Literature Essay - Azreen and Asraf ( The Curse)
Difference between Azreen and Asraf: Wise/ Unwise
The third difference between Azreen and Asraf is that Azreen is wise while Asraf, is quite the opposite. Azreen depicts her overseas education very well, highlighting her wisdom. We can see throughout the story, that Azreen, even as a child, does not believe in the rumours that spread around the village. She doesn’t give a second glance to the baseless gossips towards the Old Lady and instead befriends the Old Lady and become good companion to each other. Her wisdom is a trait she possessed since a very young age and it stayed intact as she grew up. She also did not trust the words of the rumour-mongering Pn. Normala, when she claims the village to be cursed, because appearently, Madhuri shed white blood when she died. In my opinion, Azreen is smart and wise in the sense that she does not buy unverified and ridiculous gossip.
Meanwhile, Asraf, even though he is a teacher, portrays a very unwise character in the story. Through the bumpy course of the story, as a reader, I have witnessed numerous occasions on which Asraf displayed belief in the rumours spread by the villagers regarding the Old Lady and the ones circulating Madhuri’s death. He somehow believes the things said by Pn. Normala, regarding Madhuri’s death, when he meets Azreen that one morning at the market. The same can be said when he needed help from the Old Lady to cure his sickly grandmother. In the story, Asraf hesitated before he asked for her help. This hesitation shows that he believed the rumours and was therefore, fearing backlash that would be upon him from the ignorant villagers. In my opinion, as a reader, he should not subject himself to believe such malicious lies when his profession is a teacher teaching Mathematics, a profession which demands rational thinking.
The third difference between Azreen and Asraf is that Azreen is wise while Asraf, is quite the opposite. Azreen depicts her overseas education very well, highlighting her wisdom. We can see throughout the story, that Azreen, even as a child, does not believe in the rumours that spread around the village. She doesn’t give a second glance to the baseless gossips towards the Old Lady and instead befriends the Old Lady and become good companion to each other. Her wisdom is a trait she possessed since a very young age and it stayed intact as she grew up. She also did not trust the words of the rumour-mongering Pn. Normala, when she claims the village to be cursed, because appearently, Madhuri shed white blood when she died. In my opinion, Azreen is smart and wise in the sense that she does not buy unverified and ridiculous gossip.
Meanwhile, Asraf, even though he is a teacher, portrays a very unwise character in the story. Through the bumpy course of the story, as a reader, I have witnessed numerous occasions on which Asraf displayed belief in the rumours spread by the villagers regarding the Old Lady and the ones circulating Madhuri’s death. He somehow believes the things said by Pn. Normala, regarding Madhuri’s death, when he meets Azreen that one morning at the market. The same can be said when he needed help from the Old Lady to cure his sickly grandmother. In the story, Asraf hesitated before he asked for her help. This hesitation shows that he believed the rumours and was therefore, fearing backlash that would be upon him from the ignorant villagers. In my opinion, as a reader, he should not subject himself to believe such malicious lies when his profession is a teacher teaching Mathematics, a profession which demands rational thinking.