The Oilfields Labourers

(Brunei)

Translated by Siti Badriyah biti Haji Md Yusuf Editor: Hajah Sharifah Khadijah Husien Alkaff

After Reading

Character Analysis

1. What role does Yazid play in the story? Is it major or minor?

Yazid, a derrick climber, played a major role in the short story entitled, “The Oilfields Labourers”. He
was the main character in the story who was one of the victims of the conflagrations of fire that turned
their village into dusts. He seemed so interesting about death after what happened to the old man who
got burned from the incident. The plot twist, which was an important part of the story, transpired from
his character.

2. Who does he interact with? Who is/are important to Yazid?

Yazid has a friend named Adam who offered his house so Yazid will have somewhere to stay after what
happened to the village where he resides. Jamal, a forty-nine-year old man who was also a derrick
climber just like Yazid, was the one who witnessed how the old man died from the incident. He was the
one who asked Yazid why he wanted to talk about death. There were tender moments during their
friendship when Yazid was comfortable regarding him as a father. Others are Ghani, Ibrahim, and
William which were his co-derrick climbers in the oilfields.

3. What possessions does Yazid have?

Nothing was left untouched by the flames in the village of Kampong Umbi where Yazid resides. He was
left with nothing after the incident.

4. What character is Yazid?

Yazid is a static character. The story started out as Yazid was looking for the remains of the houses that
were all turned into dusts. He got no place to go. He’s helpless. He wanted his skin to be burned by that
same fire that had destroyed his village. He was cursing the fate. There were recurring visions of the fire
and the dead body of the old man being washed. He talked a lot about death. Throughout the story,
Yazid was miserable. No other emotions were shown, but sadness, until the story ended. Events in the
story do not alter a static character’s outlook, personality, motivation, perception, habits, etc.

5. What words are used to describe Yazid?

 ‘Covered with coal dust his naked feet had turned black. He wanted to feel the fire that had razed his
village to the ground. He wanted his skin to be burned by that same fire that had destroyed his village…’
It was when he was looking for the stumps of all the houses after the fire had gone out. He cursed the
fate of his village. He was miserable.
 ‘In the bedroom, he laid sprawled on his front, with his face pushed under the pillow. Yazid covered
one ear, then the other.’ Yazid was uncomfortable that night at the house of his friend Adam.
 ‘‘He continued walking slowly and directed his gaze straight ahead… he was very careful with his
steps. Climbing with a pair of wet shoes could be disastrous.’ He had been troubled since he woke up
that morning but he went to his job as a derrick climber.
 ‘Yazid looked at the horizon that split the sea and the sky. In his heart, he still could not understand
why Jamal was so scared to face death.’ Yazid was confused about Jamal’s reaction towards death.

YAZID
ACTIONS DIALOGUES
‘In his imagination, he saw fire smouldering “Jamal, did you see the condition of the old man
 wildly outside, burning every grass and twig on the when he was dying last night?”
beach and rising to the top. “Death without having to suffer long illness.”
“Was he conscious yesterday?”
“Did he recall what he was leaving behind?”
“But people rarely die from a mild illness.”
The vision in his memory of the fire were slowly “Everyone has the right to choose on how he wants
disappearing from his mind. What he saw then was to die.” “Because death is necessary to sever
the dead body of the old man, being washed…and something.” “The oil in Seria is almost depleted.
in the distance he could see the tall derrick, and Just be prepared.
from its top, a falling object. His heart stopped
when the object hit the ground.’
“You look very high-spirited today Yazid!” “Perhaps his pain was far greater than that suffered
exclaimed Jamal from the top. The glaring light by those having normal illness.”
that bounced of Yazid’s helmet hit his eyes. Jamal “Me! Me? Oh please dear God, give me a more
quickly shifted his glance to the greenery nearby. peaceful death.”
“From a mild illness perhaps.”
“A more or less fatal illness.”
“How much longer do you think we will be
working here, as derrick climbers?”

ADAM
ACTIONS DIALOGUES
‘…Outside, he could hear Adam telling a friend “Are you searching for the stumps of your house?”
about the fire. Another story unfolded and they “Maybe you should leave this place.”
laughed hysterically.’ “Find a new place to build your home.”
“Where are you sleeping tonight?”
“Let’s go home. You need to take a shower and
remove all those worries.”

8. What desires and fears do the characters have?

 Yazid wanted to end something in his life but he was hesitant because he was thinking of the things
that will be left behind when he leaves.
 Jamal wanted to do his job well but there was no assurance about until when will they be able to work
in the oilfields as derrick climbers especially that there were already signs of the oils depleting.

9. From your details above, how do you find Yazid, Adam, Jamal, and William?
 Yazid was too caught up with a lot of struggles in his life and that he started to have a weird interest
about death and he had some visions of an object falling from of the derrick which could be an
indication of a serious mental stress.
 Adam was a friend to Yazid because he offered his house so that Yazid could sleep soundly after the
incident. But I think he lacks empathy towards the situation of Yazid because he was able to laugh
hysterically when they got home from the burned village.

10. It was not clear who fell. Who do you think fell? Was it intentional or accident?
There were some hints which led me to a thought that it was Yazid who fell from the derrick. I also
believe that he did that intentionally. The burned village, the image of the dead body of the old man,
who was critically ill when it died from the fire, occurring in his visions, a vision of a falling object from
the derrick, he remembered how his father died from suicide and his interest in talking about death, were
just some of the indications that he was not mentally healthy. When he was talking to Jamal, Jamal
asked him why he seemed so interesting to talk about death, and he replied, “Because death is
necessary…to sever something.” This implied that he wanted to end something, in which as the story
was near to its end, a life of someone also ended.
Setting

1. Does the description of the burnt village give you a vivid picture?
What words or descriptions help you picture out the place? I can clearly imagine how the houses are
being destroyed and how it turned the village into dusts. I can hear the cry of the victims and I can feel
their helplessness after the incident. ‘Kampong Umbi was on fire. Forty houses were burnt down. …
number of distraught old mothers remained, weeping and wishing they were dead. At nightfall the area
became still. The heat from the fire could still be felt and it made the stomach churned… nothing was
left untouched by the flames.

2. Go back to the text. Pick out the oilfield or derrick description. Given a chance, would you work
in this place? Support your answer.
Getting started in the oilfield is tough. Jobs in the oil and gas industry are highly sought after because it
can pay so well, and you don't necessarily need to go to school for years to make a decent living. But I
cannot see myself being in such a place away from my family. Most importantly, the surroundings in the
oilfields are often polluted which may pose serious health hazards.

The derrick’s shadow zigzagged on the patches of dried, yellowish grass and stretched out before them.’
‘The oilfield labourers began climbing the derrick. The higher they went the slower they got. Gradually
the labourers appeared smaller and blacker. From above, All Yazid could see were black and grey roofs
among the white tanks. His eyes hurt from the piercing glare of the sun. the black river flowed to the
sea. Oil pipelines crawled overlapping each other everywhere.’

3. Is the author good enough in making you understand the story place?
I am amaze as to how the plot of the story was created by the author. It brings you to the scene where the
story was set through the perspective of the characters. It was not the usual beginning-middle-end kind
of a story. It started with a catchy story opening and from there the story began to unfold backstories,
and the dialogues between the characters foreshadowed that there was an interesting twist at the end of
the story. This story was also a cliffhanger. From the beginning to end, it will make you think a lot

Culture

1. What cultures of Brunei are shown in the fiction?

 Brunei is a tiny, independent, oil-rich country in which much of Shell oil comes from offshore drilling
platforms in Brunei. The story depicts the life of the oilfield labourers.
 When Adam offered Yazid his house, Yazid seemed hesitant but in Brunei, turning down hospitality
may be viewed as personal rejection.

2. Are there any similarities with the Philippines?

We, Filipinos are known for our hospitality. We treat our guests in a warm, friendly, generous way. We
always put our best foot forward to make them feel comfortable in their stay at our homes