"The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Reflection Qn: Anually, we need young men in Singapore to do NS. Why do you think NS is compulsory in Singapore and why is this important? In the above poem, the speaker expresses his love for his country, England. Do you have this same spirit of patriotism towards Singapore? Why? Do you consider yourself a patriot to your country?

I feel that NS is important in Singapore as it firstly, builds a sense of belonging in the young men towards Singapore, and also matures them both mentally and physically and develops strong leadership skills in them. Next, NS forges strong relationship among Singaporeans from different background and race as they are bound by a common experience, national pride and a greater cause. It also helps to forge lifelong friendships between fellow soldiers. Just like Rupert Brooke, Singapore men would be able to have the same spirit as he had for his country, that is willing to die for the safety of the country, after the come out of NS as they bond together as one united people. Last but not the least, NS definitely prepares a small country like Singapore for war and when other countries invade us, we would have the adequate skills and manpower to defend ourselves. I do have this same spirit of patriotism towards Singapore, just like Rupert Brooke as Singapore is my homeland and I would not be who I am today without her, therefore, I would definitely appreciate Singapore and defend her if we were really invaded. Lastly, I am not sure whether I am considered a patriot, but what I am sure of is, I love my country and I will stay behind to defend it in times of war.

Crime and Punishment was originally written in Russian and then translated to English. It was published in 1867. The story is about a young student, Raskolnikov, who was a lonely man living alone with a lot of debts. Over the course of months, he kept thinking about the concept of superman where men get exempted from certain moral laws due to their superior intellect or major contributions to the world. To prove that this is true and also to pay off his debts, he decides to murder a pawn-broker, named Alyona Ivanova because he feels that she is a “human vermin” and killing her would do good to mankind. He succeeds in murdering the pawn-broker and stole some things before escaping. As the novel progresses, we can see how Raskolnikov was immerse in misery as guilt overcome him. He did not turn in until the detectives and his conscience came under his skin. He could not live in peace anymore unless he turns in. He serves his time in Siberia, together with Sonya, a prostitute who functions as a symbol of grace and sacrifice, who urges him to face the consequences of his crime, by his side. Other key characters in the novel include Dunya, Raskolnikov’s sister who portrays a picture of how Raskolnikov would be like had he not gone into isolation. She is a strong and intensely moral woman and this could be seen from her, sacrificing herself in a marriage for the sake of her family and her strong resistance against Svidrigailov. The main themes of the novel include social isolation and its effect on morality, criminality and justice and judgement. Overall, I feel that this book is nice to read and also very interesting. I would recommend it to people who likes to read book on mystery and suspension. I personally enjoyed the good points on human values one can find inside the book.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, written in 1891, is a novel written by Oscar Wilde and it is also his only novel. This book is about a painter named Basil Hallward who painted a portrait on a handsome young man named Dorian Gray. During the last painting session, Dorian meets Basil’s friend Lord Henry Wotton who told him that he should experience his life to the fullest. After Basil finished drawing the portrait, Dorian wished that only the painting would grow old which he enjoys eternal youth. Due to Lord Henry's influence, Dorian went looking for passion and fell in love with a young actress named Sibyl Vane. When Sibyl fell in love with Dorian, her performance level dropped and when she performed in front of Basil and Lord Henry, she did not really do very well. This made Dorian very disappointed, and he loses all respect and love which he used to have for her, and broke the engagement they had. He went home and found out that the painting has become slightly more cruel-looking. The next morning, Dorian decided to go back and marry Sibyl regardless, but found out that she has already killed herself.
Over the next years, Dorian finds joy in committing sinful or pleasurable deeds and watching the painting change while he loses nothing (he loses neither his beauty nor his youth).
When Dorian is thirty-eight, he met Basil again. Having not seen him for a long time, Dorian shows Basil what has happened to the portrait. Basil was horrified. He tried to make Dorian repent but was killed by him. Dorian than got his old friend to burn Basil’s body to get rid of evidence.
Dorian started to be afraid of all his dirty deeds being discovered and goes to an opium den, hoping that his bad feelings would go away. James, Sibyl's brother, who has been searching for Dorian for eighteen years, knowing only that his sister called him Prince Charming, finds Dorian and threatened to kill him. He lets him go when Dorian told him that he could not been more than twenty years old judging from his looks. A few days later, James was accidentally shot and killed and this was when Dorian decides to repent and to him, he has to destroy the ugly portrait to do this. He stabbed it with the knife he used to kill Basil and ended up killing himself.