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hari raya is supposed to be a festive and cheerful period of time but it becomes very sad for the mother. hari raya is also a time to seek forgiveness and to self-reflect. this is paralleled with how the mother reflects on her decisions about borrowing the boy and regrets putting the boy through ths experience and seeks forgiveness from the boy

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She is assertive shown in how she treats her son.

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She is assertive shown in how she treats her son.

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“Can give discount or not?”
“Go and wear your clothes”
“Solicitous voice that ensures a fearful though  positive response”

Assertive tone “Go”
Singaporean Singlish showing “can give” suggests a sense of impatience and irritation that is explicitly shown.

Dylan and Isaac Ling

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The superficiality of the protagonist and wider society 

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The superficiality of the protagonist and wider society 

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The protagonist only 'borrowed' mydene because she thought that it would elevate her social status, her virtue. Her virtue-signalling behavior is mirrored by many members of today's society. Doing good deeds, and the protagonists 'borrowing' of mydene is viewed as transactional, with something expected in return.
- Arshath, Soundaryen, Brendan, arjun

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In the beginning, Junaidah is displayed as a supercilious person who feels that she is superior to others. For example, she immediately presumes that people who dress in brighter colours are from a low socio-economical class. She claims that people who commute by public transport during Hari Raya visiting dress in garish colours deliberately because  they can be seen by drivers while crossing the road. Instead, her family who drives their own car, are rich enough to afford lighter, pastel-coloured clothes. She also feels that families who make their children wear identical clothing come from poorer families because it’s cheaper to utilise a single bale of cloth to make all the outfits. She does not realise that they may do this to create a feeling of familial togetherness.

Sameer and Jay

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My character of choice is Junaidah. My impression of her is that she has a superficial love for the orphan boy. “At that moment, Junaidah realised she did not know the boy’s name. All this while, she and her husband had referred to him as the ‘orphan boy’ (pg 167). “Junaidah decided that she would return Mydeen the next day” (pg 183).

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Junaidah initially borrowed Mydeen for a more performative cause, to elevate her facade of doing charity. On the other hand, she feels the void of being less understood by her family and wanting of a 2nd child. The story initially presents Junaidah using Mydeen for social reasons, but it evolves into a personal one as she realises the importance and meaning Mydeen plays in her life, despite how short the time he is.

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their family is slightly conflivting in opinions but the mother doesnt give a care and just does things her way without other people's thoughts. she also seeks the support of her husband to share parental responsibilities and feels that he is not contributing his fair share. she enforces her opinions and feelings onto other people in her family and forces them to follow suit through intimidation and threat.

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Marginalisation is shown by junaidah’s marginalisation in the Malay community

She liked “Pastel colours” but her relatives were “fond of Garish colours”

“yet another example of how some malay families are colour blind”

“Allowed herself to observe the proceedings”

She clearly feels out of place in the Malay community, showing her sense of irritation due to her different tastes and preferences from the Malay community

Also shown in marginalisation due to being ganged up on by her family “Ganging up on her” “colours are too muted for children”
“Treated less like a wife and more like a whiny daughter”

Dylan

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So basically their relationship is very superficial. Junaidah is trying to convince herself that by bringing an orphan out for the day she is doing good for him but in reality she also has ulterior motives. Mydeen also feels distanced from junaidah and her family as he can feel the tension within.

Ethan teo Adhithya

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The relationship between Junaidah and her son Haikel is distant based on the level of mother and son intimacy. She also is shown to have an iron grip on him based on how she treats him. She did not inform Haikel of her plan to adopt Mydeen for a day and she feels that it would be "too much trouble to explain what an orphan was" to him, finding it unnecessary. She does not bother to educate Haikel about the concept of orphans when he is the one going to have a 'brother' a day and by right, should be the one most informed of the arrangement. This shows how Junaidah and her son are distant. She also manipulates him sometimes by speaking to him "in a solicitous voice that guaranteed a fearful though positive response" from, highlighting her iron grip over her son to get her way. This emphasizes how self-absorbed she is. All of these instances also happen behind closed doors, displaying how conscious she is of her own image.

Samuel

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The orphanage, in Junaidah's eyes, is described to look very similar to a school. It had "children's drawings on the noticeboard," as well as having "three storeys of what could have been classrooms" but instead were converted to dormitories. These details add to the mood of the orphanage looking like a school to make the orphans feel like normal children that can go to school, filling that void in their heart so they will not feel so marginalized. It mirrors Junaidah's situation where she has to adopt Mydeen to make the fantasy of having a second child a reality, albeit for a limited time.

Samuel

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Junaidah comes across as an arrogant individual. She views herself to have a good sense of fashion, '[priding]' herself in her clothing choices. However, these choices distance herself from those she views to be "lower class" than her, who she views to be boisterous and loud like a 'Boria troup'. This also emphasis her superiority complex and condescending, judgemental nature. Furthermore, her choice in clothing in 'muted tones' illustrate how she views her family as above those 'costumed like warning flares' in bright colours as she associates these bright colours with walking across a road and no access to cars, this her choice in pastel colours indicate she views herself above these people.

However, Junaidah is also characterised as an individual who is perhaps misunderstood. Her arrogance, desire to stand out from those around her, and efforts to maintain her appearances reflect her deeper insecurities, in particular her distancing from her family. She feels that her husband and son Haikel are constantly 'ganging up on her', siding with one another against her. This leads her to become increasingly dominant, interacting with the family in a 'solicitous' manner. Unfortunately, this does lead to a vicious cycle, where Junaidah is unable to have a more united family, an issue ironically resolved by someone they shunned, Mydeen. The problems Junaidah faces emphasise how no individual is perfect, bringing out the motif of forgiveness.

Iain and Isaac Khoo

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This theme is expressed in the story through the growth and glimpses into various aspects of the characters in the story. Earlier in the story, Junaidah is portrayed to be obsessed with her self image. She chose to '[sigh] in disappointment' rather than articulate her snobbish thoughts when discussing colour choices with her husband. Although seemingly good and respectful, she does so out of intent to protect her self image and to not seem 'unreasonable' and '[demanding]'.     _(inset bit about Junaidah an arrogant, condescending individual)_       However, despite this, one does see the good in Junaidah's character as well. The human side of her is revealed in her initial response to the orphan borrowing programme, where the compassion she feels for the orphans leads her to 'not sleep properly at night'. Moreover, her turn for the better at the end of the story emphasises how, no matter how unpleasant an individual might be, there is no individual who is entirely disagreeable or amiable. This is also emphasised in Haikel's transformation from a nonchalant, rude and selfish boy initially shunning Mydeen to one who nurtures and 'coaches' him at the end of the story. Mydeen is also seen to be unassuming and blindly obedient initially, only ever responding to queries, however as the story progresses we see that mydeen is in fact opinionated choosing to stick with the family which he felt he as more comfortable with instead of just following junaihdah the entire time