A short story about a successful man who forgets his roots as a kampong boy in Tanjung Rhu, and only realizes its importance and how much he misses it after his mother passes away. The poignant/sad story demonstrates the cultural circumstances and dilemmas about identity which people face in Southeast Asia. t also looks at the conflict/struggle and tension between the traditional and modern society in Singapore through the relationship between !r T.". #i and his mother. Theme$ Traditional habits and ceremonies %s. modish/current patterns and beha%ior. Tanjong Rhu is one of the famous AS&A' short stories wrote by !infong (o. This story is focusing on Singaporean )hinese life which contrasts in terms of traditional and modern. Tanjong Rhu is a port in Singapore where the writer sets as the place that the protagonist of the story spent his childhood in. The main theme of this story is the distinction between traditional habits and ceremonies and modish patterns and beha%ior. n the story, )hinese tradition as praying to the ancestor and the dead has been mentionedas an important element. *rom the description of the writer, we know that the protagonist, !r. #i+s mother %alues the importance of this traditional practice. This can be pro%ed by f something is to be done,- she said with the loud solemnity which she reser%ed for the altar room, it must be done properly. f am to %isit your place of work, must tell your father properly.- )arefully, she unlocked the top drawer of her mother of pear inlaid cabinet, where she kept all the paraphernaliafor tending the altar$ tiny porcelain wine cups, gold leafed sheets of ceremonial money, candles and joss sticks and countless packets of incense.- As we read through the story, we know that father of the main character, !r.#i has passed away long ago. The lines mentioned abo%e shows that randma pays attention on praying to the ancestor and dead as she keeps all the necessary things for praying and arrange in the drawer. As a traditional thinker, she thinks that it is important to let !r. #i+s father know what those li%ings do e%en though he has died as she says must tell your father properly-. n )hinese traditions, praying to the ancestor and the dead is important to e%ery family. This is a practice whereby )hinese belie%es that the ancestor and the dead will bless the li%ing family. 0n the other hand, !r. #i did not think this was important so he asked the daughter, 1ing, to hurry the grandma up so that they could reach his office on time. 1ing appealed to the grandmother to let her pray to the grandfather since her grandmother was taking too much time. (owe%er, the grandmother did not trust the granddaughter of doing a proper job. She 2uestioned 1ing if she knew how many times to bow, how to speak to her grandfather, what candles to light and what wine to offer. The grandmother insisted to 1ing that !r. #i must wait for her to finish praying to her grandfather. She didn+tmind making the son be late for work. The modern younger generation cares more for making to work on time while the older generation cares more for proper praying traditions. The grandmother didn+t want to let the granddaughter pray for fear that she would pray without following all the traditional practices to sa%e time. (owe%er, 1ing said