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To Lukas, Araf, Leyla, Lucy, and Alvan
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U5Rhp07454npn7HHrWulbtJxgHcOeE7v/view?usp=sharing

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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By the way Mrs. Kong treats Alina, how do you think that she was brought up? Was she born in poverty or brought up in a rich family?

In the end of the story Alina thinks to herself that "I am the jigsaw piece hooking her family together. It's now I begin to understand"  In your opinion do you believe that this means she will continue to work for the Kong family?

In the line when she gets released from jail, she says to herself "I should be happy im not going to jail, but I don't feel relief"  Do you believe that Alina feels as if when she works under Mrs. Kong she it feels like its jail?

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1. On page 16, Mr Kong tells Alina that he sometimes stays late in the office because he's afraid of letting his feelings show, and of not being able to control himself. What do you think has caused him to act his way?
2. On page 14, Luya tells Alina "you lucky because you knows their secrets", and that nothing bad would happen to her anymore.
Mrs Kong told her on page 13, "You don't say nothing about this to anyone, you hear me? Or I fire you"
Do you think this made Alina more comfortable acting like herself, and doing things more freely, or do you think she would rather act more nervous and scared, knowing that if she told anyone she could get fired?
3. On page 11, Mr Kong is said to “Sometimes he works late, though I don’t know why since the branch closes by 5”. How has Mr Kong's neglect and disconnection from his family affected other family members and Alina?

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1. On page 10 Alina says: “Me, I've got myself an English literature degree from university in Manila and look where it has got me.” What relationship between obtaining a degree and finding success is Alina making? Do you agree with her?

2.In page 13 Mrs. Kong says: “You don't say nothing about this to anyone, you hear me? Or I fire you.” Even though this quote shows that the maids are working in a lowly position in Hong Kong society, they in fact hold more power than they think. How is this so?

3.In page 14 , when Alina says: "...the part when she talks about being a princess trapped in a tower" and in page 18, when she says "It's just like the movies, I'm in the movies now" elaborate on what connection she is trying to draw?

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Question 1:
On page 14, Mrs. Kong tell Alina that she's going on vacation and tells Alina to inform Mr. Kong to pick up the kids. Alina asks whether Mr. Kong knows about this and she replies back with, "No, but he no care anyway." and proceeds to leave. What does this line from Mrs. Kong say about the relationship between Mrs. Kong and Mr. Kong? Why do you think their relationship is like this?

Question 2:
Throughout the story it is clear that
Mrs. Kong and Mr. Kong do not raise their children and barely interact with one another. Using the story, who do you think as most of the influence on the children? Is Alina the person holding the family together or keeping them apart? Please explain.

Question 3:
Alina states that losing the job is the worst possible thing that could happen to people in her position. On page 11, Alina talks about the conundrum people go through, "If we get fired, we can't get a new job unless we have a discharge letter from our old employer, and call me dumb, but unless you have an employer who has a conscience where amahs are concerned or who is just plain nice, you'd be a fool to think you can get that discharge letter.". What are the pros and cons of this conundrum? Give pros and cons for both the employer and the worker.

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3 Open-Ended Questions for "Leng Lui is for Pretty Lady" - Jahraa Chowdhury

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3 Open-Ended Questions for "Leng Lui is for Pretty Lady" - Jahraa Chowdhury

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1.

In the second last paragraph of “Leng Lui is for Pretty Lady” by Elaine Chiew, Alina feels resentment towards her employer, Mrs. Kong instead of being indebted or thankful upon her bail.

However, in the last couple of sentences, Alina says “… I realize she’s so lost without me. I am the jigsaw piece hooking her family together. It’s now I begin to understand” (Chiew 10).

Using these two paragraphs, do you think her perspective towards her employers has shifted from discontentment to a different emotion, which emotion? Does this change in her sentiment allow her to view the power dynamic between her and her employer differently? Did the author intend a dramatic change in Alina's character from the previous paragraph to her situation at the end?

2.

At the start of page 4, Alina and the readers are introduced to a peculiar practice of Mr. Kong. The author emphasizes how Alina found Mr. Kong quite elegant and well-groomed before she discovered him cutting his nails and storing the clippings in a plant.

Alina states that “I went to water it, I lifted the fronds, and there at the base was a mountain of toenail and fingernail clippings” (Chiew 4).

As a reader, what was your initial response and analysis after reading this sentence? What do you think the purpose of the author was that she included this questionable action to describe Mr. Kong out of all the possibilities in the world? Do you think the author was indirectly hinting towards a mental condition or a fetish that Mr. Kong might be dealing with?

3.

On the first page of “Leng Lui is for Pretty Lady”, Alina offers the dresses given by Mrs. Kong to her friend when she meets her in Central Hong Kong on Sunday however, her friend instantly refuses to receive the gift. As a response, Alina says “you’re lucky I offer them to you” (Chiew 1) with a harsh and irritated tone. A couple of sentences down from that line, Alina comments on the fact that Maridel has access to a proper sleep schedule because her employer is a nightclub singer who comes home in the early hours of the morning, therefore, having a reduced workload compared to hers. Furthermore, near the end of page 2, Alina describes her other friends as “cheap” (Chiew 2) and directly calls them “prostitutes” (Chiew 2).

How do these statements from Alina towards her friends impact the characterization of the protagonist, Alina? Do they make Alina a negative character or can her statements and reactions be justified? If you think her actions can be justified, what emotions and feelings do you think drove Alina to behave like this; is it jealousy, anger, or frustration?

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A motif throughout the story is the idea of a pretty lady/woman. On page 10, Alina’s friend refers to her using the diction “Leng Lui”, which is Cantonese slang for pretty lady, or even in the title of the story "Leng Lui is For Pretty Lady". There are recurrent references to the movie “Pretty Woman” Alina herself is obsessed with the movie. What is the significance of the idea of a pretty lady/woman in the story, and how does it relate to Alina's life?

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On page 10, the line "If you are better educated, your taitai thinks you're acting superior, and she's waiting to pounce on your mistakes and make sure you know your place." shows how Alina is more educated than her friends, but due to her education, Mrs. Kong is more strict towards Alina.  At the beginning of the story, Alina is portrayed as superior to her friends, but these attributes contribute to more difficulties in her life. What are other examples of attributes of Alina that end up causing more difficulties in her life?

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Despite the difference in station between Alina and the Kong family, they are similar in regard to how they are both considered financially solvent in their own societies, but their monetary security comes at a price. How do the problems of the Kong family parallel that of Alina's due to financial security?

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On the first sentence on page 18 the police officer says, “All these pretty amahs behave like prostitutes.” How do you think this is related to the global issue of Culture Identity and Community? How does this demonstrate how these housemaids in Hong Kong are mistreated?

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What does the situational irony on page 17 in paragraph 3 or line 9, reveal about Mr. Kong? “Yes my darling, the turnip is you.” Furthermore, why do you think the author decided to compare the turnip to Alina, what do you think the turnip is trying to symbolize?

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Mrs. Kong always describes Alina as an egg with varying adjectives alongside it, that descriptor is also used usually when Mrs. Kong is annoyed/angry. "You big stupid egg" when Alina doesn't cook a chicken long enough, "Let's go, you stupid egg" when Alina discovers what Mrs. Kong does with the Medicine Shop Owner, "Hurry up, you bad egg" when Mrs. Kong retrieves Alina from her Cell.

Mrs. Kong uses "stupid egg" to describe Alina most of the story but why does she change to "bad egg" at the ending of the story? and of all food why did Ms. Elain Chew choose egg?

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On page 18, paragraph 3, Mrs. Kong says “Hurry up, you bad egg,” however if you look at the previous pages of the story, you will notice that Mrs. Kong has always referred to Leng Lui/Alina as a "stupid egg."

The author of the story changes the diction from stupid to bad egg, why do you think that this change has occurred?
What does this communicate to the reader about their relationship?

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In pages 10 and 11, we see that Alina talks about how she watches romantic movies such as "pretty woman" every day (though only 10 minutes per day).

"Lots of times in between washing dishes and peeling onions to daydream about myself in the movies". This shows Alina's obsession with the main plot of pretty woman and related romantic movies, (For context Pretty Woman is about a sex worker being paid to act as a rich man's woman for some time and said sex worker and rich man falls in love with each other).

Alina is granted with an opportunity just like her favorite movies, Mr. Kong says "Together, Alina, we'll make happiness happen" and forcefully kisses Alina. Alina rejects the offer through a physical interaction between her and Mr. Kong though it was her dream scenario.

What do you think was stopping Alina from accepting her dream scenario? Was it her own life back home or something else?

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On page 11, Alina talks about how her lot could be worse. She mentions another amah "Eliza-Eunice" who got hit in the head with a pan for being "suspected" of stealing HK$32 and later died from a blood clot. Alina later says "What we fear most is losing our jobs"

what situation do you think that the amahs are in back home, that a small salary weighs more than their own lives?

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Moving to page 17 the first sentence of the last paragraph , it reads " Pandemonium begins with a P for Police". How do you think this particular diction conveying a fear of the police regularly reflects upon Alina's life as an Amah in Hong Kong? Furthermore , reading below the police officer shows quite a bias towards Alina even labelling her and other domestic helpers as prostitutes. What do you think this bias stems from and how strong would those factors have been , to be able to influence an agent of the law with a neutrally structured mindset ?

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As it is consistently seen throughout the story , Alina a.k.a Leng Lui is a domestic helper who supports ingrates like the Kong family even when it is on its very knees. The story accordingly lends a deeper gleaning of what at first appeared to be simple routines of the maid , to essentially portraying how invaluable Alina really was to the household , yet there remained a complete and utter difference in the power the Kongs wielded in comparison to her. Looking at this , and the ambiguity of the ending  in relation to Alina’s fate ,

what do you think this says about the modern world and it’s capitalistic nature? Is capitalism truly the most efficient way for the world to run? While ideals about equality are up in the air , does it really make a difference in the lives of people like these helpers?

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In two places in the story , Ms Elaine Chew uses the metaphor  Jigsaw. The lines quoted are "..what's the harm of daydreaming in the boring routine we face each day? It's like those edges that hold a jigsaw together...." and "I realize she's so lost without me, I am the jigsaw piece hooking her family together."

To what extent do you feel this emphasizes the Kongs heavy reliance upon Alina? And , how do you think the mental duress of morally being forced to go back to the dysfunctional Kongs after the realization that they were helpless without her would have possibly affected her?

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