Poem: Love and Old Lady

POEMS
Practice 1
IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP
1. Why were their clothes ‘soaky’?
2. Write down the line in the poem which reveals that this incident took place in a village?
3. What does the phrase “bloated carcasses” refer to?
4. In your opinion, what kind of attitude do the last two lines imply? Explain.
Practice 2:
IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP (stanzas 1 and 2)
1. Write down the line which shows that they have been out for long hours?
2. The theme may not be exactly about hardship as implied by the title. What is the theme related to?
3. What does the phrase ‘albino buffalo’ reveal?
4. What moral value did you learn from the poem? Explain.
Practice 3:
He Had Such Quiet Eyes (Stanzas 1 and 2)
1. What does the phrase ‘two pools of lies’ refer to?
2. Which lines show that the man is saying “I love you, and if you love me, prove it!”
3. Which stanza shows that there is a sense of regret?
4. What do you understand by the phrase “the hows and whys”?
Practice 4:
He Had Such Quiet Eyes
1. What does the phrase ‘thinnest ice’ imply?
2.In this poem, the poet talks about the betrayal of a young girl’s feelings for a man. She believes in his sincerity to her as he had pleaded to her to surrender to him. Write the two lines depicting this.
3.What is the main theme in this poem?
4.What did you learn from this poem? Explain.
Practice 5:
Are You Still Playing Your Flute?
1. Who is the persona in the poem?
2. Write one line from the poem that depicts that people are jobless.
3. Provide three phrases that depict the message of cruel realities of a nation in uncertainty of its future. 4.In your own words describe why the poet used the word “sick” to describe the rice fields.

Practice 6:
Are You Still Playing Your Flute? (Stanzas 1 and 2)
1. What did the persona mean when she said ‘deserted’? 2. Why is the persona feeling guilty?
3. Why is the question “Are you still playing your flute’ repeated as the starting line of all the stanzas? 4.In your opinion, is this a romantic poem? Provide reasons for your answer.

Practice 7:
Nature by H.D Carberry
1. In your words describe the weather as depicted in the poem.
2. State one moral value that you have learnt from the poem.
3. Note that the poem ends with the line “and beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone”. Describe how this bears a resemblance in our life.
4. In the opening lines of the poem, the poet describes the things that are absent. In your opinion, what is the poet trying to convey?

Practice 8:
Nature by H.D Carberry
1. Why do you think H.D.Carberry wrote the poem?
2. List three words related to nature.
3. Which line in the poem ‘Nature’ suggests the sense of smell?
4. Based on your knowledge of the poem ‘Nature’, describe a theme in the poem.

ANSWERS.
Poem
In The Midst Of Hardship
Practice 1
1. They were wet
2. desperately looking for their son’s albino buffalo that was never found
3. animals killed as they drowned in the flood water.
4. Optimistic,- they were making jokes not crying or show signs of despair.
Practice 2
1. The whole day and night just passed
2. Facing hardship with optimism
3. They are in the village as people in the town will not rear buffaloes.
4. Despite the hardship, we must remain resilient and strong. Often, the difficult time is not a permanent one. He Had Such Quiet Eyes
Practice 3
1. The eyes are compared to deceit.
2. Imploring her to be nice
And to render him paradise.
3. Stanza 2
4. The hows and whys is compared to a situation where one gets hurt emotionally and tries to solve the problem.
Practice 4
1. dangerous
2. To her, those quiet eyes
Were breathing desolate sighs
Imploring her to be nice
3. Deceit
4. We sometimes encounter people who have ill intentions towards us. We should take precaution against them.
Are You Still Playing Your Flute?
Practice 5
1. a very perceptive and reflective woman.
2. my younger brothers unemployed and desperate
3. my people disunited by politics my friend slaughtered mercilessly this world is too old and bleeding.
4.Perhaps the yield is not rewarding/ the harvest is destroyed due to bad weather.
Practice 6
1. the villagers have left/migrated.
2. Feeling guilty as she is enjoying the music when the nation is plagued with problems
3. This is to stress on the activity as something that should not be done when the nation is facing so much trouble.
4. No, it is not a romantic poem. It is poem that shows the irony between a leisure activity and problems faced by the nation at the same time.
Nature

Practice 7
1. The poem highlights the appealing climate conditions on theislandofJamaica.
2. We must appreciate the beauty of nature.
3. This is a big resemblance to our life, as it has been our experience that after bad times, good times will follow and sometimes ever so abruptly.
4. It is to highlight the pleasant climate on the island. It has no extreme weather conditions.
Practice 8
1. He wants to celebrate the richness of the land’s produce and how alive and plentiful Nature is.
2. b. gold sun, rain, trees.
3. The line, “When the bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey”
4. Appreciating one’s country-Life in one’s country has its share of ups and downs but one must always look at the brighter side of life. In this poem, the poet stresses on his country’s weather being sunny, rainy and windy. The poet states that we must appreciate what we have.

1) In stanza 1 line 7, to whom does the word his refer to ?
It refers to the artist/ flutist/flautist.
2) In stanza 2 line 3, what does the phrase ‘the sick rice field’ mean?
Rice fields that are barren and no longer fertile.
3) Which lines in stanza 2 shows that the poet feels she has very little time for leisure/trivialities?
While here it has become luxury/To spend time watching the rain.
4) In your own words, explain the problems that the poet mentions in these lines.
The problems mentioned in the lines are; rising unemployment, people and families separated by politics, and people being killed in numerous wars.
5) In stanza 1, why does ‘I’ feel guilty?
‘I’ feel guilty because she longs to listen to her lover’s flute despite the fact that she has more important things to do.
6) From stanza 2, explain what these words refer to:
i) here: in town ii) luxury: being able to enjoy the simple things in life
7) Without using examples from the poem, give two problems that concern the society presently.
i) poverty ii) conflict
8) How is the rice field?
The rice field is not producing much
9) State two activities that ‘I’ consider luxuries.
i) To spend time watching the rain/Gazing at the evening rays/Collecting dew drops/enjoying the fragrance of flowers. ii) To spend time watching the rain/Gazing at the evening rays/Collecting dew drops/enjoying the fragrance of flowers.
10) Why do you think the poet’s conscience is disturbed? Give reasons for your answer.
I think the poet’s conscience is disturbed because instead of focusing more serious issue, she thinking of things that she consider trivial.
11) In stanza 1,
i)The musical instrument in the poem is a flute. ii)The flute is made of bamboo. iii) Which phrase shows that the flute is a wind instrument?
Uncovered by the breath of artist.
12) In stanza 2,
i) Why is the rice field described as ‘sick’?
It is empty and unplanted. ii) Where is the persona
In the city. iii) The persona wishes she has time to do what?
Watch the rain.

13) In stanza 3,
i)What is disturbing the conscience of the persona?
She thinks constantly of her lover. ii) What is the problem her younger brothers are facing?
They are unemployed. iii) The persona compares the world to?
An old man who is sick and suffering.
14) In stanza 1,
I) Where is the setting for the first stanza of the poem?
The setting for the first stanza is the village where the persona’s lover lives. ii)Why does persona feel guilty to be longing for his song?
She feels guilty to be thinking of his song when there are more pressing problems in the world to worry about. iii)What would be ‘uncovered by the breath of an artist’?
The melody or music of the flute would be uncovered by the artist’s breath.
15) In stanza 2,
i)The village is deserted. Give a reason for it.
Most of the villagers have left the village. They have most probably moved to the towns or cities in search of jobs. ii) ‘While here it has become a luxury’. Give the place setting for this line.
The place setting is most probably a city where life is fast and hectic. iii) ‘Gazing at the evening rays’ refers to a certain time of the day. What do you think the persona is looking at?
She is enjoying the scene of a beautiful sunset in the evening.
16) In stanza 3,
i)The third repetition of ‘Are you still playing your flute’?’ shows the persona’s mood. Describe her mood and explain why she feels that way.
The persona becomes increasingly agitated and annoyed. She cannot understand how her lover can continue to play his flute and show no concern for the problems of the world. ii)The line ‘in the hazard of you’ displays the persona’s feeling towards her lover. Explain her feelings.
She thinks it is risky for her to love him too much as she would most probably be hurt by his indifference and total lack of interest in everything around him. iii) She compares the world to a sick old man in the line ‘this world is too old and bleeding’. Why does she use this comparison?
She is gravely concerned about the world and the problems that it faces, like the sickness that plagues an old man. Without changes made to save this ‘bleeding’ world,

TEST 1
Form 4 Poem
a. What does the word dawn mean?
b. Write down two phrases from the poem that indicate injury.
c. Describe their feelings when they reached home. Provide a reason to support your answer.
Novel
Based on the novel that you have studied, choose a character and discuss how good values are being demonstrated through the character you have chosen. (Form 5 poem)
Nature by H.D Carberry
a. “What seasons did the poet say that they did not have?”
b. List out the verbs found in the poem ‘Nature’.
c. List words that describe the following in the poem.
i) sunny days ii) rainy days
d. Do you agree that the sunny days are “the best days” as compared to rainy days? Explain why or why not?

Novel question
Based on the novel that you have studied, describe two different settings or situations. suggested answers:
TEST 1
Form 4 Poem
In the Midst of Hardship
1. Sun rise / early in the morning
2. i.Marked by scratches iifull of wounds
3. Not sad because they do not show any sign of sadness and continue with their normal routine and joke. (Accept any suitable answer)
Novel
The Curse
Azreen is the main character of the novel- The Curse. Being persistent in getting to the truth is highlighted especially through Azreen. She refuses to believe that Madhuri’s death was merely an accident. She finds clues that complete the puzzle. She is also responsible and diligent. Azreen repairs the trampled bed of vegetables and brings back fresh vegetables and seeds to replace the ones destroyed that belong to the Old Lady. A helpful friend especially when she claimed responsibility for letting the bull run loose in order to save Mohd. Asraf’s skin.
TEST 2
(Form 5 poem)
Nature

1. summer, winter, spring and autumn.
2. rain – beat, trees – struggle, reaped canefields – lie, tall grass – sways / shiver, buttercups – pave
3. i) gold sun shines ii) rain beats like bullets on the roof
1. any logical answer.

a) Characters and characteristics
1. Write on a character that show responsibility in her or his actions
Based on the Novel “The Curse” by Lee Sue Ann, the character that shows responsibility in her actions is Azreen Saleh. Azreen is not only a responsible sister and daughter but also a responsible student and friend .
Firstly, Azreen as a responsible sister comes back immediately when she hears of her sister’s death although at that time she is about to sit for an examination that is important for her. She postpones her examination in order of giving her sister her last respect.
Secondly, as a daughter she shows her responsibility firstly, when she spends the whole night repairing her mother’s favourite rattan basket that was broken by the heavy durians that she and Madhuri has brought in. Subsequently, with Madhuri’s help she makes a new rattan basket that looks like the one that she and Madhuri have broken. In addition to that, Azreen accepts the offer to further her studies in London for the sake of upbringing her family social status and thus could then save a lot of money to get a better treatment for her mother that is paralyzed by the bull escape incidents that she .
Thirdly, as a friend and a student, Azreen shows her responsibility when she accepts to join the school hockey team as a substitution to Hock Seng that is injured. She does that even though she knows that she will be the only girl in the team and this will tarnish her image as a girl. In fact she plays very well and almost scores a goal. In addition to that, Azreen shows that she is a responsible friend, when she brings a full basket of fresh vegetables and tomatoes to The Old Lady of the forest to replace the one that she tramples earlier when she comes to The Old Lady’s house for the first time.
In conclusion, throughout the story, Azreen shows that she is a very responsible towards her actions. In fact, I would like to have her as a friend as a friend as such is hard to come by.
2. Which character do you like the most?
The novel I have studied is ‘The Curse’ by Lee Su Ann. The novel is about the main character, Azreen, who returns from England after she finds out about her sister’s death. Upon her return, she is surrounded by many secrets. She discovers the circumstances of Madhuri’s death later in the story. At the end of the story she finds out the truth and leaves for London an orphan but more resilient and wise.
The character I like most is Azreen Salleh. She is a 20-year-old student who is studying in a university college in London on an exchange programme. She is short, bespectacled, rather bookish and outspoken.
I like Azreen because she is outspoken and she is not afraid to spoke her mind. She is vocal and says her opinions although sometimes she says the wrong things at the wrong time. She also hates her father’s treatment of her foster parents and Madhuri’s burial ceremony that is conducted without her presence. In handling the village gossip, Pn Normala, Azreen tells her off that the rain has started even before the Old Lady comes into town.
The second quality she has is she is courageous. As a child, she plays hockey and football with the boys. In the bull’s incident, she is brave enough to accept the blame for the bull’s escape instead of blaming someone else. Azreen also shows her courage by taking up the dare to knock on the Old Lady’s door when none wants to do it. In another instance, Azreen confronts her father about Madhuri’s murder despite her young age.
Azreen also has strength of character. When she returns to her village, she hears a lot of gossip surrounding her sister’s death such as as Madhuri having white blood and her death signals a curse to the villagers. Azreen feels upset but she never retaliates. Sheshows patience and strengh because she knows that whatever she does, she cannot stop the villagers from gossiping about her family. In another instance, Azreen is told that her sister is murdered. She should have been very upset about this news but she takes it calmly and does not become hysterical. Later, when she finds out that her father is the culprit who kills Madhuri, she feels no anger but regrets that it has to happen. She understands her father’s anger and shame because Madhuri has been having an illicit affair with Ashraf although she is already married to Hj Ghani. Azreen also shows a lot of strength because after all that has happened to her family, she stays composed and strong and returns to England for her examinations.
In conclusion, there are many qualities in Azreen that I admire and she is the character that I like most in the story.
3. Write on a character whom I think is exemplary
a) In the Curse by Lee Sue Ann, the character whom I think is exemplary is The Old Lady of the forest. Throughout the novel, she shows strength of character and wisdom.
When she first moves to the village as a newlywed, she is popular among the villagers and she enjoys a blissful marital life with her husband. Everything changes as her husband who becomes an alcoholic starts to abuse her and finally she retaliates and kills him. From then on, the villagers treat her like an outcast. She is forced to move out of the village and makes an abandoned house her home. She lives alone for years until she befriends Azreen and becomes her mentor and will console her whenever she has a fight with her parents.
When Asraf approaches The Old Lady for help, she is hesitant about going back to the village. Yet she agrees and doing so, she puts her life at risk. When she is trapped in the burning house, she tells Azreen to save herself and she perishes in the fire. Even at death’s door, she reminds Azreen about the importance of forgiveness and tells her to heed all the advice she has given her.
The Old Lady is therefore an exemplary character as she is strong, wise and honourable. b) Based on the novel The Curse by Lee Sue Ann, the character that I consider exemplary is Azreen because she is courageous and brave. She shows resilience and she always fight for what she believes in.
Firstly, Azreen who does not believe the villagers tales about The Old Lady is being brave by accepting her friend’s challenge to firstly knocking on the door of The Old lady and then meet her in person. . Subsequently, she befriends The Old Lady and makes her, her precious confidante and counselor.
In addition, Azreen is courageous by confronting Puan Normala’s mob outside Mohd Asraf’s house when Nek once again has fallen ill and died in order to stop her from entering Nek’s house. Although she is outnumbered, she dares to face Puan Normala’s horde to protect Nek’s house from them. Moreover, she confronts a group of men led by Asraf who goes to the Old lady’s house to seek revenge after Nek dies as they believe the Old lady has poisoned Nek.
It is a dog-eat-dog world out there and we must be brave and courageous to overcome our daily obstacles and stand for our own rights. We should not be intimidated by our fear and we must be like Azreen in order to survive the world.
The second exemplary qualities of Azreen is that she portrays resilience throughout the story and she constantly fights for what she believes in. This can be seen when Azreen does not give up and is determine and resilience to seek the truth of Madhuri’s death even though others do not want to tell her the truth. She asks Asraf and The Old Lady about Madhuri’s death and slowly gather evidences and finally she knows the truth about Madhuri’s killing.
In her village, a woman should be conservative and well mannered but Azreen is a contrast to that and thus she is hated but she ignores the villagers’ perception of her, as she believes that women have their own rights. This can be seen as she befriends Asraf and joins the boys’ hockey team and similarly makes The Old Lady her best friend.
In this cruel world, we must stand for our own right and fight for what we believe in. We must follow Azreen’s resilience to make this world a better place.
4. Write on a character that I admire / like
The novel The Curse by Lee Su Ann is very interesting. The character I like the most is Azreen. Azreen is from Langkawi. She studies in London. Her father is Salleh Ghani. Her sister is Madhuri. Madhuri is not Azreen real sister. I like Azreen because she is responsible. She takes care of her sick mother. She bathes and feeds her mother. When Old Lady vegetable garden is trampled, she repairs it.
Azreen is determined. She always studies hard. She also wants to find Madhuri’s murderer. She does not give up. Finally, she finds out the truth. Azreen is also brave and courageous. She is Old Lady’s friend. She is not afraid of the stories. The villagers say she is a witch. Azreen does not care. It is not true. When Old Lady’s house is in fire, Azreen wants to rescue her. She is really brave.
I like Azreen because she is a loyal. She defends Mohamad Asraf. She says she opens the gate of the farm. Azreen is a strong girl. I wish I have a friend like her. When her mother’s basket is damaged, she takes the blame. Azreen wants to protect the people she loves.
Azreen is responsible, determined, brave and loyal. Those are the reasons why I like her. She is a good role model. C) Lesson
1) The Curse by Lee Su Ann has many lessons for its readers. One of the lessons, truth will be known and secrets will not last forever. There are a few characters who keep secrets and eventually the secrets are exposed.
First, Mohd. Asraf and Madhuri. They were secret lovers. They planned secretly to run away to Kuala Lumpur. After Madhuri died followed by his grandmother’s death, he almost lost his mind. Keeping his secret love was very difficult. He was easily influenced by Puan Normala that his grandmother was poisoned by Old Lady. That was the reason he burned the Old Lady’s house causing her death. Finally, he realises his mistakes and comes to his senses.
Second, En Saleh Abdullah, Azreen’s father. He was always proud of Madhuri. Madhuri made him proud when she agreed to marry the village headman, Haji Ghani. When her affair was discovered, Encik Saleh gets very angry and accidentally killed Madhuri. He never tells anyone and until Azreen confronts him. Actually, he is ashamed because the daughter he was really proud of, had an affair and tried to run away. He keeps seeing a ghost. He suffers a heart attack and dies.
In conclusion, dark secrets only make life difficult. The evidence in the story has shown us that. Any dark secrets we have, may destroy our lives. We may lose the people we love. Always be true to ourselves and do not take advantage of others. Always think before we act. 2) The Curse’ is the novel written by Lee Su Ann which has many lessons that can be used in our lives. Today, I am going to write on one lesson which really captured my attention in the novel that is ‘courage’.
The value of ‘courage’ can be seen clearly in Azreen’s character. Azreen was a good friend with the Old Lady who became a precious confidante and counsellor despite ignoring the warnings and prejudices of the villagers. Azreen was determined to friends with the Old Lady till the last minute of the Old Lady’s life.As a child, she was not allowed to visit the Old Lady by her parents. Even the villagers warned Azreen that the Old Lady is a witch. This shows that Azreen is very courageous for accepting the Old Lady for what she is. From this, I learnt to be courageous in order to speak and act according to what I think is right. I also learnt not to judge others by listening to rumors and to think practically.
Azreen also showed courage when she took the blame for the bull’s escape in order to save Mohd Asraf. At first, she wanted to help Asraf out from the wicked farm owner, Mr. Mohan and his sons who were accusing Asraf for letting the bull out. But to her dismay, she had to accept the faith of her mother loosing a leg when her father hit into the bull and met with an accident. Even though Azreen was only helping Asraf at first, but she took the blame and had to carry it for the rest of her life. I saw Azreen as a very courageous person in this situation and agree to what she had done. She taught me to stand up for my believes in my life and this will really help me a lot in the future. Last but not least, I also find Azreen as a courageous person when she challenged her father to reveal the truth behind Madhuri’s death. Azreen was very sure that Madhuri was killed by her father because she found the stain of the rubber tree sap on the ‘parang’. When she put all the details together, she came to a conclusion and told her father straight that he was the one who killed Madhuri. Here, we can see that Azreen was too bold and had the courage to speak the truth even to her father when she was sure that her sister was killed. This scene opened my mind that I should be honest and bold to say what I think is right in my life. D)Moral value
There are many moral values found in The Curse by Lee Su Ann. The story is set in an island off Langkawi Island. The Curse revolves around the events surrounding the death of a village girl, Madhuri, who is also the adopted sister of themain character, Azreen.
The first moral value is bravery. This value is shown by Azreen. First, even as a young girl she takes challenges and tries to prove to her friends that the Old Lady is not an evil witch. When she is yelled at for entering the Old Lady’s house and destroying her vegetable garden, Azreen bravely defends herself. In fact, she returns the next day and repairs the trampled garden. Her action wins the Old Lady’s heart.
The second evidence is when Azreen bravely takes the blame for Mohd Asraf in the bull incident. She demonstrates courage.The same bull later injures her mother’s leg causing he to lose the use of her leg. She was blamed and scolded by her father as well as the villagers. She bravely endures that and never tells anyone of what really happened.
Her bravery is once again tested. The third event that displays her bravery is when she tries to tackle the angry mob who are about to attack the the Old Lady. When the Old Lady’s house is in fire, Azreen tries to rescue the Old Lady but at the end she has to be rescued by her father. When the Old Lady dies in the tragic fire, she confronts Mohd Asraf like a wildcat.
Finally, towards the end of the story, she finds out the secret that her father has been keeping. She confronts her father about Madhuri’s murder until he is forced to confess about the truth. She is very brave to confront people whom she knows have done wrong to others. At the same time she is very brave when defending herself and the people she loves.

e.) Events
1) Write on an important event.
In the novel ‘The Curse’ by Lee Su Ann, an important event is the outbreak of the fire which results in the Old Lady’s death.
Firstly, it is an important event because after this event, it creates a domino effect on a number of other events which in turn helps Azreen to finally solve the mystery behind her sister’s murder. The fire enrages Azreen and ‘like a wildcat’, she confronts Mohd Asraf. He apologises and admits that he had been too grief-stricken to be rational when he has lost two important people in his life – his secret lover, Madhuri and his grandmother, Nek. After the fire which kills the Old Lady who is trapped in the fire, Awang, the bomoh informs Azreen that Madhuri is not her biological sister. The secret about Madhuri’s identity is finally disclosed by Azreen’s father who reveals that Madhuri is adopted. Moreover, the village Pontianak is actually Madhuri’s biological mother who returns to the village to seek revenge over her daughter’s death. According to Awang, the ‘ghostly figure’ is also the “vengeful spirit” that has killed Azreen’s chicken.
Secondly, it is an important event because we are finally shown the reason for Madhuri’s murder and the culprit. When Azreen confronts her father, Encik Saleh defiantly confesses that he had accidentally murdered Madhuri after learning that Madhuri, a married woman, commits an adultery when she secretly sees another man.He confronts Madhuri and during the struggle, Madhuri falls to the ground and her head knocks over the latex cup which stains her clothes. A distraught Azreen flees after hearing the shocking news while Encik Saleh comes face-to-face with the shadowy woman – Madhuri’s mother who nears him with a parang in her hand. Saleh collapses and dies of a heart attack.
Thirdly, the fire at the Old Lady’s house is the climax of the novel. From that point onwards, events dramatically unfold and Azreen gets to the bottom of the mystery. Azreen puts the pieces of facts here and there together and begins to understand the reasons behind the cover-up of Madhuri’s murder by her husband, Haji Ghani. Most importantly, we are also exposed to the crime of the villagers who are willing to do anything including planning an attack on the innocent and harmless Old Lady just because of superstition. Under the instigation of Puan Normala, the villagers are convinced to believe that the Old Lady possesses a special power to turn people into rats and squirrels, so the latter is accused to be an evil witch who brings all the misfortunes and bad omen to the village. In fact, when the rain continues to pour for more than four days, causing the town to be flooded, the Old Lady is blamed to have put the curse on the village. From this event, we can see how gullible the villagers are to believe the vicious rumours spread by the village gossiper, Puan Normala. She does not seem to care about the destruction she causes. Her irrational behaviour thus destroys the reputations of victims such as the Old Lady even in the eyes of children. At the same time, through this event too that we see the purity of the Old Lady’s heart. Despite being ostracised by the villagers, the Old Lady bears no grudges and is still willing to help people like Asraf’s Nek. More importantly, the Old Lady at the point of her death before the burning house collapses on her, she reminds Azreen to forgive all the villagers who have wronged her.
In conclusion, the fire is the most important event as it is the catalyst for many more events in which makes the stories more interesting.

f) Theme
Write on the theme of love
‘The Curse’ written by Lee Su Ann touches on many aspects of life. Basically, all the aspects revolve around our own community and can be used as guidance in our life.
The theme of ‘love’ which is actually the main conflict in this whole novel. Firstly, we can see this aspect between mother and child when we read how loving was Azreen towards her mother when she came back from London. She realized her mother still does not know about the death of her sister, Madhuri. Azreen took over the duty to take care of her mother who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease which was getting worse. Azreen cooked porridge for her mother like Madhuri used to do and fed her. This shows that Azreen loves her mother very much and feels responsible to take care of her after her sister’s death.
The concept of ‘love’ can also be seen through Encik Saleh who loves his daughters very much but does not know how to show it. He kept his love within him and was always looking fierce and angry towards his daughters and wife. He loved his family very much and that is why he worked hard on the farm.He also repairs chicken coop, repairs fencse and roofs and chops wood in order to earn a living for his family. As a hard-working man, he wanted to give his family the best out of him due to his love towards them which he does not show openly. Here, I admit that I admire Encik Saleh as a loving father towards his family but he should have shown his love in a more appropriate way.
Lastly, the concept of love can be seen in the characters of the Old Lady and Azreen. Azreen was very lucky to find a meaningful and comfortable relationship with the Old Lady of the forest. She was very close to the Old Lady until she told her all her secrets. She always goes and visits the Old Lady whenever she felt bored, angry or happy. This shows that Azreen really loves the Old Lady and does not give a single thought to what the villagers say about the Old Lady. Azreen’s love towards the Old Lady was very strong until she was willing to go into the burning house in order to save the Old Lady. But, faith wins. The Old Lady died in the fire while Azreen was saved by her father due to his love towards his daughter.
As we can see, the concept of ‘love’ is very strong throughout the novel. Each and every character in this novel has the desire to love and to be loved.
2) Write on the theme of forgiveness
Lee Su Ann, the writer of the novel ‘The Curse’ had brought up many themes in her writing. One of the themes that I liked very much in this novel is ‘forgiveness’ which was clearly portrayed in Azreen’s character. As we know from the beginning, Azreen is a very outspoken, aggressive and stubborn character but towards the ending of the story she had learnt to forgive others. Azreen was very much influenced by the Old Lady who begged Azreen to learn to forgive others at the time of her death. We can see very much that Azreen kept her promise when she forgave Mohd Asraf who had deliberately played with her emotions. All the while Azreen thought Asraf liked her but, Asraf was actually falling for Madhuri and when he admitted that to Azreen, she was speechless at first. Azreen hid herself from Asraf by running away until she reached the cliff of the hills when Asraf confessed his love towards Madhuri. But as time passed, her anger melted away slowly and she forgave Asraf as the Old Lady had told to her just before she died. Azreen too learnt to forgive her father who murdered Madhuri. Even though she felt sad at first but she did not feel angry or resentment at him but she realized that she had lost her only father that she used to know as a very hot-tempered man. Slowly Azreen forgave her father but she could not see him eye to eye so she left him alone and that was the time when Encik Saleh had a heart attack and collapsed. But if at all Azreen had not promised the Old Lady to forgive others, I do not think that she would forgive her father for murdering Madhuri. Azreen too forgave Madhuri for all the hurt and resentment she caused in Azreen’s life. Azreen was jealous of Madhuri’s beauty and genteel behavior. She was the favorite daughter. She also resented Madhuri as Madhuri was able to captivate Asraf who eventually fell in love with her. But, when Azreen discovers that Madhuri was adopted and the truth about Madhuri’s murder at the hands of her own father, she feels nothing but pity for poor Madhuri . Finally she forgives her sister, Madhuri. Last but not least, Azreen also forgave Asraf and wished him luck from the bottom of her heart when he left Langkawi to take a teaching course in KL. When she read a note from him, she did not feel angry but she smiled after reading the note and also questioned herself whether she had learnt to forgive others. From Azreen’s character, I too learnt to forgive others in my life if they hurt my feelings. Being revengeful will not give us anything in life except the negative value. From the evidence above, the theme of ‘forgiveness’ had been portrayed very well in this novel through the protagonist, Azreen. I hope each and every human will learn to forgive others in their life.
3) Write on the theme of ‘Mother’s Love’ The novel ‘The Curse’ by Lee Su Ann touches on many values that are useful in our daily lives. As for me, I am touched with the value of mother’s love in this novel.
Azreen’s mother is forever seen talking nonsense since her Alzheimer’s disease was becoming worse. She was not given a name in this novel but always referred to as ‘Mak’. Azreen felt guilty because she was the one who was responsible for her mother to loose one of her leg. Even though, we know that Azreen admitted leaving the gate of the farm open but actually she was only helping Mohd Asraf from being blamed. Due to her act, her parents met with an accident when her father’s motorcycle hit the bull. Azreen’s mother never hated Azreen for what had happened and she always loved Azreen. She even told Azreen that it was not her fault that she lost her leg in the accident. This proves that ‘Mak’ was never angry towards Azreen and she accepts what happened to her as faith. This shows the true love that a mother has for her child even though she is in pain.
Another incident that showed how true a mother’s love is when Madhuri’s mother, the mad lady who strolled in the village and always watched over her daughter. Even though Madhuri was raised by Encik Saleh and his wife from a baby, the mad lady always kept herself close to Madhuri. She used to watch Madhuri and Azreen when they come back from school. This shows that she still loved her daughter even though she gave in when her baby was lost. She knew she could not raise Madhuri in a proper way so she just kept quite when Encik Saleh took the baby and decided to raise the child. But as a mother, she still loved Madhuri and always sees how her daughter is living with her foster parents from far. This is what we call mother’s love. Even if the child is not with the real mother but she always pray for her child to lead a happy life and that is why she took revenge against Encik Saleh who killed Madhuri.
From these two mothers, the readers are shown the value of love that a mother has for a child. Both mothers in this novel are not normal in certain ways but their love for their children did not fade but they loved their daughters very much in their own different ways.