THE TAXI MAN'S STORY

Education

Themes

• She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Malaya in 1963, moving to Singapore in 1967.
• In 1988, she received her Ph.D in applied linguistics from the National University of Singapore.
• Subsequently attended Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley as a Fulbright scholar (1990).

• How young people of Singapore have grown to be bold and reckless; as compared to the youth's of the 'old' Singapore.
• Differences of the 'old' (taximan's generation) and current (Lay Choo's generation) Singapore
• How making a living in Singapore has overcome the need to stand up for our own beliefs and make a stand to whatever opposes us

Characters

• Taxi man
• Madam (Passenger)
• Laychoo
• Teenagers

Career

Setting

• Inside a taxi
• Singapore

• She also worked as a teacher and later as project director with the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore and as a specialist lecturer with the Regional English Language Centre, teaching sociolinguistics and literature.
• In 1992, she left her professional career to become a full-time writer.
• Lim came into conflict with the People's Action Party (PAP - has been Singapore's ruling political party since 1959) in 1994 when she wrote an article published in The Straits Times (PAP and the People: A Great Affective Divide)

Catherine Lim

Plot

Conflict

The taximan discussing his disappoinments with the present generation's teenagers.

• Exposition : The taxi driver welcomed the passenger into his cab
• Rising Action : When comparing the past situations in Singapore to the present
• Climax : The taxi man telling his story with dislike and disappointment to the youth. He is telling the way he sees the recklessness of the youth.
• Winding down: When he realized that hurting her daughter was wrong
• Resolution: The taximan dropped madam to her destination and immediately went back to the spot where there were many teenagers that he dislike most.

• Born in March 21, 1942
• Singaporean fiction author
• Writing about Singapore society and of themes of traditional Chinese culture
• "Doyenne of Singapore writers"
• Early childhood reading was mainly influenced by British fiction, including Enid Blyton, Richmal Crompton and comics.

Irony

The taxi man hates the way youngsters behave nowadays but at the end of the day, he still fetch them around in his taxi because he makes a lot of income from them

The Taxi Man's Story

• From the book

“Little Ironies: The Stories of Singapore”

• This taxi man is engaged in a rather one-sided conversation with his passenger, whom he addresses as Madam.

• Madam is a teacher and is rushing for a meeting.

• The taxi man in the story has been complaining about many young girls nowadays turning to prostitution.

• Almost the whole story was about him expressing his utmost displeasure about these girls. When his daughter turn to prostitution, he was so furious and he beat her up so badly. This is evident that the taximan despises and hates these prostitutes.

THE TAXI MAN'S STORY