ROLE-PLAY


The sky was overcast.
Overhead, dark clouds loomed.
My little brother grunted in disappointment.
"I wanted to go out today, now my plans are spoilt."
"We can always go out next time". I comforted.
"Kids!!! Time for dinner!!" My mom yelled from downstairs.
Putting down our dolls, we rushed down, shouting in unison, "OKAY MOM!!!!"

-------55Words

1A109 left the world of darkness on 7:00 AM

Personally, I condemn lotteries. Upon discussing this topic with a parent, I feel that lotteries are just another "money-sucking" scheme from the government. Hard-core gamblers would waste every penny just for a shot at a seemingly impossible windfall. Their mentality of "I Will Win If I Keep Trying" inevitably leads to them being bankrupt. My father, who was being interviewed, said:"The ratio of winning the lottery is one to a million." This is true. Everyday, long queues can be spotted outside the "Singapore Pools", a "shop" that sells lottery tickets. However, only one or none strikes everytime. There are about 4 million people in Singapore. If 2 million people on average buy lottery, the chances of winning can be concluded to be one in two million. The video below further substansiates that viewpoint. The government created lottery as an extra source of revenue for himself(correct me if I'm wrong), indirectly causing marital and family problems over money which would ultimately be lost through, apparently, lottery. The gamblers are blinded by greed and fails to see that what they have done would have dire consequences, and would go to a great extent to achieve money for gambling, sometimes even using unscrupulous means.Thus, I condemn the creation of lottery.
----- 203 Words

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdEcs49I3z8&feature=PlayList&p=F7DC1E8C5EA476EE&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=148

1A109 left the world of darkness on 2:30 AM

1)Tom Beatty VS. The Rocking Horse Winner
In these two stories/poems, the topic on luck and gambling is broached. Paul died early in "The Rocking Horse Winner.". This was a double-edged sword. The cards were stacked against Paul in the sense that his parents indirectly pressured him to "search for luck" in an attempt to silence "the voices" in the house.Paul's weakness was his innocence. The wish for more money for his family to live a better life led him to desperation.If Paul had not died early, he would have continued to suffer("losses").

2)The Green Clothes VS. Paper
The three things similar between the two stories are the tips, dry lips and "all spent in vain". Tips were heeded in Paper to purchase stocks that were believed to be lucky. Dry Lips were the result of them losing all of their money on shares and crying. The money they had was "All Spent In Vain".

3)Ah Boh was in a way, blind. He failed to see that his gambling habits would someday cause him to go bankrupt. Number 13 as mentioned in "One-Dollar Gambler" symbolizes Ah Boh's superstitions on luck. Ah Boh eventually lost all her money, which is the "zero dollars".

1A109 left the world of darkness on 7:23 PM

1) Paper, in this story, symbolises death. Tay Soon and Yee Lian dabbled in shares so as to increase their wealth for the grand house which they had talked so much about. At first, they made Paper gains, but didn't know when to stop. They thought that share prices would continue rising. In the end, the shares which they had put in their money to buy crashed, resulting in them losing all of their money. Tay Soon became haggard and mental soon after. The conclusion of the story ended in Tay Soon's mother burning a Paper house that Tay Soon had dreamed of. The moral of the story is never to dabble in shares as we might "burn our fingers."



2) Ah Boh spent all of her money on gambling, for she believed that one day, she would have a windfall. All of us know, deep down inside, that gambling is merely a game of chance. However, Ah Boh continued to do things which she believed, would give her "an extra slice of luck.". For example, she believed that her dreams were a sign, and allocated numbers to certain things. Even at her mother's deathbed, she still rambled on about a windfall, seemingly to have lost her state of mind. Gambling has took over her mind to an unimaginable, horrific extent.
----- 100 Words.

3) In my opinion, the main person who indirectly caused Paul's death was his mother. If Paul's mother had not started talking about the topic on "Luck", Paul would not have searched for the meaning to "Luck", and thus would not have been partners with Basset and his uncle, Oscar. This caused Paul to win a tidy sum from the races, which was handed over to the lawyer for his mother's birthday. However, the money was not enough. This made Paul look desperately for another "inspiration.", which he got. That inspiration had a price. Paul paid his life. The Last Inspiration.
---- 100 Words.

1A109 left the world of darkness on 5:08 PM