Unseen Text: Indonesia’s Wild Spin on Ping Pong

Text Type: Travel writing – Magazine article – Online article

Guiding Question: Comment on the way this article attempts to entertain the reader while also revealing the strangeness of the author’s experience.

This is an excellent text to analyse as it’s crammed full of content and ideas. One challenge of this paper is choosing what exactly to write about and focusing your answer on a well-selected range of ideas and devices. As well, this text is wide open to interpretation: some may find it entertaining and humorous, while others may see the depiction of Indonesian ‘strangeness’ challenging. The guiding question asks you to consider both possibilities, and the sample response below tries to balance both readings of the text. Remember, this response is but one of many equally valid ways of analysing and evaluating the text.

Sample Response:

The text is a piece of travel writing based on an experience in Indonesia. The text entertains the reader with an amusing and dramatic account of a simple game of ping-pong; however, there is a tragic undertone as the ‘devastating’ reality of frequent earthquakes is revealed gradually. In addition, the author is an outsider, and his struggle to understand the customs of the supposedly simple game he’s playing is central to the passage and something he communicates in a humorous way.

Initially, the writer creates entertainment through the headline“Travel Tales”, using alliteration to create a light-hearted tone and emphasising that this will be a short and amusing story. The headline implies that this may be one in a series of travel anecdotes, in which readers are taken to visit strange and faraway places. Furthermore, there is a pun employed in “Wild spin’” which is intended to create humour, as it could refer to both ping-pong technique and ‘spin’ as in a biased interpretation of events.  This indicates that Indonesia’s version of the game is out of the ordinary and bizarre. The adjective ‘wild’ connotes both excitement and the notion of travelling beyond the writer’s comfort zone. The idea of going ‘into the wild’ connotes adventure, and sets up the reader to expect strange and unfamiliar content in the article to come. Therefore, the writer uses the meaning of words in the heading to imply an entertaining story of travel to a faraway place, and to hint at the strange and unusual experience he will unfold in the main narrative.

When describing the game of ping-pong, the writer uses the extended metaphor of war to both entertain the reader and to suggest the strangeness of the game. Because the local boys play with a dented ball, the ball bounces and ricochets unpredictably. For example, ‘attacks’, ‘barrage’, ‘ammunition’ and ‘ricochet’ all fit into the semantic field of battle and therefore add drama and intensity to an otherwise simplistic game. However, these words also suggest an underlying conflict between the writer’s expectations and the reality of the game. This comes to the fore when he overtly calls his opponent “my attacker” as if he feels like he is the ‘target’ of his opponent’s attacks, perhaps conveying his discomfort at being the outsider in the scene. Later, the writer amplifies the sense of conflict using single, isolated verbs: “Crouch. Uncoil. Slam.” This magnifies each movement, with the use of present tense adding to the immediacy of the situation, as if the reader is also there and experiencing the tension. Furthermore, the strangeness of the game is symbolised by the ping-pong paddle that the writer holds. It’s described directly as “weird” but also in the first paragraph as “an arched bow” and later as a “wooden sculpture.” The way the paddle seems to shift form, and how the writer struggles to use it for its intended purpose, highlights not only its strangeness but also how he’s a ‘fish out of water.’ He’s not sure if it’s a weapon (‘bow’) or a piece of art (‘sculpture’) – but whatever it is, he struggles with its functionality. Therefore, while the description of the game is entertaining due to the action-packed language, nevertheless it also conveys the underlying strangeness and discomfort the writer feels.

The strangeness of the game is amplified by descriptions both of the setting and of the boys who the writer interacts with. The table is “covered with sand” and all the boys are smoking at “7.05am”, something the writer seems to feel uncomfortable about. The repetition of ‘weird’ and ‘weirder’ creates an ‘us-and-them’ divide between the writer and his subjects and this effect is increased when the writer employs non-standard English for the Indonesian boys’ dialogue”“four seero”. While this gives the boys an amusing accent, it also suggests barriers in communication that don’t help the writer overcome his ‘fish out of water’ feeling of strangeness. When communicating himself, the writer uses frequent questions (for instance, “Wait, what?” and “Better?” ) This is an effective way of making the scene entertaining for the reader, but also to suggest how he doesn’t understand the situation that he’s thrust himself into. Overall, the writer uses descriptions of the setting, the boys, and his unsuccessful attempts at spoken communication to highlight both humour and strangeness in the passage.

Finally, the writer intersperses references to the terrible natural events that shape the lives of the local people. The decision to refer to the “devastating” and “ever-present” earthquakes subtly, disguised in the more obvious focus on the game of ping-pong, is effective for two reasons. Firstly, the use of humour makes the reference to such natural disasters more unexpected and therefore jarring. The text is thus not solely intended for entertainment purposes, but rather uses entertainment to depict a more serious reality. Secondly, the structure of the text reflects the local elder’s statement that “Earthquakes are a part of life.”  It is fitting that life goes on around these catastrophes, with the sport providing the teens with much needed relief and enjoyment.  The simile “even my attacker… looks like a baby on his back” conjures an image of innocence and happiness, appealing to the reader’s empathy.  Furthermore, by the end of the article, the barrier of ‘strangeness’ has arguably been broken down by the emotional connection made through the game.  This is seen in the final line “to the teens, to me, nothing at this moment could be better than an unexpected bounce that brings joy”, demonstrating a shared elation in the comedic value of the moment which overrides cultural differences.

In conclusion, through its stylistic choices, this text does entertain its intended reader, with the strangeness of the experience intertwined with this purpose.  However, in the end, strangeness succumbs to basic human connection over spectacular failure, forging a link between the intended outside audience and the people of Indonesia.