The Mah-Jong Man

The Mah-jong Man by Penny Sii

School Journal Part 4 number 3 1994.

WALT:: Make inferences and responding using key information from text.

Success Criteria:I can respond to the text, using information I come across and make my own conclusions depending on how I perceive the text.

Answer the following questions in red:

Looking at the title and the image on the front page what do you think the story is about?

I reckon the story Mah-Jong Man is about a person that’s good at playing Mah-Jong.

Why was Ai Ling’s father walking inside wobbling?

Ai Ling’s father must of been drinking a lot  from the Mah-Jong place.

How did her mother react to her father coming home at this time?

She was very unhappy that her husband was drunk and came in late.

Where had her father been, how did they feel about her father being at this place?

Father continued going to the Mah-Jong place and mum didn’t like father going there because it is a bad place and she didn’t want him losing their money.

Why was Ai’s mum banging and making as much noise as she could while putting the pots and pans away?

She might not want to hear her husband talking fuzzy or she was really mad at him.

In what way do Ai and her mother view her father as being ‘bad’?

Ai ling felt scared because her father was so bad and her mother was angry that he kept on going to the place.

Is Ai happy at home? Why/why not? How do we know this?

Ai ling wasn’t happy because her mother was arguing  with her husband. In page 13 there are words in capitals which means something really bad is going on.

How can we gather that Ai’s mother was angry as a result of her father staying out late again? (Refer to the image and text)

Mother’s lips were pressed closed together in a straight line and there were deep frowning lines on her face.

Where is Ai’s mother taking her and her brother? For what reason do you think her mother is doing this?

Ai’s mother is taking her and her brother to look for their father in every Mah-Jong parlour in Sibu. The reason is because, mother was worried her husband was going to lose all the money they had or he could get into a fight.

Predict what you think will happen next in the story. What is your reasoning for your prediction?

They might not find their father and might get more worried.