How to answer
novel ‘The Curse’
Below are
some tips that
you can follow:
** Rememeber to write your answer in paragraphs ( at
least 3)
**If you are not sure how to answer, make sure include
all these elements
1. how many characters
2. how many events/evidence
3. how many values/lessons/themes
* manipulate your understanding of the story to fit
the question – not to fit the question to what you know about the story
**always have concluding paragraph to reinforce or sum
up what you have written
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, she
shows her responsibility as a daughter. This
can be seen
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 who is paralyzed.
Thirdly, as a friend and a student, Azreen shows her
responsibility when she accepts to join the school hockey team as a replacement
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. Furthermore, Azreen shows that she is a responsible friend.
This is because 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.
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.
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.
5. Character
who deserves our
sympathy
Based on ‘The Curse’ by
Lee Su
Ann, Madhuri is the one character
whom I
would sympathise with. Madhuri
is soft-spoken, pretty,
charming and well-liked. She is
religious and teaches Quran
to some children.
. However, beauty and talent have
not guaranteed her a
charmed life.
First of all,
I feel sympathise
to Madhuri because
she is forced
to marry someone
who does not love at
all. Madhuri is also
a wonderful ‘syair’ singer. Her
sweet voice catches the attention
of t he village headman. Haji Ghani who asks for
her hand in marriage. Although
this is Haji Ghani’s second
marriage, Madhuri’s father
has no objections.
Madhuri is filial
and obedient. She obeys her
father to marry Haji Ghani
who is much older than
she is. Haji Ghani
dotes her and buys her
expensive gifts, but
she does not love
him.
Secondly, I feel sympathise
to Maduri because she is
killed innocently by her
own father. Madhuri’s real
love is Mohd.
Asraf, a trainee teacher. They
secretly carry on an
affair. They even plan to elope to Kuala Lumpur
Thirdly, Madhuri’s life
story is a sad
one. Her is actually
an adopted daughter
to Salah Abdullah. Her real
mother is too poor
to care for Madhuri
after her husband
left her. She becomes mentally
disorder and left her
baby in paddy field while she
went to look for food. Madhuri then was
picked and adopted by Saleh Abdullah. Her real mother
had disappeared for many years. Madhuri was
cared and loved in Saleh’s house
like her own
daughter. However, life takes
a cruel turn
for her because
she dies in the hand of her
father.
In conclusion, Madhuri
deserves our sympathy
because she is forced into a loveless
marriage. Besides, life
seems unfair that
she is not
allowed to find happiness with the
man she loves. On
the surface, life seems
good for her but
in private, it is
full of sadness.
