"Journey" by Shirley Geok-‐Lin Lim

Comment closely on the following passage from Journey by Shirley Geok-Lin Lim,
considering ways in which the writer creates mood and atmosphere.
"Last night, she had dreamt she was shut away in a subterranean world; she had wandered in labyrinths of a thick brown
claustrophobia. So dense was the air that her ears felt clogged with cotton-wool, and her feet trod slippery over ground strewn with
skulls. This dense silence was her holding her breath, conscious of malevolent eyes in the darkness, watching. Skulls smiled without
friendship, then began moving around her, in slow monotony, circling formally, one after the other, as in a ritual dance. She knew then
that if she could not open her eyes she would never find her way back. She would have to stay in that labyrinthine world, separated from
that breathing body which was hers, but which lay apart, secure in bed and lost. She tried to cry out. Only her mouth twisted
soundlessly. She concentrated on opening her eyes, counting one two three, pitching her muscles for the effort, but it was a long time
before she succeeded. Night was blacker than the dream twilight. It walled up and pressed into her eyes, a pleasant sensation recalling
her from the trembling sweet terror into which she had tumbled.
Now she sat in the half-empty bus. It jolted to a halt at every stop, but no one got in, nor did anyone get off. She was caught up in its
reckless rush as it butted stubbornly against the road curb, swung around corners with a wounded shriek, shaking its whole frame in a
frenzy of movement, unthinking, self-absorbed, down the straight roads past the housing estates. On either side, the rows of houses
started up, then fell back, enshrouded in the greying evening. Now they put on their lights, dusky yellow, blue and dim, smoky red, futile
stabs in the twilight which invaded the interior of the bus with a deeper gloom. Stars and moon had not yet shown themselves, perhaps
would not appear tonight. The passengers were as dull as the sky. Each sat shut in by whatever thoughts bred in his mind with the
coming night, eyes marshalled inwards, only flickering to the doorway in anticipation at every violent thrust of the brakes. But no one
passed through the doorway, either going down or coming up. The one woman appeared as well-worn as her samfoo, exhausted and
faded by having had too many children, too much labour done, too many years lived. The collars of the men decapitated their heads
from their shirts, so that they hung in the dusk, with cropped hair, thickened ears, dancing at every shudder of the engine. Only she
defied the drab company in her bright uniform, fidgeting with her bag, gnawing her underlip, constantly peering out of the dusty
window into the dustier evening to watch the roads whizz under.
She was glad to climb down from the bus, yet there was a curious uncertainty as to where she was to go, a strong reluctance to move
away from the stand. She thought if she stood there long enough, the bus would surely return on its journey back and bring her home.
She did not have to go anyway. Or she could take a walk, pretending she was going home to her family. There were numerous lanes
branching off the little junction, numerous houses sitting under fat protective trees, hiding behind fences and shut gates. There was the
pleasant joy of choosing your own little lane, your own snug house.
Still, she could not imagine herself belonging to any of these houses. Windows framed squares of light, curtains drawn to keep them in.
Voices called out in a murmur of music. Sharp chinks of spoon against plate reminded her she had not
eaten. In these houses were whole families unaware of her standing hungry, out in the dark. Whole families of mothers, fathers and
children, living their daily meals and bedtime together, surrounded by their fenced-in gardens and their walls, unaware of her as much
as though they and she were apart in separate worlds. She wondered whether her mother knew she was standing in front of these
houses, and if she knew, whether she realised why and for what. It was not the same air she breathed in here, heavy with green smells
of unknown shrubbery, delicate, sweet in her nostrils, fragrance of unseen flowers weighing their stems down and entwining their heads
together in the night. The unfamiliar air as much as the disguising night made her, though she was uncertain whether it was so, or
exactly why, frightened".
…..
Reading questionnaire:
Answer all of the following questions. Answers do not need to be long.

Paragraph 1
1. This paragraph retells a dream. Mention three characteristics of the dream.

Paragraph 2
2. Where is the protagonist going?
3. Is the bus going slowly or fast? Justify your choice with words or phrases from the text.
4. What time of day is it? How do you know?
5. Who is on the bus apart from her? How are these people described? ? Justify with words or
phrases from the text, but not whole sentences.

Paragraphs 3 and 4
6. How does the girl feel when she gets off the bus?
7. What kind of neighbourhood is she in?
8. What picture of a family does she have in her mind as living in this neighbourhood?
9. What do you think is making her feel frightened?

Paragraph 5
10. What instructions has the mother given her? Rewrite them here.
11. Do you think the mother has been there before? Why?
12. Describe the household god in your own words.
13. Does she wait for a long or a short time? Justify your choice with words from the text.
14. How does she feel about the man who gives her the package?
15. What is there in the package?

Paragraph 6
16. The setting changes here, what is the new setting?
17. How many people are there in the girl's family?
18. What do the women do in the family? Support your answer with quotations from the text.
19. What do the men do in the family? Support your answer with quotations from the text.
20. What are the sleeping arrangements in the family (i.e. who sleeps with whom)?

Paragraphs 7, 8 and 9
21. What has woken the girl up?
22. How does she feel when she first wakes up?
23. When the girl follows her mother, why doesn't she want to turn the lights on?
24. In your own words, describe what the girl sees when she finally does turn on the lights.
25. At first, she doesn't know how to help. She does, finally through "a habit of sex". What do you
think this means?

Paragraph 10
26. What has happened? What was wrong with the mother?
27. What is the "unexpected inversion" mentioned in the text?
28. Why does the girl cry? Briefly, mention as many reasons as you can think of.