The Taximan’s Story

FEBRUARY 8, 2017 ~ QUEENTROVERTBLOG

THE TAXIMAN’S STORY
By: CATHERINE LIM
CHARACTERS
The Taximan

Protagonist of the story, a very generous and hardworking father of eight. He works as a taximan, earning
by driving all day for his family. He narrates the life and the significant events that’s happening as a taximan
in their city. He thinks that success is made if you work hard especially for those who are like him, who
didn’t get any chance to get an education nor have a a capital in starting a business. He is very concerned
of what was happening to the new generation nowadays that unlike during their age, they were under by
a disciplinary action and should be obedient at all cost or else they’ll get punished.

Madam

A protagonist also of the story, a teacher and the taximan’s passenger who’s rushing for her meeting. As
they travel along the way, she is listening to the taximan’s real story of what’s happening in their city. She
was innocent of how the teenagers are currently doing without her knowledge, not until the taximan tells
every detail of those things that are undesirably happening at their city.

Lay Choo

The taximan’s daughter whom he was proud of because she is very determined in her studies not until one
day she was caught by her father doing the thing that her father knew and definitely not wanting and
expecting to happen to her.

PLOT

Exposition

The story begins when the taximan had his passenger who was rushing for her meeting whom he called
“Madam”. He drove their way to somewhere they can get in a half hour due to the traffic. He told her that
he had been driving for almost twenty years and shared a thought that the their city, Singapore, was very
crowded unlike before. Success for him is a matter of striving hard because he didn’t get a chance to get
an education nor have any capital for a business so he should have to go work hard to earn and feed his
family of 78 and his wife. He got a big family because there are no such things like family planning before
during his time which is now implemented today in their city by their government. But then he was lucky
because all of his children are already grown-ups. Four of his sons are working-one businessman, two clerks,
one a teacher of a Primary school, one working in a National service and the other one is still on her second
year in her secondary level. His eldest daughter who is now on her twenty’s is still at their home helping
her mother. She is not yet married because she is a shy type kind of a person and she had a bad health
condition but despite of that, she is a good and obedient woman. Opposite of his elder daughter is her
younger sister who isn’t good enough and go against her parents. He tells that long time ago he was being
punished by his parents by a cane whenever he disobeyed them even though he was big enough to get
married. He said also that his father was very strict but if not, he’ll might become useless like the other girls
and boys which is now currently happening in their city. When he finds out that his passenger was a teacher,
he told her that those schoolgirls who were about fifteen to sixteen year old, go to school in the morning
in their uniforms and instead of going home, they proceed to a public lavatory or hotel and change their
clothes which they have in their school bag and put make-up on their face. In addition to that, that was out
of their parent’s mind then tell them that they have a school meeting or the like but actually not. The
taximan then tells about the tricks and the dirty secrets that these girls are doing so like earning a big
amount of money from those foreighners and that’s where also he get his big extra income. Like when last
night, a young girl who was very dolled up and wearing sexy dress and told him to take her to Orchid
Mansions, he was shocked into finding out that she had her purse full of American notes and handed him
ten dollars without even asking for a change! He further added that he usually wait outside the Elroy Hotel,
Tung Court or Orchid Mansions and almost make nearly a hundred fifty dollars just for one day, some of it
came from extra services.

Rising Action

He then suddenly shared about and describe her daughter named Lay Choo, as a good girl and striving hard
for her studies. She always got a good compliment from her teachers on her report card. She was his
favorite daughter, asked her what she wants after she left school and she answered him that she wanted
to go to a University. None of his children could go to a university unlike Lay Choo who is a smart and very
helpful on her mother even though she is sometimes a little lazy that her teacher advises her to do extra
work at her weak subject which is math. So then he let her go back again at her school.

Conflict

One day, as he was driving, he saw a girl that looks familiar to him, she was all dolled up with the other girls
and some Europeans outside a coffee-house. He didn’t think that it was Lay Choo because she was in her
school and that girl was dressed-up with make-up on and she was bold in her behavior. He then suspect
her daughter and then there find her out the next day, confirming that it was really her. He suddenly
outraged going to her, slapped then dragged her to his taxi and went home. When they arrived at their
house, he trashed the food and beat her so bad that his wife and his neighbors are pulling him away.

Falling Action

He decided to lock his daughter at her room for three days and lied to his daughter’s teacher that she is
sick so that she will be excused. Not long after that incident, things are going on well according to what
they want for them.

Resolution

They made a rule that she cannot leave the house but only by going to school. He told also his wife that she
shall check her every now and then to whatever that she do and also her friends – what sort of people they
are.

THEME

Genuine Love

Here we can tell that the story is patronizing about the taximan’s genuine love towards his family especially
to his children. He works all day eventhough sometimes he can observe some of his passengers are doing
“unlikeably things” in his car or during his travels just for the sake of earning more for their family’s
expenses. With his knowledge about his passenger’s dirty little secrets (like some teenagers tend to bring
clothes in their bagpacks, telling their parents that they will be going home late due to their meeting but
then, they’ll change their uniforms in comfort rooms and go out somewhere), he consider that as a lesson
or a reminder for him if ever that’ll happen to his daughter. Yes, it was when he confirmed that he saw his
daughter at a cafe looking so different and scolded her. Well for that, let us understand that as a parent
they have also the right to be mad and scold their children to discipline them not because of their fault but
for them to learn their lesson and never be doing stupid things.

Trust

Here in the story, it also gives importance about the trust towards the other people. Like for example, when
the taximan lost his trust to his daughter because he saw her unexpected to what he don’t wanted to
happen for his child. Moreover, when the taximan gave a hint for his passenger which is usually the negative
consequences thereafter that ‘clue’, with this, it gave her doubt and is trying to earn her trust for her
children yet made her worried about. It further emphasizes that trust is something that is very hard to earn
and difficult also to earn back once you lost it.

Modernization

We can observe in the story that every happening and/or the things is describing a modern lifestyle and
how it influenced the society especially the teenagers. It was mentioned in the story the buildings, the
cafes, hotels and the like which aren’t that famous a long time ago or from the past generations. In addition
to that, unlike before, the children is under control for every little move that they do but in the story, it
shows how they let their children just go on along their way unknowingly what their teens are doing
specifically, right after school.

ANALYSIS

The story indeed awaken our minds about the reality of how the generation nowadays are constantly
changing, getting wilder, bolder and liberated. I think one of the major reason is the fact that their parents
are very busy working hard for them and those teens just don’t even think or care about it. In addition to
that, their parents therefore lack a social interaction with their interaction or simply ‘bonding’ with them.
That’s why they aren’t given much time and attention that their perspective in life changes into something
that we all don’t like to happen. They lack discipline and moral guidance or support that’s why their
behaviour is undesirable. Thus, we cannot tell who really got a problem with this, but it’s only a matter of
time and attention that we should fill in to our ‘lacks’. No one has to blame with this such things that is
happening, which we cannot get rid of.

When we talk about the mood of the story, it is kind of like a typical normal day at first then a sudden
glimpse of ‘mysterious mystery’ popped in evolving into something and revealing little by little with the
taximan’s experiences from his work. The story is somewhat like a revelation of the secrets that the teens
are doing without their parent’s knowledge about it. It is just so pitiful both with the taximan’s part and the
parents’ that they’re striving hard for them yet they do such things that is very disappointing on them.