A history of tea

Conflicts (external)
An external conflict in the story is the opium wars mentioned in the story. The Opium Wars broke out with the English ready to go to war for free trade (their right to sell opium) against the Chinese government. Pg 119-120

Conflicts (internal)
An internal conflict in the story is when Beverly mentions that she is going to China and is looking forward to it. This is despite the fact that she knows that most travellers find food terrible and expensive. Pg 112
Climax I think the climax of the story is when Beverly mentions that she was going to tour Asia. It gave the author of the story something to think about his own heritage and how he has never had a chance to explore Asia. Pg 113
Resolution The resolution of the story is more of a revelation in my opinion. Nothing much happens in the ending besides the fact that the conversation ends. It does, however, give the author the opportunity to think about his family tree, his relative and the history of tea that has an impact of his family. Pg 122
Characters Beverly: Smart (planned to study history at Oxford/Cambridge pg 111)
:Understanding(understands her mother’s love for tea pg 111)
:Choosey(only likes certain types of tea which is not to bitter or too sweet pg 109)
Aunt Sherrie: Tea addict (pg 111)
: Religious (does not approve of Beverly’s Jewish boyfriend pg 119)
: Not used to changes ( spoke English in a Singaporean tone even after living in England for almost ten years pg 119)
Grandmother: Religious (churchgoer pg 117)
: Traditional (maintains Chinese tradition pg 115)
: Calls people names (conjured a story that Uncle Raja was an oily man pg 112)


The most interesting segment of the story is when Beverly talks about her Jewish boyfriend and how her parents do not approve of her relationship with him. It surprises me that their religious views can be very narrow and made me curious about what Beverly will do about it.