Literary devices:

• diction
• extended metaphor
• simile
• contrast

Diction (The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing)
• engaged the reader through the incorporation of colloquial
diction from multiple languages
• The title "kentang" is a slang term from the Malay language
• The persona's ancestral language, "khek" , is derived from the
Hakka language
• The persona also describes "Mandarin" as his second language
→ this unique combination of different languages in the
poem arouses reader's curiosity in the multicultural
influences in the persona's upbringing
(Extended) metaphor (A metaphor that continues over the course of multiple lines/stanza)

• Through using potato as an extended metaphor for the persona's

cultural identity, the poet makes the poem interesting with its
transitions from one culinary version of the potato to another,
reflecting the persona's multicultural identity/the persona's
journey in discovering his cultural identity.
• The way the poet compares the persona to the potato evolves
throughout the poem, starting as a "kentang" to being " french-
fried” ,"whipped" and finally "soaking in a bowl of curry".
• Just as there are many culinary possibilities within a potato, the
persona's cultural identity as a Chinese Singaporean is a multi-
faceted rather than restricted to a single label. ("Kentang")

Simile
• Builds interest by presenting the communication barrier between the
persona and his grandmother through the use of simile
• The persona uses a simile to compare his grandmother's words to
"pebbles of uncooked rice" that he "sallow(s) but cannot digest". This
hard quality of the "uncooked rice" reflects the harshness of his
grandmother’s words to the persona
• Just as it is physically challenging and painful to consume uncooked
rice, it is emotionally difficult for the persona to take in his
grandmother's as he perceives them as critical and tactless
• "not softened by heat" → a lack of emotional warmth
• "not softened by tact" → a lack of consideration of feelings/insensitive
What is interesting about the use of the word "digest" ?

Contrast

• Presents the persona's conflicting relationship with his cultural roots

• "like pebbles of uncooked rice"
→ the simile is effective as it contributes to the contrast
between "potato" and "rice", which are staple foods of
western and Asian cuisine respectively. There is also a
contrast between the soft texture and smooth of cooked
potato and the hardened, grainy texture of uncooked rice
→ this amplifies the cultural gap between the persona and
family members from his ancestral land ("the province")