Thailand

Thailand's culture "incorporates a great deal of

influence from India, China, Cambodia, and the rest of

Southeast Asia."It is influenced primarily by animism,

Indian culture and Buddhism.

Statue of a mythical

Kinnon at Wat Phra

Kaew, Bangkok

RELIGION

Thailand is nearly 94%-95% Buddhist

with minorities of Muslims (5-6%),

Christians (1%), Mahayana

Buddhists, and other religions.

Costums

Thai greeting, the

smile is an important

symbol of refinement

in Thai culture.

• Wai

• Used in greetings, leave-taking, or as an

acknowledgement, it comes in many forms,

reflecting the relative status of those involved

• salutation involves a prayer-like gesture with

the hands

• it also may include a slight bow of the head

• “Land of smiles"

• Public displays of affection are not overly

common in traditional Thai society, especially

between lovers.It is becoming more

common, especially among the younger

generation.

• A notable social norm holds that

touching someone on the head may

be considered rude. It is also

considered rude to place one's feet at

a level above someone else's head,

especially if that person is of higher

social standing.

• Sanuk- the idea that life should be

fun. Because of this, Thais can be

quite playful at work and during

day-to-day activities. Displaying

positive emotions in social

interactions is also important in Thai

culture.

• Often, Thais will deal with

disagreements, minor mistakes, or

misfortunes by using the phrase mai

pen rai, translated as "it doesn't matter“

• indicates that the incident is not

important and therefore there is no

conflict or shame involved.

Respect for hierarchy is a very important value for Thai

people. The custom of bun khun emphasizes the

indebtedness towards parents, as well as towards

guardians, teachers, and caretakers. It describes the

feelings and practices involved in certain relationships

organized around generalized reciprocity, the slow-

acting accounting of an exchange calculated

according to locally interpreted scales and measures.

It is also considered rude to step on any type of Thai

currency (Thai coin or banknote) as they include a

likeness of the King of Thailand.

• Thai monks are forbidden physical contact

with women. Women are therefore expected

to make way for passing monks to ensure

that accidental contact does not occur.

• When sitting in a temple, one is expected to point

one's feet away from images of the Buddha. Shrines

inside Thai residences are arranged so as to ensure

that the feet are not pointed towards the religious

icons, such as placing the shrine on the same wall as

the head of a bed, if a house is too small to remove

the shrine from the bedroom entirely.

Elements of a

short story

.

S E T T I N G

Setting

• Refers to place , time , weather

condition , social condition , and even

mood or atmosphere.

plot

P L O T

plot

It s the sequence of events in a

story or play. The plot is planned,

logical series of events having a

beginning, middle and end.

There are five essential parts of a

plot:

a. Exposition/ Introduction- in the introduction, the

setting and characters are revealed.

b. Rising Action- this is where the events in a story

become complicated and the conflict in the story is

revealed. This is where events between introduction

and climax take place.

c. Climax- it is the turning point of the story and the

highest point of interest.

d. Falling Action- The problems are complication begin

to be resolved.

e. Denouement- This is the final outcome or untangling

of events in the story.

CONFLICT

It is the opposition of forces which ties one incident to

another and make a plot move.

There are two types of conflict:

External- refers to outside forces that may cause

conflict , like another human circumstances,

environment. Etc.

Internal- refers a struggle within oneself. The character

maybe debating inside himself about what to do.

CHARACTER

There are two meanings for the word character. The

person in a work of fiction and the characteristics of a

person. He may be the protagonist, the good-natured

character, or the antagonist, the opponent of the

main character.

The author may reveal a character in several ways: his

physical appearance, what he/she says, thinks feel

and dreams; what he/she does or does not do; and

what others say about him/her.

POINT OF VIEW

The angle from which the story is

told.

THEME

It is the controlling idea or value

in a piece of fiction. The theme

maybe the author’s idea about

a topic or view of human nature.