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Contextualization

A contextual approach to Singaporean fiction is advocated by some

commentators on the national literature and is warranted by the Singaporean focus of this thesis’s core texts.

Koh (1989b: 275) and George Watt (2005: 22-23) both argue for a contextual approach. They respectively question the application of the related, and continuingly influential, fields of practical criticism (Koh 1989b: 275) and new criticism (Watt 2005) to Singaporean fiction and Robert Yeo’s literature. Notably, both these schools of criticism view the text in isolation and therefore as devoid of social context. Koh (1989b: 275) succinctly and persuasively argues that, given modern theories such as Marxism, structuralism, and post-structuralism, it

difficult to hold views innocent of an awareness o f the cultural and historical circumstances o f text production; h o w ... writers (and) critics ... are constituted by structures o f power, ‘coded’ by language and culture or influenced by ambient social, economic or ideological values.

In addition, Philip Jeyaretnam comments:

I do think that any reading of Singaporean literature has to include an

understanding of the political history of Singapore because so much of [it i s ] ...

boxed in by the political context. [This context]... is probably the one source of anger coursing through much of Singaporean literature .... It's a kind o f rage [that] the writer never seems to be able to do much about. And so I think th a t...

it's impossible to read Singapore literature without looking at political history.

(Personal communication, December 2006).

In this thesis, which makes a political interpretation of texts, comparisons are made between perspectives that can be identified in selected passages and government discourses, ideologies, values, policies, and processes of power.

This process is fundamental in identifying the political perspectives in the novels in relation to the status quo. Where novels seem to contradict state discourses, no attempt is made to test whether or not the depictions are realistic, as this study is principally literary.

The largely Singaporean setting of most of the core novels (see Table One below) makes the Singaporean contextual analysis of the texts important.

Whilst tangerine is set in Vietnam and Mammon Inc. in multiple locations, the protagonists reflect on their Singaporean homes. Biographical references in the paratexts of Goh Sin Tub’s The Sin-kheh and Johann Lee’s Peculiar Chris further suggest that these novels are inspired by Singaporean experience. Goh tells his readers that his historical tale is loosely based on his immigrant grandparents’ life stories (see Chapter Three). From a visual perspective, the front cover of

Peculiar Chris is a photograph of the author posing as the protagonist. Johann Lee states that he agreed for his image to be used because he wanted to show solidarity with the cause of homosexuality that he represented in his novel (personal communication, April 2005).

The importance of political context is indicated by the fact that several of the core texts make specific references (as will be indicated in the thesis) to existing Singaporean laws, government campaigns and initiatives, and/or actual

politicians. For instance, Lee Kuan Yew is explicitly named in If We Dream Too

Long (67), Fistful of Colours (296, 319), and Heartland (211). In addition, as Wagner points out (2005: 277), Lee, who is commonly referred to as LKY, is alluded to in Following the Wrong God Home. This is through a character that is known by his ‘awesome initials’ MTC and that is introduced as ‘the Founder of Modern Singapore’ (5).

The post-independence period is the focus of contextual attention because, as is outlined in Table One below, nearly all of the texts are principally set in this era. Three of them include historical passages dating back to the colonial period or before it, and one , The Sin-kheh-, is completely set during the British regime.

Whilst the novels that have historical scenes could be related to the periods in which they are set, they are also likely to have some relevance to the time in which they were written, for novelists, like historians, are unlikely to be able to detach themselves completely from their own age and, on a more conscious level, may feel safer commenting on a previous political era. On this latter point, it is noticeable that a few of the core texts set in post-independent Singapore are also historical, in that they situate the narratives a decade or more before the novels’ publication dates. This will be discussed in relation to Robert Yeo’s The Adventures of Holden Heng in Chapter Two.

Table One: Narrative settings and temporalities of core texts

Singapore None None Mid 1968

1950s-1960s

a ‘Primary location(s)’ are defined as those where the main narrative affecting the central characters of the novel occurs.

b ‘Secondary narrative locations’ are those, additional to the primary locations, where scenes are depicted.

c ‘Subsidiary narrative locations’ are those additional to those above, where narrative events are described.

d ‘Primary narratorial time1 refers to the period in which the narrator(s) convey the story.

0 ‘Periods spanned in the novel’ refer to eras in which scenes take place.

The Relative Authority of the Author, Text, and the Reader

Literary criticism that identifies meaning generally takes articulated or implicit positions on the relative authority of the author, the text, and the reader. This thesis draws on all three approaches, with most emphasis being given to the text and to the reader.

The view that the meaning of a piece of literature can be ascertained through deference to an author, which was popular in the nineteenth century, found a strong advocate in E.D. Hirsch ([1960] 1976a, [1967] 1976b). Hirsch argued that the author is the authority on his or her texts. However, this view restricts literature to a single meaning and, if adopted today, ignores the entire field of post-structuralism. Conversely, the New Critics propounded looking exclusively at the text, W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe C. Beardsley ([1949] 1976) famously warning against the fallacy of accepting authors’ intentions. The post­

modernist Barthes ([1968] 2000) influentially argued that the author is ‘dead’ and announced the birth of the reader.

The defenders of these various approaches may seem to hold

uncompromising positions, yet Hirsch ([1960] 1976: 47) states that the meaning of a text resides with its author and that the reader has to make assessments about the author’s meaning. This therefore gives the reader an important role.

Similarly, Sean Burke (1992) points out that, after Roland Barthes wrote his seminal essay ‘The Death of the Author’, Barthes went on to refer to writers in his scholarship.

More moderately, more recent critics such as Terry Eagleton (1996) and Frank Palmer (1992) argue that the texts’ creators warrant some attention, although they are not to be treated as the ultimate authority. Yet this multiplicity of approach is not always recognized by theorists. Sean Burke notes (1992: 26- 27) that Barthes's critique of the glorification of the author does not take into account more subdued opinions of authorship. Barthes, ‘in seeking to dethrone the author, is led to an apotheosis of authorship that vastly outpaces anything to be found in the critical history he takes arms against’.

Notably, some literary criticism defers to all three sources of authority. For instance, Koh considers the nationalistic motivations of authors in Singapore (1990:103), analyses the contents of texts (1989b) and interprets the novels in relation to societal values (1989b). Likewise, Flolden (1998), in his analysis of Abraham’s Promise, considers the author’s biographical background, the text, and the Singaporean political context.

In this thesis all three sources of authority are drawn on to varying degrees. The texts are considered of primary importance, as is the reading of them in a political context.

Methodology

Contextualization in Post-Independent Singapore

Each of the specific themes concerning home and family are related to the post­

independence national political environment of Singapore at the openings of each chapter. This contextual background makes reference to relevant PAP government discourses, strategies, ideologies, values and policies. As the period of literature under review ends in 2002, the premiership of Lee Hsieng Loong (2004-present) is not included. Therefore, the political contextualization of the literature is historical.

Both primary and secondary sources are drawn on. Primary material includes political speeches, politicians’ biographies, Singaporean legislation, reports and newspaper articles. There is also considerable reference to

secondary texts about Singaporean studies, politics, history, sociology, culture, geography, and architecture. These studies, spanning several disciplines, often make reference to PAP government policies and outlooks, because of the government’s directive approach. Notably, they often give much less attention to the stances of opposition parties.

The Selection of ‘Core’ Novels

Thirteen novels have been chosen for their thematic relevance to one or more chapter topics concerning home or family. As this is a relatively large number of texts to be considered in a thesis, the pertinent passages are exclusively

analysed with regard to the themes of each thesis chapter.

Together, the texts span all decades of the nation’s post-independence literary production, so that in some cases the themes may be evaluated over time. The period under review begins in 1972 with If We Dream Too Long by Goh Poh Seng this novel being one of the first post-independence English- language Singaporean novels. It finishes in the new millennium with Following

The Wrong God Home (2001) by Catherine Lim. Two novels from the 1970s, 1980s, and millennium are included, and six from the 1990s. This imbalance occurs because a greater number of Singaporean novels were published in the 1990s, some of which had particular topical relevance to the thesis’s themes.

Most of the selected novels have secured national recognition and therefore are of perceived relevance to Singaporeans; their national receptions are outlined in Table Two below. A few of these novels were published in London: Foreign Bodies (1997) and Mammon Inc. (2001) by Hwee Hwee Tan, and Following The Wrong God Home. Whilst they have been targeted at an international audience, their popularity in Singapore testifies to their relevance in the authors’ home country.

Table Two: National reception of the (core’ selected texts

Date T itle I R eception in S ingapore3 1972 If We

Dream Too Long

Winner of the National Book Development Council of Singapore’s (NBDCS) Award for English Fiction in 1976. The Government gave .the author the highest arts award, the Cultural medallion, in 1983.

1978 Ricky Star The Government awarded the author the Public Service Star for Authorship in 1979.

The novel generated 13,000 sales in Singapore and Malaysia.0

1992 Peculiar Chris

A best seller in Singapore. The novel was adapted into the play Happy Endings: Asian Boys Vol 3 by Alfian Sa’at in 2007, 1993 Fistful of

Colours

Winner of the inaugural Singapore Literature Prize in 1992.° The first Singaporean novel to be included in the ‘A ’-Level syllabus (set text

1997 tangerine Winner of the Singapore Literature Prize 1996.

1999 Heartland ‘O’-level set text, 2007 and 2008.

2001 Mammon

Inc.

The novel was adapted into a play for the 2002 Singapore Arts Festival and won the prestigious Singapore Literature Prize in 2004.

In addition, it has been on the undergraduate cultural theory syllabus at Singapore’s National Institute of Education between 2004 and 2006.

2001 Following the Wrong God Home

Sold at least 5,000 copies in Asia.0

a Novels that achieve sales of over 3,000 copies in Singapore are high volume.

b Personal communication from Joo Sin, Manager, Distribution Sales & Marketing Marshall Cavendish international (Asia) Pte Ltd, August 8, 2005.

0 The prize incorporated the publication of the novel a year later.

d Orion marketing data by personal communication (2 November 2005).

The core novels have not been selected because they are politically renowned per se, or because of their authorship. Consequently, the study does not include some texts that are commonly regarded as being political, such as Suchen Christine Lim’s Rice Bowl (1984) and Gopal Baratham’s A Candle or the Sun (1991), although it does analyse Philip Jeyaretnam’s political novel Abraham’s Promise (1995) because of its strong emphasis on fatherhood. Nor have novels been selected according to an author’s ethnicity. This is in part because there is a limited choice of such texts, most English-language Singaporean novels being composed by ethnically Chinese writers. In particular, a post-independence English-language novel written by a Singaporean Malay writer is a rarity.

However, two novels by Philip Jeyaretnam, who is officially of Indian descent, are selected for their thematic relevance and novels written by Malay and Eurasian authors are mentioned in Chapter Three.

Authorial Interviews

Singaporean novelists have been interviewed about their writing. Face-to-face interviews and/or e-mail correspondence was conducted with Colin Cheong, the

late Goh Sin Tub, Philip Jeyaretnam, Stella Kon, Johann S. Lee, Catherine Lim, Suchen Christine Lim, Darren Shiau, Hwee Hwee Tan and Robert Yeo.

These communications formed part of the background to this research.

The authors provided some contextual information about writing in Singapore that is included in this introductory chapter; about their own backgrounds; and about the novels, for instance, when the texts were written and, in some cases, the backgrounds in which the texts were situated. Authorial comments are rarely considered in the analysis because the political interpretation of the texts in this thesis is that of the researcher’s alone. Furthermore, during interviews, it often did not feel appropriate to ask the authors about their political stances on their work, given the sensitivities of making political comments in Singapore.