The poem describes a family returning home after enduring a flood that destroyed their village. Their clothes are torn and bodies wounded, yet they do not despair. They search unsuccessfully for their son's lost buffalo among the dead animals strewn by the flood. Though born into hardship, the family faces difficulties with resilience, joking in the kitchen as usual. The poem conveys the family's strength in accepting their situation and moving forward despite tragedy.
The poem describes a family returning home after enduring a flood that destroyed their village. Their clothes are torn and bodies wounded, yet they do not despair. They search unsuccessfully for their son's lost buffalo among the dead animals strewn by the flood. Though born into hardship, the family faces difficulties with resilience, joking in the kitchen as usual. The poem conveys the family's strength in accepting their situation and moving forward despite tragedy.
The poem describes a family returning home after enduring a flood that destroyed their village. Their clothes are torn and bodies wounded, yet they do not despair. They search unsuccessfully for their son's lost buffalo among the dead animals strewn by the flood. Though born into hardship, the family faces difficulties with resilience, joking in the kitchen as usual. The poem conveys the family's strength in accepting their situation and moving forward despite tragedy.
The poem describes a family returning home after enduring a flood that destroyed their village. Their clothes are torn and bodies wounded, yet they do not despair. They search unsuccessfully for their son's lost buffalo among the dead animals strewn by the flood. Though born into hardship, the family faces difficulties with resilience, joking in the kitchen as usual. The poem conveys the family's strength in accepting their situation and moving forward despite tragedy.
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In the Midst of Hardship
Latiff Mohidin (Malaysia)
Motivation: Give the common expressions/attitudes of Asians when faced with disaster . History of Malaysian Literature Malaysian literature is typically written in any of the country’s four main languages: Malay, English, Chinese, and Tamil. It portrays various aspects of Malaysian life. Early Malays literature was influenced by Indian epics, such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. begins with the coming of Islam in the late 15th century; no literary works dating from the Hindu period (4th to late 15th centuries) have survived The earliest works of Malaysian literature were transmitted orally in the absence of writing scripts. By the 19th century, written literature occurred. Traditional Malay poetry was used for entertainment and the recording of history and laws Three Forms of Traditional Malay Poetry Mantera sacred message of a text; repeated word or phrase in meditation (e.g “Om”, “Om Namo”) Pantun a traditional oral form of expression consists of a quatrain which employs an abab rhyme scheme Syair can be a narrative poem, a didactic poem, or a poem used to convey ideas on religion or philosophy, or even one to describe historical event Latiff Mohidin He is a poet and a painter who was born in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. He has been known as a “Boy Wonder” since he was 11 because of the artistry of his works. He has attended schools under various scholarships in Berlin, Germany; Paris, France and New York. He is considered to be one of Malaysia’s most treasured living artists. Guide Questions: Identify the following: The overall synopsis The setting The tone, mood and atmosphere The themes The moral values Poetic devices used … in the poem Vocabulary: Limbs - an arm or leg of a person Despair – the complete loss or absence of hope Horrendous - extremely unpleasant, horrifying, or terrible Carcasses - the dead body of an animal Questions to answer: What would you do if your house was flooded and everything that you owned got lost or destroyed? In the Midst of Harship by Latiff Mohidin At dawn they returned home between bloated carcasses their soaky clothes torn and tiny chips of tree barks and approached the stove desperately looking for their son’s albino buffalo that was never found their limbs marked by scratches their legs full of wounds They were born amidst hardship but on their brows and grew up without a sigh or a there was not a sign of despair complaint The whole day and night just now they are in the kitchen, making passed jokes while rolling their cigarette they had to brave the leaves horrendous flood in the water all the time Guide Questions: Identify the following: The overall synopsis The setting The tone, mood and atmosphere The themes The moral values Poetic devices used … in the poem Synopsis according to stanza STANZA 1 They returned home at day break and headed for the stove. This is probably because they were hungry. However, I have also received some feedbacks saying that they went straight to the stove to dry themselves as they were drenched with the flood water. Their clothes were soaking wet and tattered. Their bodies were covered with scratches and wounds. Yet, they did not display any signs of being worried. STANZA 2 They were out in the flood the whole day and night. They were surrounded by dead animals and parts of trees that had been destroyed by the flood. We know that the animals were already dead because of the phrase ‘bloated carcasses’. They searched desperately for their son’s albino buffalo but were unable to find it. STANZA 3 They were born into poverty and difficulty, but they do not complain about their suffer. Instead, they sit in the kitchen, cracking jokes while smoking cigarettes. This shows that they face difficulties all the time and this time there is no different. They have inner strength that makes them strong to face any hardship poses to them. SETTING The setting of the poem is in the house. THEMES Being resilient when facing hardship Family love Acceptance of way of life MORAL VALUES We should learn to accept problems in life with a positive outlook. We must attempt to face and solve problem. Facing hardship is part and parcel of life. If we face a problem, do not feel despair. TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE Understanding and sympathetic Acceptance of situation POINT OF VIEW Third person pint of view. LANGUAGE & STYLE Language is simple and easy to understand. The style is simple with no rhyming scheme. POETIC DEVICES Imagery – Gives picture of poet’s thoughts e.g ‘soaky clothes torn’ and ‘legs full of wounds’ Alliteration – e.g. ‘but on their brows’ Symbols – e.g. ‘horrendous flood’ and ‘bloating carcasses’ Diction – e.g. ‘stove’ and ‘brows‘
