Question: Write on the theme of forgiveness that you find in the novel, The Curse.

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 Azreens 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 Azreens life. Azreen was jealous of Madhuris 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 Madhuris 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 Azreens 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 all the evidences 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.

Question: Based on the novel that you learnt in Form 5, write about 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. In this essay, I am going to write about 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 Alzheimers 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 sisters 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. Azreens 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.

Sample question for theme 1) Based on the novel you have read, select one theme and write about it. Support your answer with close reference to the text.

Setting Question: Describe about the physical setting of the novel.

The novel that I learnt in Form Five is The Curse written by Lee Su Ann. There are many places or settings involved in this novel but today I am going to write about the physical setting of the novel. There are two main physical settings in this novel. The story started with the setting in London when we were introduced to the main character, Azreen Saleh. Basically, the readers are introduced to the university college where Azreen was pursuing an undergraduate course. The readers are given more information that Azreen was going to sit for her exams soon but she had to fly back to Malaysia due to her sister, Madhuris death. Next, we are brought to experience the life of the university college when Azreen had to walk through the colleges residential hall. Here, Azreens thoughts flew back when she recalled her two years of student experiences. She had many sweet experiences in her life as a student. She also met many new friends of various races here and she was reluctant to go back to Malaysia even for a while. The second physical setting is when we are taken to KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport). Here, Azreen had to wait for two hours before she could board a connecting flight to Pulau Langkawi, her hometown. When Azreen was recalling her old times with her sister, Madhuri, the readers are brought to Langkawi International Airport. Azreen meets her foster parents, Datin Sharifah and Datuk Zulkifli who came to receive her at the airport. Last but not least, we are brought together with Azreen to Pulau Langkawi and a little village. In this beautiful, small village, we are introduced to Azreens home where she had bitter sweet memories for Azreen when she remembers about her sister. Next, the village itself was the place where all the drama takes place, both in the past and present. From my explanation above, it is proven that the physical setting of the novel varies and creates an enthusiastic feeling when we read the novel. From London to Pulau Langkawi is what the whole novel is about.

Question: Based on the novel, write about a character that you admire most.

The Curse is a novel with many mysterious events. Even the characters in this novel portray many kinds of traits in order to capture the attention of the readers. As for me, the character that I admire most is of course, the pretty and charming Madhuri. Madhuri is Azreens elder sister and she is about 24 years old. Madhuri is liked by everyone in the village and also by her parents because she was very filial and obedient. As a good and obedient daughter, she helped her parents in household chores. Madhuri used to cook chicken porridge for her mother and feed her. Besides, she had never gone against her fathers wish when she married the man that her father chose for her. She was married to Haji Ghani who was the village headman and he took her as his second wife. Even though she knew that Haji Ghani was married but just to obey her fathers wishes, she was ready to be the headmans second wife. The sense of obedience in Madhuris character really attracted me and I learnt to love my parents more after reading this novel. The second reason why I admire Madhuri is because she was very pretty and charming. She was introduced to the readers when Azreen recalled about her sisters beauty during her journey back to Malaysia from London. Madhuri was featured in many photos and in school concerts when she took the role of the beautiful Puteri Gunung Ledang. Madhuri was very graceful and elegant in her costume during the concert. Azreen herself admired her sisters beauty when she took part in the concert. All these prove Madhuri as a very beautiful and elegant daughter and I too admire her for that. The third and final reason why I admire Madhuris character is because she was a kind and thoughtful person. She was very kind to Fatihah, Haji Ghanis first wife when she wrote about her to Azreen. She even praised Fatihah and took her as Kak because she looked up to her as an elder sister. Each time when her father, Encik Saleh scolded or caned Azreen, Madhuri took it in a positive way that is, her father trying to educate her younger sister. I feel that Madhuri is always thinking positive to each and every incident that happens around her. This is what inspires me that is to think positively in my life in order to achieve success. Mentioned above are all the character traits why I admire Madhuri, the most beautiful lady in this novel. I wish I could be like her and be an obedient daughter to my parents.

Sample question for character Based on the novel you have read, write about a character whom you would choose to be your role model. Give reasons for your choice with close reference to the text.

1) Write about a life lesson that you learnt from the novel, The Curse.

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 Azreens 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 Ladys 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 bulls 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 Madhuris 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. From all the evidences above, Azreen had portrayed the value of courage very clearly, in this novel. As a student who will face many challenges in my life, I learnt to be

courageous and bold like Azreen from this novel. This aspect will help me to be a better person in my life.

Sample question for lesson learnt 1) Based on the novel you have read, write about ONE valuable lesson that you have learnt. Support your answer with close reference to the text.

Question: Based on the novel, do you think Azreens father portrayed good / positive character traits ? Support your answer with evidences from the text.

In the novel The Curse, the main character is Azreen. She has a father and his name is Encik Saleh. As for me, through out the novel, Encik Saleh portrayed negative traits even though the positive ones were hidden within him. Firstly, Encik Saleh is very hot-tempered. As a poor farmer in a remote village in Pulau Langkawi, Encik Saleh is a strong man as he had hard physique, huge fists and of course he is very hard-working man. He worked all the time on the farm to earn a living and his daughters always know him as a very hot-tempered man. We can see this when he ordered Azreen to take her mother home when she took her mother to the cemetery to visit Madhuris graveyard. Encik Saleh was very angry because Azreen took her sickly mother there I think he should have understood the situation and face the fact that both of the ladies came to pay respect to Madhuri. He should not shout at them because they are also sad about Madhuris death even though his wife doesnt know or realize the fact that Madhuri was dead. Here, I would strongly say that Encik Saleh portrayed the negative quality to the readers. Secondly, I see Encik Saleh as a very judgmental and biased person. He loves Madhuri as his eldest daughter because she is full of good qualities whereas he is always stern and angry towards Azreen. Actually, Encik Saleh often misjudges Azreen because he sees himself in her. This is because Azreen reminds him of himself who also used to be outspoken and hot-tempered when he was young and he still is the same until now. I always see that Encik Saleh punishes Azreen wrongly or too severely until he used to cane her even when she was small. All these prove that Encik Saleh is a very judgmental and biased person and of course I would not be like him. Finally, I also find Encik Saleh is too mean in his traditional ways by being strict to his children. The incident where he grabbed Azreen and led her out of Madhuris room in anger proves how strict he was towards Azreen. He even raised his fist to punch Azreen when she argued with him. But, to avoid punching her, he ordered Azreen to go to the dining room and attend to her mother. There was even a situation where Azreen and Encik Saleh ate their dinner in complete silence. All these proves that Encik Saleh is

too traditional and strict towards his children and I think this is not at all appropriate. Parents and children should discuss whatever problems that occur in their everyday lives. Based on all the evidences above, it is surely proven that Encik Saleh is all covered with negative values. I do believe he has some love and cares for his children but he was not able to show them .

Question: Based on the novel that you studied in Form 5, write on the value of Mothers 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 mothers love in this novel. Azreens mother is forever seen talking nonsense since her Alzheimers 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 fathers motorcycle hit the bull. Azreens 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 mothers love is when Madhuris 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 mothers 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 t heir own different ways.