Superstition
Grace explains, “They (the Lim Clan members) avoid addresses and car number plates with '4' in them if possible, because it is a bad number. Phonetically, 'four' is a homonym for 'death' in Cantonese and might bring bad luck. Similarly, they paid through the nose to drive around in a car with '888' in the registration number because the word ' eight' is a tone variation for 'prosperity." In the context of the clan's beliefs, 4 elicits misfortunes; hence, embracing the number is comparable to courting badness in one's life. Comparatively, 8 is valued because it is presumed to be a number that promotes success. Assigning different notions to numbers surmises that superstitions are deep-rooted in the clan's ideologies. Members of the clan accept the implications of the numbers like religion; thus, challenging their beliefs would be impracticable. Therefore, superstitions are integral building blocks of the clan's religion.
Carnage
Grace recounts, "they (Sonny and Grace) took us to the Rasa Singapura hawker centre so that we could have satay, Hainanese chicken rice, Singaporean Hokkien noodles, tah mee , laska, gado dago, rojak. This was my mother’s comfort food…‘Come, Grace, Eat,’ Uncle Winston ordered as he belched and drooped prawn shells onto the table top, adding to the carnage.” The carnage mortifies Grace for it is contrary to the Australian table etiquette. Her revulsion with the carnage indicates that she is not accustomed to eating habits in Singapore. Grace's uneasiness with the Singapore setting, moreover, suggests that she prefers to be Australian because the mannerisms in Singapore are neither refined nor appealing. Psychoanalytically, Grace does not unconditionally value her Singaporean roots; she is in denial.
Deformities
Grace explains, “Bringing a child into the world was a difficult enough endeavour with mischievous demons hovering unseen everywhere, waiting to play a trick on the newborn baby by slashing the mouth with a harelip, adding an extra finger or toe, or maiming the child with countless other physical deformities.” Demons are deemed to be the originators of deformities. Accordingly, women are cautioned to be careful how they speak about their unborn babies so they will not jinx them or notify the demons about the presence of the babies. Blaming demons depicts the society as superstitious; they are oblivious of the biological and environmental factors which would contribute to deformities.
Women’s Oppression
Grace confirms, "Mei Ling hadn't wanted to get married. She wanted to learn how to read and write like the Chinese girls from middle-class Christian homes who went to church schools…On her wedding night she took off her red silk wedding dress, unwound the reeking bandage stumps of her crushed feet and wrapped herself in her oldest, smelliest clothes." Her defiance results in lashing which her father spearheads. He beats her due to her action of repelling instead of charming and pleasing her husband. The violence which ensures throughout the whipping reminds her that she is required to obey her husband. Her father endorses the whipping to elicit her compliance and to break her. She is denied education and forced to marry when she is not ready. Eventually, she submits to her husband due to cultural requirements.
