Anna and The King of Siam

592 Words3 Pages
Anna and The King of Siam Since I studied Thai history, I knew only the famous governess Mrs. Anna Leon Owens who was invited to be a tutor for King Monguts’ children. I did not know about her more than this until I watched the movie Anna and the King. The movie was banned in Thailand because the government said that most of the movie is not true according to the history, Thai culture, and Anna’s biography. The first contrast was, when I watched the movie, I saw that some of the story couldn’t be true like the king using chopsticks. I did not think at that time, they used chopsticks; they used their hands when they ate. Also, the king was a deeply religious old man, who spent most of his life as a monk. Another fact was that Anna came to Siam (now Thailand) when he was nearly 60 years old. I did not think that he would have danced or romanced with Anna. The second contrast between the movie and the actual Thai culture was Thai people respected the king very high. I saw in the movie that Anna did not pay proper respect to the king. I could imagine that if the story was true, Anna would have been punished before she could speak. The final contrast, according to the Anna’s biography, her name was Anna Edwards, born in India in 1831. Her father was a cabinet maker who enlisted in the Bombay infantry. He died three months before Anna was born and her mother re-married a corporal in the Engineers. Anna and her sister were sent to school in England. Then, at the age of 14, she and her sister returned to India on the completion of their education. At the age of 18, Anna married a clerk called Thomas Leon Owens. Her husband died young in Penang, left two children for her to support. After that, she moved to Singapore. Her friends rallied round to help, and she began a small school for officers’ children, later she received the invitation to go to Siam.
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