A Fighter's Lines - Understanding the meaning of the poem

About the poet

Marzuki Ali was born in 1945 in Terengganu, Malaysia. He was brought up in
Kemaman and later Sabah. He has been writing poems since the 1960's. His
poems mostly deal with issues regarding his hometown, environment and
patriotism. A lot of his poems have been published in the Utusan Malaysia, Berita
Minggu, Dewan Sastera and Dewan Budaya.
Synopsis of the poem.
The persona in the poem is an old soldier. He is tired as he is old and weak. He
and his people suffered in the past in their fight for freedom of their country and
they made many sacrifices. People lost their lives and some remain nameless or
unknown.
The persona, who believes that he will be in the wheelchair for the rest his life
says he can only watch the happenings around him. Physically, he is helpless
and he has no energy left. He was either seriously injured when he was a soldier
or is very ill. He finds that times have changed and being a crippled man, it is too
challenging for him to fight the injustice he sees around him. He is troubled by
many lies being told everywhere.
Being highly spirited, he calls on the younger generation to wake up and fight on.
They have to realise that they have to form lines or ranks irrespective of racial,
religious and social differences to fight courageously for justice. He wants the
young people who inherited the country's freedom to be united and denounce
lies which may threaten the country.
The persona feels helpless that he is not heard. He urges the younger generation
to fight or speak up for what is right because it is now their turn to do so.
The Setting.
The poem is set after indenpence. The persona feels that the independence he
has struggled for is now threatened by subversive elements.
Tone and mood.
In the first stanza, the tone indicates that the persona is sad and weary because
he is old and weak. The persona is also melancholic, reflecting on his past
sacrifices he made for the country's independence.
In the second stanza, the persona voices his helplessness, anger and contempt
because his country is facing threats.
The tone used in the third stanza is serious and demanding. The persona urges
the present generation to form a united front to uphold the freedom that he and
many others has fought for.

The persona ends by insisting that the younger generation continues to fight
against injustice because he can no longer do so.

Themes
1. Patriotism.
Patriotism is one of the themes of this poem. The people in this country have
made a lot of sacrifices to fight for their freedom. They have achieved
independence but now there are other threats such as deceit. This affects the
country's safety. The persona calls on the younger generation to fight for justice
and to speak up against deceit.
2. Being courageous.
Another theme is being courageous. In the past, people made many sacrifices
and fought bravely with the country's enemies for their freedom. Now, the
persona urges the younger generation to be brave and fight against other
threats in the country. He tells them to stand up and speak with courage.
3. Unity.
In the past, people were united when they fought for independence. Now, the
persona emphasises that the younger generation who has inherited a free
country should unite to preserve their freedom. They should stand united by
building a wall of people or forming ranks irrespective of racial, religious and
other social differences. The "lines" in the poem, A Fighter's Lines refer to the
persona's lines and the lines or ranks formed for unity. We have to be united and
strong as in the saying, "United we stand, divided we fall".
Values
1. We must be brave to uphold justice.The persona urges the younger generation
to stand up against the widespread lies which are rampant in society today. This
'net of deceit' worries his as it can destroy the solidarity of the people. Therefore,
he urges them to stand united and uphold justice to preserve the freedom and
safety of the country.
2. We must be willing to make sacrifices to preserve our independence.In the
fight for independence, the persona and other soldiers sacrificed and risked their
lives when they fought for independence. Now, he is wheelchair-bound because
he was either crippled in the war or is now old and sick. Now, he wants the
younger generation to make sacrifices too to preserve their freedom.
3. We must be united to preserve our freedom.The persona wants the younger
generation to stand united regardless of their differences to ensure their
freedom.