Blog Post 1 : Compare and Contrast

Both sources A and B are similar in content about the political oppression that the locals received from the British. Source A states that "... I was told I had no office, no clerk, no thambi. And oh they couldn't give me any office... I had to threaten to bring a desk here and set it up here or in my flat before I could get any office." This shows that although David Marshall is a Chief Minister, the British government did not treat him like a politician , neither with the respect which he ought to have received . They did not even gave him a place to work in. Thus indicates that David Marshall was being restrained by the government, Similarly, Source B states that "... Chinese students ignored the government's official closure of their schools..." This shows that the British government restrained the Chinese-educated community from education opportunities. This can be seen from the act of closing the Chinese schools, which lead to the students from Chinese-educated community not being able to attend school, and thus not able to get higher-paid job in future .Hence, through Source B, we can know that the Chinese-educated community are restricted from their education. Therefore, both Sources A and B are similar in that both sources are about political oppression.

Both sources A and B are different in content about the things that David Marshall and the Chinese students demanded for which will help them to achieve the different goals that they hoped for. Source A states that "Merdeka! People of Singapore!" This shows that David Marshall wanted Singapore to gain independence and not be reliant of the British colony by having the citizen living in Singapore to fight for the independence of Singapore. In contrast, Source B states that "...Chinese students ignored the government's official closure of their schools, and in a repeat of the previous year locked themselves into their classroom, where they established their own revolutionary curriculum." This shows that the Chinese students wanted to achieve a different kind of education system, one that was different from what was prescribed to the Chinese-educated community by the British government. They revolted by staying in their school, not wanting to come out. Through these acts, they hoped they would achieve their goal of having the British to let them have education opportunity of their own, one that was different from the one that is government-prescribe. Therefore, both sources A and B are different in content about the things David Marshall and the Chinese students demanded from the government for.