really bother as it is still insignificant compared to what they think they will win when they strike the jackpot.

When Tay Soon dies, his mother prepares his "dream house" for him, only this time it would be made of paper. From this point, we know that the house is no longer important as the husband is already dead, thus buying the house would no longer have any meaning to it.

2. Ah Boh is a superstitious woman who believes that lady luck will shine on her one day and let her strike a fortune. However, as the days pass, none of the predicted things came true and that led to Ah Boh resorting to plans like assigning numbers to each object or event dreamt about etc. Nothing good comes out of gambling; however Ah Boh fails to understand that. When her mother dies, Ah Boh was just at the scene of the accident and seemed a bit unstable as she muttered to herself ways of making her mother forgive her.

3. Paul's parents were responsible for his death. Though Paul's parents were not rich, they still spend the money on unnecessary items. When they finally realize that they were running out of money, things became worse. The children, especially Paul, were affected. At this time, Paul also learnt about luck and soon he also learnt about horse races which could gain him money if he was lucky. So whenever there were horse races, he would ride on his toy horse which would give him the inspiration. But it soon became an obsession which led to his demise.

Analyzing and Composing Poem

Response 1.

The poet was probably feeling nostalgic, sad and yet a little happy while reminiscing the past and recalling the good old days when he was back in primary school.

Response 2.

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Recalling The Past

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Walking down the aisle,

I walked to my teacher,

Retreived my result slip,

And went back to my seat.

Not daring to take a look,

My friend took the initiative for me,

Seeing his look of disbelief,

I lost all hope.

But that was not the case,

As my friend turned,

He tapped my shoulder,

And told me the good news.

As my other friends crowded around,

And began to congratulate one another,

Tears started welling up inside our eyes,

This would be our last happy moment together.

But that moment did not last long,

Not wanting to dampen our spirit,

We decided to go on a trip and enjoy,

Our last moments together.

At the end of the day,

We knew it was time to part,

Though I wanted it to last longer,

It was not within my power to do so.

Accepting our fate,

We held back our tears,

Saying the last goodbyes,

We turned our backs and walked away.