Analysis of two mothers in HDB playground
2 mothers in A HDB Playground
-Arthur Yap
‘2 Mothers in A HDB Playground’ by Arthur Yap captures the Singaporean ethos while giving it a very global feel that satirizes the uniquely human vices namely, boastfulness and pomposity. The signs of affluence and climbing the social ladder is a modern phenomenon and plagues the century with an aftermath of restlessness and dissatisfaction. The controversial tone of the poem serves to dramatize a day to day setting while ridiculing the mad haste to make it big too soon. The two bragging voices are of women which adds to a desperate housewives kind of sentiment and at a particular level one can also consider the poem to be emphasizing negative values of false pride and egoism. The setting is of primary significance in the poem. Singapore is a melting pot of civilizations and the Singaporeans have taken to development and financial progress like a storm. The HDB that is The Housing Development Board was established as a body in 1960 with the mission of providing quality and affordable public housing for the Singaporeans and to satisfy the rising demands for the same. However, the irony lies in the HDB’s move from being a body that provides affordable homes to one that has rapidly expanded to cater to the housing options to meet the higher aspirations for a new generation of homeowners. That way the HDB can be seen as a representation of the sky rising aspirations whose token representatives are the two mothers who cannot stop making a public display of their material wealth and how their lifestyles are enhanced and enriched by the same, “money’s no problem”. The spirit of boggling competitiveness where the children are concerned among the women-mothers is over emphasized and exaggerated to a point of being silly and senseless, “what boy is he in the exam”. Arthur Yap has deliberately started the poem by a nail on the head where the intent is largely exposed and blatantly in the face, “ah beng is so
-Arthur Yap
‘2 Mothers in A HDB Playground’ by Arthur Yap captures the Singaporean ethos while giving it a very global feel that satirizes the uniquely human vices namely, boastfulness and pomposity. The signs of affluence and climbing the social ladder is a modern phenomenon and plagues the century with an aftermath of restlessness and dissatisfaction. The controversial tone of the poem serves to dramatize a day to day setting while ridiculing the mad haste to make it big too soon. The two bragging voices are of women which adds to a desperate housewives kind of sentiment and at a particular level one can also consider the poem to be emphasizing negative values of false pride and egoism. The setting is of primary significance in the poem. Singapore is a melting pot of civilizations and the Singaporeans have taken to development and financial progress like a storm. The HDB that is The Housing Development Board was established as a body in 1960 with the mission of providing quality and affordable public housing for the Singaporeans and to satisfy the rising demands for the same. However, the irony lies in the HDB’s move from being a body that provides affordable homes to one that has rapidly expanded to cater to the housing options to meet the higher aspirations for a new generation of homeowners. That way the HDB can be seen as a representation of the sky rising aspirations whose token representatives are the two mothers who cannot stop making a public display of their material wealth and how their lifestyles are enhanced and enriched by the same, “money’s no problem”. The spirit of boggling competitiveness where the children are concerned among the women-mothers is over emphasized and exaggerated to a point of being silly and senseless, “what boy is he in the exam”. Arthur Yap has deliberately started the poem by a nail on the head where the intent is largely exposed and blatantly in the face, “ah beng is so