19 Essay 1 (1/2)
Mr. Sam ignored the sound of protest from the class. If he stopped his class every time there was a complaint, then he would never finish his syllabus. ”I want all of you to pair up and hand in a 5000 words essay on the issue of generational influence based on the characters and plot that we've discussed in the play, Fences.
”The play is set in a western setting but how do you think the theme would pan out in this setting, meaning your own family and culture. How would the concept be different if placed in the eastern context, would there be any difference or if there's none, what do you think may be the similarities?
”I wish for you to use your critical thinking skill. Like I said earlier, there will be 2 people in a group and I need the assignment to be handed in by Monday.” It was a Friday, meaning the students would have the weekend to finish the essay.
”Now, I need you to split into groups and hand me the names of the group members. Chop, chop. We don't have all day.”
After Mr. Sam gave the assignment, the class started to mobilize. Most sought the friend who sat adjacent to them to form the group.
Pei Ling who sat behind Jun Yang, tapped the latter on his shoulder. When Jun Yang turned around, Pei Ling asked, ”Jun Yang, do you mind pairing up with me?”
Jun Yang did not have too much of an opinion on this matter. He could work well with anyone. Pei Ling was as good of a choice as any so he shrugged and said, ”Sure, why not.”
The casualness in Jun Yang's answer annoyed Pei Ling like she needed him more than he needed her but she did not let that emotion show on her face. She kept her face smiling.
Then, she turned to look at the rest of the class. Most of the pairs were slowly forming. At a time like this, it was quite easy to see who was more popular in class and who were those that existed mostly at the fringes.
Those who were popular had many options and they could have their pick of who they wanted to form a pair with. Following that logic, there were actually many classmates who wanted to pair up with Pei Ling and Jun Yang but since the king and queen of the class had already grouped up, the rest of the class had an unwritten understanding and collectively left them be.
Inversely, those who were less popular would be left behind. One of the examples was none other than Feng Qi. The young man was practically ignored by the rest of his class. People milled around him forming pairs but none paid him any heed. They just assumed he was invisible.
To their credit, it was not that Feng Qi pipe up to announce his presence either. He just sat there at the back of the class and faded into the background.
However, the total number of students at their class was an even number, so since the assignment was to be done in pairs, no one would be left behind. Everyone would have to find another classmate to form a pair with.
After a while, the pairings started to get finalized and the straggler was revealed. It was a young man who appeared timid and reserved. Qian Xiang was the smallest guy in class and there was nothing really annoying about him to make him unpopular. He merely did not like to communicate and mingle with others due to his extreme shyness.