hicks is a transitional yet often still-controversial figure who lived and died a tragic death amid an important period of debate over changes between traditional and globalised singapore. both in life and in death, her status as a writer came to eclipse her status as a model. today she is most recognised for her contributions to singaporean post-colonial literature that spoke out on subjects not normally broached in her society, and the anthropic philosophy contained in her writings. describing the consensus of singaporean literary scholars in 1995, two years before hicks' death, ismail s. talib in "the journal of commonwealth literature" stated of "excuse me, are you a model?": "we have come to realize in retrospect that hicks's autobiographical account of her life as a model was a significant milestone in singapore's literary and cultural history". this recognition preceded hicks' death, and in light of the controversy, and even the societal shunning she faced because of her early writings, took her and many around her by surprise. it also helped fuel the life transition she underwent prior her death.