Hungry Ghost by Hwee Hwee Tan

Question no.1
What was the narrator searching for?
The narrator is searching for the life after death. He wants to know the life after he died and what agony he will receive.

Question no.2
In your perceptions, why does the grandfather “…wanted me to relieve him…”?
In my perceptions, the grandfather wanted the narrator to relieve him because he doesn’t want to go to the hell. His grandfather knows that the agony in the hell is horrible and he doesn’t want to face or go through all the punishment.

Question no.3
What do ‘offering food’, ‘hugging grave’, and ‘burning money’ symbolize?
‘Offering food ‘symbolize that the narrator believe that his grandfather is still alive and he want to feed his grandfather with delicious food.
‘Hugging grave’ symbolize as the narrator love and respect towards his grandfather.
Then, the last one is ‘burning money’. It symbolizes as to give money to his grandfather to buy new clothes, a car and a condominium in the hell.