June Holiday Literature Assignment

5 Memorable Quotes (Off Centre)

1."We are right on target,on the dot ,the arrow that slices the apple"
(Act One,Scene Three,Pg 26)

2."They are jealous because I am special" (Act Two,Scene Two,Pg 55)

3."You are strong,nothing can destroy you." (Act Two,Scene Two,Pg 58)

4."'If u want ,u can burn joss stick,so that the devil won't come to you"
(Act Three,Scene One,Pg 82)

5."Then why you want to control me?"

Answer Question 1 to 6 in the Off Centre Guide Book

Q1: In your opinion, how key is the parent-child relationship to Vinod's inevitable end?

Ans:In my opinion,I feel that Vinod's parents are responsible for Vinod's inevitable end.In Vinod life,his parents and him are like strangers because they hardly see and talk with each other.That why unlike other kids,Vinod is mostly living his life alone without any parent's love or care.When Vinod's parents call him.the first thing they care about is his studies.They do not even know about Vinod is having his mental illness which is depression.When Vinod try to tell them about his illness,his parents will say that it is just an excuse for him to skip his study. In the passsage page 27,we can see how Vinod say about his parent's expectation of him."My parents are hoping i'll get well tomorrow and then go abroad to study the next day,graduate on friday,do my Masters on saturday and start work as Deputy Public Prosecutor on Monday" From this we can see that when Vinod wants love and care from his parents,he get nothing back but more stress.Therefore i find that,Vinod's parents are the key to Vinod's inevitable end


Q2: 'Vinod's high expectations of himself caused his downfall.' To what extent do you agree with this analysis of Vinod's predicament and tragedy?

Ans:I think to a large extent I agree with the analysis of Vinod predicament and tragedy.Firstly,starting of the story we can see that when Vinod make up his mind,he will continue to complete without giving out like that way he try to befriend with Saloma after many time of rejection in Act 1,Scene 1,page 6 to 13.But as the story continue,we can see that Vinod'expectation getting higher and higher.In Act 2,Scene 3,page 63,we can see how Vinod thinks about Saloma,'Saloma like a stray kitten found in the expressway 'This make Vinod to feel that he should take care and protect her but what Vinod does not know is that it is beyond his control.Vinod is having his depression but yet he still have high expectation of himself.In fact by doing this,it worsen his condition as most of the things he has high expectation last time,he cannot even complete it now and this can be another factor that add in his depression.Therefore,i think that if Vinod does not have high expectation with himself from the starting,he will not even suffering and eventually die.

Q3: Discuss the reasons for Saloma's transformation in the play

Ans:Saloma has made a big transformation throughout the story.In the starting,she does not even like to get close or chat to any people around her.This is because she is quite timid at that time and she does not believe anyone until Vinod comes in her life.But in my opinion,i think that the main reason that Saloma is cured and become normal at the end of the story is not because of Vinod but Emily.Saloma know Emily when she was in the halfway house last time.Emily was the only friend that encourage her at the point of time.Emily understands that how the life of her suffering from mental illness like schizophrenia that why Emily keep telling her that do not listen to what other people say about her,just believe herself.In Act 2,Scene 2,Page 55,we can see that how Emily is teaching her to be strong to face her illness,"They are jealous ......because i am special."Because of this words,Saloma' life start to change.Not only that,because Emily,Saloma start to eat doctor's medicine despite what Vinod and her mother say to her about eating the medicine.Then she become stronger and stronger,and she dare to step in to the society to find job.From this,we can see that she is normal person without any mental illness.


Q4: "Though a minor role in the play, the character of Razali is key to the plot of Off Centre." To what extent do you agree with this assessment?

Ans:To a certain extent I agree with this assessment.Razali is a person that act as the role of security guard of a building.Throughout the stories,we can see that Razali maybe just a normal securiy guard but in the Vinod and Saloma life,he is someone that they can rely on.Everytime when they see Razali,they will often chat with him all their problems and troubles.We can also see that both Vinod and Saloma treat Razali as a fatherly figure in Act 2 Scene 3(page 63 to 79)But even through their relationship are quite close,Razali is not there when the robbery incident take place,That why this make Vinod quite angry about him after knowing that Razali is doing something that is not important than helping them there.Because of this incident,his condition start to worsen and his life start to change after losing all the faith and trust in Razali.

Q5: "Datta, Dayadhvam, Damyatta" means to "Give, Sympathise, Control". How did the major characters in the play exert control in their environment and/or their lives? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Ans:Basically this words,"Datta, Dayadhvam, Damyatta" is just for Saloma as this words mean a lots of things to her.Without these words,Saloma was still a mental illness patient like last time,afraid of almost eveything around her.This words encourage her to stay strong and fight back against her illness bravely.She eat medicine to make sure that her illness will not take over her.That why,she manage to become normal person in the end and lead a normal life that she always want.

Q6: Based on the text Off Centre, discuss how peer acceptance and family support are vital to social status and mental well-being.

Ans:Peer Acceptance and Family Support are definitely vital to social status and mental well-being.The reason is when a mental patient is having hard life with it illness,the only people that they can rely on,is their own family.Only with family encouragement,care and love will help in the patient recovery of their illness.Without all this family and friends encouragement,most mental patients will just give up on theirselves as there is no one to rely on on that point of time.for example,Vinod is lack of factors like family encouragement and also the acceptance to the people in the society that why he committed suicide as he begening to feel that there is no point of living this world.Vinod thinks that society is a bad place and a torture compared to Saloma who thinks that society is a place where they can be better. That why both factor are important to mental patient.