Question
1:
Based
on the novel that you have read, what is the lesson that you have learned
from the ending of the novel? Give reasons why you think the lesson is
important.
The novel I have read is The curse by Lee Su Ann. In the novel, it ended
with Azreen learning the truth about a lot of things surrounding her
sister’s death. It was very sad forAzreen too because she had to cope with
the deaths of the Old Lady and her parents. In the epilogue, Azreen went
back to London to
continue her studies. It is important to not that in the
end, Azreen learned to forgive. The theme of forgiveness and the
importance of the truth resonate throughout the ending of the novel.
I learned that forgiveness is the key to finding inner peace and strength.
Somehow, it helps a person to move on despite having gone through negative
situations. Azreen’scharacter teaches us to be strong, bold and upright in
order to withstand vicious gossips and to fight injustice like how she defended
the Old Lady.
The same goes for Azreen when she returned to London. If she allowed hatred, anger and
other negative emotions to take over, those emotions would have consumed her
and made her life worse. But because she learned to accept the truth and to
forgive, she was able to smile at the end. Although the truth was difficult to
handle for Azreen, especially aboutMadhuri and Mohd Asraf,
her father being Madhuri’s murderer, and how Madhuri was
not her real sister, Azreen managed to cope with all those unfortunate
events.
From the ending of the novel, I learned that sometimes, although the truth may
not be what everybody wants to hear, it is always best to tell the truth
because it helps people to find inner peace and to be truly happy.
Question 2:
Based
on the novel that you have read, give examples of what hope means to the
characters that you have chosen.
The novel I have read is The curse by Lee Su Ann. Hope is the feeling of
wanting something you desire to come true. In the novel, Mohd Asraf and Madhuri are
in love and they hope to be together when Mohd Asraf leaves for Kuala Lumpur for a
teaching course.
However, Madhuri is married to Haji Ghani. She plans to
confess everything to her husband and get his permission to release
her. Asraf hopes that Madhuri is right that her husband is
a reasonable person who wants the best for her and she will ultimately be
released from her marriage. Madhuri also plans to reveal everything
to her parents about their relationship. Unfortunately, their hope of being
together is dashed when Madhuri’s father discovers the truth before she
could explain everything to him. Saleh Abdullah,
catches Madhuri and Mohd Asraf together in the rubber
estate and he wanted to go after
Mohd Asraf.
Sadly, as he wields his parang, it strikes Madhuri and kills her.
Due
to Mohd Asraf’s ailing grandmother, he forced himself to visit
the Old Lady and ask her to cure his grandmother. When she did come to his
house, some of the villagers found out about it and they think that all the bad
incidents happening around the village is due to her presence.
In addition, another character, Puan Fatihah feels like she is
slowly losing her husband after Madhuri’s death. She hopes to win his
affections again by cooking a breakfast feast for him. But he did not
appreciate her deed due to the many happenings in the village; instead, he left
without eating what she had cooked for him.
In conclusion, the novel helps us to see how hope drives
different characters to do different things and there are positive and negative
consequences of their actions.
Question
3:
Using
details from the novel you have studied, write about a theme that you can
relate to in your daily life. Give examples of the theme that you have chosen.
Support your answer with close reference to the text.
The novel I have read is ‘The Curse’ by Lee Su Ann. A theme from ‘The Curse’ is
about the negative effects or rumours and hearsay. Gossip is
basically idle talk that goes bad if one is not careful enough but malicious
gossip is even more dangerous because it does the most damage.
In the past, the villagers’ constant gossiping had caused the
Old Lady to move to the jungle because they thought that she was a crazy woman who
killed her husband in cold blood. They failed to understand and consider the
reason behind the act and it caused the Old Lady to live alone for the rest of
her life in the jungle. The villagers continued to spread wrong information
about the Old Lady by saying that she will cast a spell or kill those who
trespass on her property.
Puan Normala warned
that a curse will befall the village by claiming that the incessant rain was
caused by the Old Lady coming into the village even though she came only to
cure Nek, Mohd Asraf’sgrandmother. She gathered some of
her neighbours and convinced them to drive the Old Lady out of the
village. Sadly, not long after the Old Lady had cured Nek, Nek passed away and
the neighboursconvinced Mohd Asraf that the Old Lady was to
be blamed. The confrontation between them and the Old Lady ended tragically
with her house being burnt down and her untimely death.
Throughout the novel, we are constantly reminded of howrumours can turn
bad and how they can lead to destruction or a tragic conclusion. As stated by
the Old Lady, “Rumours can be damaging even if they are untrue, especially
if they are untrue. All a person can do is to ignore them and
the rumours will die off as soon as another juicier one comes along.”
I have learnt from the theme in this novel that I should not believe or be
influenced by rumours in our daily lives. More importantly, I should
also not create and spread rumours about another person. These, we
must apply in our daily lives.
Question
4:
Using
details from the novel you have studied, describe how it has taught you to
be a responsible person. Give examples of how you learned to be a
responsible person.
The novel I have read is The curse by Lee Su Ann. In the novel, we learn about
responsibility in terms of thinking before we speak and not
spreading rumours. The gossipy villagers
spreadrumours about Madhuri’s death and how it will bring a
curse to the village. Puan Normala begins to
spread rumours by claiming to have seen Madhuri’s dead body
and white blood. To make matters worse, she starts to link happenings like the
endless rain and flood to the curse. This only creates more fear among the
villagers. Puan Normalaand her neighbours gossip and
speculate about everything. To top it all off, when the Old Lady is sought
after by Mohd Asraf to treat his sick grandmother, the villagers
gang up to chase her away because they consider her evil as she had murdered
her husband in the past. They feel that she is the cause of the curse.
Sadly, due to the irresponsible villagers’ rumours at that time, the
Old Lady becomes the victim and she is labelled as a mad woman and a
murderer. She was forced to leave the village and had to live in a deserted house
in the jungle. She is forced to come to the village again
when Mohd Asraf pleads with her to treat his grandmother. When
his grandmother passed away, the villagers were quick to accuse the Old Lady of
poisoning Mohd Asraf’s Nek and it was enough to convince Mohd Asraf to
confront the Old Lady at her house. When things got out of hand, the house is
burned down and the Old Lady dies.
On the other hand, Azreen is a responsible person by the way she
treats her parents even though she feels that they love Madhurimore than
her. She never receives her father’s warmth as his daughter as much
as Madhuri but being the responsible daughter that she is, she
continues to treat her father respectfully. Azreen also takes care of
her mother who suffers from Alzheimer’s till her mother’s death.
I have learned that I have to be responsible for my own actions. I should not
spread rumours nor cause harm to others without thinking carefully no
matter what happens or challengers I have to face. For being irresponsible, we
can also cause harm to other people.
Question
5:
Based
on the novel you have read, write about a character whom you admire. Give
reasons why you admire him or her. Support your answer with close reference to
the text.
The novel I have read is The Curse written by Lee Su Ann. There are many
characters in the novel but the character I find most admirable is none other
than Azreen, the younger daughter of Saleh Abdullah. I
admire Azreen because she has many positive characteristics. I will
give examples from the novel to support my answer.
First and foremost, Azreen is an independent girl. She goes wherever
she wants to without seeking permission from her parents. She was determined to
go for the exchange programme where she lived
with Datin Sharifah and Datuk Zulkipli in Georgetown. She even
applied for a scholarship in an effort to leave the
village. Azreen is also loyal. This can be seen
when Azreen saw Encik Mohan and his sons
manhandling Asraf, she came to his aid by taking the blame for him.
In addition, Azreen prepares meals for her parents and takes good
care of her mother after Madhuri’s death. She is a filial and dutiful
daughter. Azreen did not believe the villagers who claimed that the Old
Lady could turn anyone into squirrels or rats as well as cook and eat them for
dinner. This shows that she is a sensible person.
I also admire Azreen because she accepts challenges.Azreen was
dared to pay a visit to the Old Lady and she went to her house. They became
good friends
Azreen is
also a determined person. Azreen could not tolerate her father’s
and neighbours constant complaints. So, she accepted the two-month
foster programme to stay
with Datin Sharifahand Datuk Zulkipli. Similarly, she was
determined to accept the scholarship to study in London and so her foster parents decided to
support her financially
From the novel, we know that Azreen is also an open-minded. I
admire Azreen as she does not believe in the stereotype role of a
woman who is supposedly to be docile and feminine. She is also
modest. Azreen is not proud and does not put on airs although she is
studying in London.
Besides that, Azreen is admirable because of her diligence.
Both Azreen and Madhuri work diligently to weave a new
basket for their mother as the former broke the basket which was laden with
durians. I also admire Azreen because she is
intelligent.Azreen obtained a scholarship to pursue her tertiary education
in London.
In conclusion, the character I admire most from the novel I have read
is Azreen. Although she is not perfect and has some negative
characteristics, she has even more positive characteristics. She is someone I
can relate to and I hope to be just like her.
Question
6:
There
are many interesting events in the novel you have read. Write about an
event or incident that you think is important or that you will never forget.
Give reasons to substantiate your answer.
The novel I have read is The Curse by Lee Su Ann. I think the incident
when Mohd Asraf tells Azreen that he
andMadhuri were in a relationship is important in the novel The Curse.
Here are a few reasons to substantiate my answer.
First and foremost, this piece of news is shocking toAzreen as she has
always liked Mohd Asraf from her school days. She even
joined Mohd Asraf’s hockey team so she could spend more time
with him. Though she knew that MohdAsraf was taken up by Madhuri’s beauty
and always praised her syair recitals, she never knew
that Madhuri too, had feelings for him as she had never mentioned it
to anyone before.
Secondly, this event adds a twist to the story asMadhuri agreed to
the idea of getting a divorce from HajiGhani and run away from the
village with Mohd Asraf to Kuala
Lumpur where he will be furthering his studies. This
should never have happened in the first place as Madhuri is already
married to Haji Ghani, the village headman.
Thirdly, with this revelation, Azreen is able to
understand what Madhuri had intended to tell her in the letter she
had written to her before she died. She
also realised thatMadhuri has not been happy with her marriage.
This is because, to many, she seems to be living a perfect family life. Nobody
knows what she is going through.
In conclusion, this incident is very important and I will never forget this
incident because it makes the story more interesting. From this incident, I
also learn that people are not always as they seem to be so we should not judge
them just based on what they portray.
