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Evidence: 'jumps forward, never backwards'
Explanation: Symbolises resilience, always moving forward in life even if there are obstacles as we grow and mature. Not dwelling on mistakes or regrets of the past and not backing off when we face the unknown as we grow up.

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"the grasshopper only jumps forwards, never backwards"
"Important to be like the grasshopper... to keep moving forward, especially when times are bad"
The grasshopper ability to only able to move 'forwards, never backwards', is compared to the advice Mother gives to the narrator about life when he treats her to a birthday dinner. This symbolises Mother wants the narrator to not give up, always look forward to the future and not dwell on the past or past mistakes, moving on. This shows that, in the face of growing up, one should always persevere, looking forward to the future, that is after growing up and look and not dwell on the past, that is the sadness and depression of leaving one's childhood behind.

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Evidence: "I remembered the tiny grasshopper in my loose fist and the first leap it took as it jumped into a new world, one far from where it came."
Explanation: The first leap symbolises the writer's first step into growing up which would give him a sense of independence and maturity. "A new world" meant that the writer has never seen a certain aspect of life yet.

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'Horns blasted while traffic streamed past us on the street' this shows that the traffic at Ang Mo Kio is very busy, this shows that everyone goes on with life no matter what, it symbolises the amounts of things we could do in life without any obstructions, the traffic streaming past the persona shows that there is not much distractions in the traffic, it suggest that the persona did not allow himself to have such obstacles in life.

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'Fretful anticipation' Both words actually means anxious and worry yet excited.This suggests that even though the author is scared of the unknown,the future, and what is lying ahead of him.However,at the same time,he is can't wait to discover what lies ahead and that he is looking forward to be having freedom of doing what he wants.

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Evidence: "A knowledge budding, taking root, spreading"
This conveys the theme of growing up by comparing his knowlegde to a "budding" plant. This is because budding plants are at a stage where they are growing and branching out, just like the narrator, physically and mentally. This suggests that while the author is growing up physically, his knowledge is expanding based off of what he already knows.

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"Always jumping forward towards the unknown, never once turning back. "
Like a grasshopper, we should always move on and not dwell on the past happenings.
"Grasshopper only jumps forwards, never backwards."
"To keep moving forward, especially when times are bad.

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` I set my sights on the bright dazzling lights ' this shows children's destination is blinding as the words 'bright dazzling' suggest. The narrator wishes that he will end up in a place he desires to be in even if he cannot see it. Hence, it is a metaphor about his future, how bright and eye blinding it can be. Although things may not turn out as the way they want it to be once their eyes adjust to the lights.

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'Slipped' --- line 33
>This suggests that he slides off his mother's assistance as he is growing up.

Stretched ---line 34

Stretching his fingers to grab hold of his future

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O Thiam Chin used the word 'imagine' to convey the theme of growing up. The word shows that the protagonist is unsure of what might happen in the future after growing up. However the word is actually quite positive in a way that it shows that the protagonist is hopeful of the future.
O Thiam Chin used the words and phrases 'budding' , 'taking root' and 'spreading'. These words are just like parasites that only takes from the host and it doesn't result positively and might scar the host. It forms a parallel towards growing up. Growing up is just like the parasites that feeds on the host, not physically but mentally. For example the child can never have the same mentality after growing up.

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"Ang mo Kio central loomed.." the word "loomed" shows how the figure of the Amk central seemed threatening and how he was intimidated by it. This can be further proven by "fille fretful anticipation".It also shows how despite the fact that he is afraid of what is to come, he is still excited for the future as seen with "fretful" and "anticipation". Thus, this shows the theme of growing up as he is afraid of the unknown while still looking forward to it.

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Mandy & Brian

"We're almost there " and " Yes, we are," suggests how the narrator's childhood is coming to an end as he gets ready to leave his Mothers shadow and the narrator is aware of his own maturity and the changes of the world around him as well as him having to make a decision on what path he will take as he grows up independently.

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'Slipped my hand out of my mother's'
As the author slips his hand out of his mother's, it seems like a simple everyday action for a 12 year old. However, as he lets go, it symbolises that he is ready to begin the transition into a teenager where he has to 'let go' of his Mother 's hand and do things more independently. She will not be there as much for him anymore. He has observed for the years of his childhood and now is ready to start doing things himself and slowly as years pass take on more responsibilities and transition into an adult.

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Evidence: 'The Grasshopper only jumps forward, never backwards'
Explaination: Jumping forward means moving on in life, no matter how bad the times are we should always move on and not ponder about the bad times we had. Backwards is looking back at the bad time we had, we should not live in the past and move on. The futureis like a present given to us in life, it is always full of surprises waiting to happen. Life may not always be full of good times but it is filled with ups and downs, that is why we should move on in life and anticipate for surprises in our daily life.