Discuss the theme of violence in the ‘The Curse’ and how violence has
affected the life of two characters in
the story.
The novel I have chosen is ‘The Curse’. The theme of violence is prevalent in the
novel. The first character that has been affected by violence is Azreen. From the very beginning, we can see how
Azreen has been subjected to violence in her childhood. Saleh Abdullah was a very stern father who
would not hesitate to discipline Azreen whenever she was defiant or rebellious
as a child. Her mother, when
reprimanding her for slapping a classmate in school has reminded her that her
father has punished her ‘a thousand times’ whenever she misbehaved, yet she was
so stubborn. One incident was when
Azreen’s father accused her of stealing mangosteens from the estate and she was
caned severly by her father and scolded by her mother. Her parents refused to believe that she was
telling the truth when she said she only picked the ripe fruits from the
ground. Azreen reacted to the beating by
not eating her dinner and sulking in her room.
Violence begets violence.
Azreen threatened to hit Mohd Asraf with a hockey stick between his ears
when he tried to tell her she was ‘ganas’ or aggressive. Azreen did not think
twice about taking part in the silat-cum-boxing matches in her school even
though she was a girl. In one match, she
ended up giving an innocent spectator a bleeding nose. Azreen did not change her ways even when she
grew older. After the Old Lady’s death,
Azreen turned on Mohd Asraf who was irresponsible, like a wild cat. She beat him, scratched him and kicked him
till she broke down in exhaustion. She
was angry because of his stupidity and anger.
Another incident of violence is when her parents thought
she was responsible for the motorcycle accident with the bull that has caused
her mother to be paralysed. Azreen has
to go to bed with slases of rotan all over her legs and back. Ever since that incident, the relationship
between Azreen and her father has been strained. Azreen found it hard to forgive her father
when she learned that he was the one who had killed her sister with his parang. It was only after he has died that Azreen can
put the past behind her.
Another character that has been affected by violence is the
Old Lady. She was a beautiful, modern
and educated young woman who has the misfortune of marrying a man who was a
wife abuser. Ever since he lost his job,
he has been drinking heavily and returning home late every evening. Then he started to hit her. First, it was a slap on the face and he
apologized when he was sober. She
forgave him. The following week, she was hit again. He hit her on the chin, a shard of broken
bottle he was holding slashing her on her neck. The hast straw was when he
kneed her in the stomach and kicked her when she was down. When he pounced on her, she stabbed him with
the kitchen knife. Her whole life
changed after that incident. Even though
the police listened to her story and let her go free, the damage was done. She was seen as a husband-killer. She was a mad woman who has slashed her
husband to death in the kitchen. All her
friends avoided her like a leper and she was forced to live alone in an
abandoned house in the jungle. Many superstitious
stories were created about her and people in the village were afraid of her. They would not let her come back to the
village. When she relented to go to Mohd
Asraf’s grandmother’s house to see whether she could help her, she incurred the
villagers’ wrath and they tried to chase her away. When Mohd Asraf’s grandmother died, he led a
mob to her house in the jungle and subsequently the Old Lady was killed in a
fire that burnt down her house.
Violence is never a good thing. It should be avoided at any cause. We can
seethe harm that violence does to people as seen from the characters of Azreen
and the Old Lady.
(Sharing purpose: Taken from Baby Steps The Curse & Poetry Form 5, Setia Emas)
