Online Task 4

1. Think of at least 3 benefits of using speeches by famous figures, in the classroom.

The benefits of using speeches by famous figures, in the classroom are:-

a.) The text are normally well prepared, free of grammatical errors and proofread many times before they are finalized. So these speech texts are suitable to be used in the classroom.
b.) The text are normally of persuasive speech. Therefore, if students read more of this type of speech, they can learn the techniques of persuasive speech and apply this particular skill in their real life.

c.) The text normally reflect higher level of critical thinking skills. Therefore, if such speeches are used in the classroom, it might sharpen the critical thinking skills of the students.

2. Go to www.youtube.com and find the audio-visual on the   speech. In not less than 50 words, state would the audio-visual be of any use in helping understand the speech better? State your reasons.

Yes. In my opinion the audio-visual is very useful in helping the students to understand the speech better.  By wacthing and listening to the speech that presented by a famous person, students will pay more attention and understand better on what the person is talking about.  By listening to the audio-visual, students will learn on how they can give a speech more effectively.  By using audio-visual, students will also learn to present a speech using the body language, gestures and also having eye contact with the audience. Students will be able to concentrate on  the tone of how the speech is given. Through audio-visual, students will get interested in the lesson as well as giving a different way of the teaching and learning process

3. Who is Martin Luther King?

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he has become a human rights icon.

4. Based on the questions below, analyse the features of the given written speech:

a. What is the purpose of the speech?

The purpose of the speech was to send the message to the American government and the white people to stop the racial discrimination and the social injustice on the African-Americans.

b. What is the tone of the speech?

The speech had dramatic emotional shifts in tone such as from enraged to cautionary to hopeful. Overall, the speech was eloquent, passionate, intellectual, persuasive and honest.

c. What interesting major feature(s) can you see from the speech? (i.e.Repetition of phrases, emphasis on certain things said etc)

The major feature in the speech is repetition of certain phrases and words. For examples :

 “be satisfied" - repeated five times

 “negro” - repeated fifteen times

“freedom” - repeated nineteen times

 “I have a dream” - repeated eight times

 “one hundred years later” - repeated four times

 “now is the time” -  repeated three times

“free at last!” - repeated three times

“be satisfied” - repeated five times

d. Any interesting facts that you can gather based on the 
     background of the speech?

I learned that many black people were marginalized and were denied of social justice and equal rights. Many of them were jobless and they were suffering from poverty at that time. They were fighting for their rights and tolerating this situation for more than a hundred years.

5. Suggest a while-reading activity that can be derived from this particular speech.

In a while reading activity, the audio - visual of the speech can be used as a listening text. students will have to listen and write out the main points of the speech based on the questions given.

Online Task 3

Nelson Mandela

High-spirited, enthusiastic, compassion and exuberant person

Someone that I admired

Someone that loves adventure, change and exploring new territory

Someone that heartily dislikes stinginess, small mindedness or pettiness

Someone that want to discover something new and makes life interesting for him

His perceptiveness and concern will always keep him in resident with others

Nelson Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela

Online Task 2

Do we have a canon for Malaysian literary works? Let's say we do, who do you think are in it? Consider the fact that their works are well-known and most importantly included as part of the school syllabus- (both in BM and English)

Kamaluddin Muhamad (Keris Mas)

Dato' Shahnon Ahmad

Datuk Dr. Usman Awang

Datuk A. Samad Said

Muhammad Dahlan bin Abdul Biang (Arena Wati)

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Haji Salleh

Datuk Noordin Hasan

Datuk Abdullah Hussain

S. Othman Kelantan

Dr. Anwar Ridhwan

Malay literature

Dato' Shahnon Ahmad - Gelungnya Terpokah (short story) for SPM level

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Haji Salleh - Anak Global (poem) for SPM level

English literature

Kamaluddin Muhamad (Keris Mas) - Jungle of Hope (novel) for SPM level (Form 5)

Datuk A. Samad Said - The Dead Crow (poem) for PMR level (Form 1)

The poems by Erica Jong raises some feminist issues. What are they?


Some feminist issues that were raised by Erica Jong in her poems are sex-positive issues, gender bias, gender difference, gender equality for women and women's rights and interests.

Do you think they are suitable to teach at the secondary school level? Explain.

No. The poems are not suitable to be taught at the secondary school level because most of her works are sexually explicit and it might have a negative effects in the young minds.

Is Hillary Tham's poem more suitable?

Yes. This is because Hilary Tham is a local Malaysian writer and most of her poems are based on our eastern culture and they can be taught at the secondary school level. The language use in her poems is simple and can be easily understood.

The short tale from the Native American group is about a girl who is unsatisfied with her life. How is this a universal experience? Can it teach our students anything?

It is normally said that no matter how much people get of something, they want more and more. Therefore it is a universal experience across all country, society, race and religion. We can use this story to teach our students to be grateful and be satisfied with the simple things they have.

From internet sources find out more about Langston Hughes.

Langston Hughes was an American author of the Harlem Renaissance, a flowering of African American culture in the Harlem community in New York City during the 1920s. Langston Hughes is best known for his poetry today, but he also wrote novels, short stories, plays, operas, two autobiographies, newspaper articles, and translations of literature into English. His poetry is often characterized as jazz poetry, as it mirrors the rhythms and quality of jazz music, another artistic form that flourished during the Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri on 1 February 1902. His parents, Carrie Langston Hughes and James Nathaniel Hughes, divorced when Langston was very young, and he spent the majority of his childhood at his grandmother's home in Lawrence, Kansas. When Langston Hughes was 13 years old, his grandmother died, and he moved in with family friends and later with his mother and stepfather in Lincoln, Illinois. Langston Hughes' family moved a lot in search of work, and he ended up attending high school in Cleveland, Ohio.

From your findings about his background, tell me about the dilemma he conveys through the poem CROSS.

This poem explores the deepest emotions and troubles of a young man born into a world of confusion. He is confused by his heritage but arrogant in his pride. He is growing up in the whirl of a white society, and cannot decide whether he is white or black. Hughes, using a black mother and white father, completely makes it easy for the reader to understand and almost foreshadow where this poem is going. It is evident that there is an inner sense of not belonging in this child. In line three through eight, it is clear that the child is sorry for all the pain he has brought on to his parents, unknowingly. He shows remorse for all the curses and bad wishes he said to his parents, now that they are dead. But this is all because of a bigger problem. Now that his parents are both dead, he has no one to turn to, to help him figure out what his is. He can’t seem to figure out whether he is going to die in riches or rags. This is the great dilemma Hughes presents to the reader and leaving the audience in query to this unanswerable question. He cannot seem to find any truth in himself whatsoever, this child is and forever will be lost in his own identity. Hughes uses this boy’s struggles symbolically, not to show the pressures of a “crossed” child but rather to show how we as a society stereotype the races. The white father dying in a fine house whereas the mother dies in a shack, depicts the common view of the white race as being a more upscale and richer society and the black culture oppressed in poverty and forever bound to the slums of the world.

I find "Dinner Guest: Me" laden with irony and sarcasm. Briefly state if you feel the same.

Yes. This poem is full of irony and sarcasm. Some of the irony and sarcasm are as follow:

Stanza 1, Line 1 & 2

I know I am

The Negro Problem

Stanza 1, Line 9, 10 & 11

Of darkness U.S.A.--

Wondering how things got this way

In current democratic night,

Stanza 1, Line 14

"I'm so ashamed of being white."

 

The experience in the poem Harlem is one that is true for many people. Do you agree?

Yes, I agreed. Langston Hughes was a Harlem renaissance poet. During the time he wrote the poem “Harlem (A dream deferred)” blacks faced prejudice and segregation. Their dream was to acquire equal rights in their constitutional right to peruse happiness. Langston Hughes asks if the dreams of the black community are ignored and suppressed, do they dry up like a raisin left in the sun? If you leave a sore untreated it will fester. Their dream was untreated and was simply abandoned and neglected. The blacks dreams of equality were seen as a nuisance like the smell and odor or rotting meat. They were a heavy load and burden to society and sagged like a heavy load. When finally all the emotions and optimistic dreams were waiting and waiting for the one spark to explode.

Online Task 1

Folktale

List some of the well-known folktales from Malaysia .

Paddy That Turns To Gold
Greed Does Not Pay
The Clever Servant
The Disobedient Boy
Unlucky Is Belang
The Cursed Princess
How Malacca Got Its Name
The Curse Of Batu Gajah

List some of the possible issues found in The Son of the Turtle Spirit

In the Chinese belief, some spirits are said to commit adultery with human men / women. This normally takes place during the seventh month of the Chinese calendar where it is believed that the gates of hell are opened during this period.

It is also known in the Chinese culture that some turtles has spirits which manifests at night and disappear at dawn before the sunrise.

The Chinese community may shift their ancestral / elders remains if the necessity arises. For example, they may shift their ancestral / elders remains upon the request of the dead one through their dreams or they may shift the remains if they find a more suitable place to bury it. The costs of shifting the remains are quite expensive not only in the story but also in the real life. The Chinese community has a strong belief system that the location of the burial ground is very important because it affects the wealth and the well-being of the deceased descendants. In this story, it is stated clearly in the 8th paragraph that “the sons and grandsons of anyone buried there would certainly rise to high honours.”

Fables

Are those issues universal in nature or are they only relevant in the Chinese culture?

It is  only relevant in the Chinese culture.  

What are the other morals that can be gotten from the other fables by Aesop? List at least two


The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs - Greed often overreaches itself

The Fox And The Grapes - It's easy to despise what you cannot have


Myths

One well-known literary figure from the Elizabethan age used Ovid’s Pyramus and Thisbe as a model to one of his famous plays. Who is he and what is the play?

He was a well known poet and he wrotes topics of love, abandoned women and also mythological transformations. The play is Pyramus and Thisbe.

Legends


List some of the popular legends we have in Malaysia


Sang Kancil and the Crocodiles
Sang Kancil Helps Kerbau
Bawang Putih Bawang Merah
Badang
Mat Jenin
Si Tanggang
 1. Who is Thomas Malory?

Sir Thomas Malory  was an Englist writer, the author or compiler of Le Mort   d’Arthur.


2. When was Le Mort d’Arthur written?


    Written in 1469

3. How many books/ parts are there in LMDA?

    8 books / 2 volumes


4. What is book 8 about?

The adventures of Tristram: his birth, coming of age and slaying of    Marhaus. King Mark's marriage to La Beale Iseult in Cornwall and Tristram's marriage to Iseult la Blanche Mains in Brittany. His rivalry with Palomides or the love of Iseult, and his friendship with Lamorak on the Isle of Servage.

5. Who were the two people who had an affair?

Lancelot and Guinevere

 6. Book 6 has a strong connection to a popular modern fiction which is now a 
    movie. What is the title of the popular modern fiction?

Lancelot and the Lord of the Distant Isles, or the "Book of Galehaut" Retold

7. State three well-known facts about King Arthur/ his time as a King

 1) Arthur was the son of Uther and Igraine 
2) Arthur was raised by Ector, who had a son named Kay 
3) Arthur was ignorant of his birthright as he grew up
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Think of 2 ways in which you can use folktales/fables/myths or legends in the classroom. Explain briefly.

Teachers can play their roles by using folktales/fables/myths or legends in their lesson. It will make teaching become more interesting. Teachers can be story teller for student and for sure students like that way because they love to hear it instead of reading it from books.

Folktales/fables/myths or legends can be used as a research theme, a topic for writing and discussion, an art or drama project as well as just letting the story be a great tale. The important point, I think, in using folk tales in the classroom, is that by involving the students in the use of all senses in the exploration of the story, they not only gain a deeper understanding of the story, they also gain a deeper understanding of themselves and the world in which they live.

Some other activities are as follow :

1.  Simplify the language used in the story. 
2.  Turn the story into dialogue form.
3. Brainstorm on the important issues found in the folktales/fables/myths or legends.
4. Using role-play and simulation in the classroom. The best example is the mock trial.
5. Rewrite alternative endings for the folktales/fables/myths or legends.
6.  Write their opinions about the characters and the story.
7. Carrying out drama activities based on the folktales/fables/myths or legends in the classroom.
8. Reading comprehension.
9. Identification of plot, characters, themes, point of view, settings, symbols, metaphors, tone, style, irony and etc.
10. Sequencing activities such as unscrambling the events, filling in the missing events or charting the development of the plot.
11. Paraphrasing or retelling of the story such as gap filling exercises, summary writing and story telling sessions where students take turns to narrate the story until it is completed.
12. Predicting the events in the story.
13. Linking / perceiving relationships such as identifying the cause-effect relationship of characters and events in the plot.
14. Analysing conflict in characters.
15. Responding to characters in texts.
16. Insight into characters in literary texts. Examples of activities are matching characters and traits, inferring characters’ traits, perceiving characters and analysing character relationships.
17. Using extrinsic visual support to teach folktales/fables/myths or legends in the classroom. Examples of extrinsic visual support are illustrations and pictures, maps, photographs (including slides), objects, video recordings and so on.

These activities can be carried out either individually or in group.

The Necklace

Based on the short story ‘ The Necklace ’ written by Guy de Maupassant , the male character that I like is Monsieur Loiser.

I like Monsieur Loiser because he is a resourceful man. When his wife asks for a piece of exclusive jewellery, he thinks of a solution to replace the dear jewellery with natural flowers. He is a quick-thinker in handling the problem.

Apart from that, Monsieur Loiser is also willing to sacrifice for the sake of his wife. He is willing to give up his own pleasure to satisfy his wife. He tolerates with his wife’s whims and wants. He gives the money which he had saved to buy himself a gun to his wife so that she could buy herself a gown for the ball.

Furthermore, the patient characteristic of Monsieur Loiser makes me admire him the most. He treats his wife patiently thought sometimes Mathilde asks for things that he could not afford. Besides, when Mathide is dancing gracefully and enjoying in the ball, Monsieur Loisel waits for his wife patiently in the anteroom with three other gentlemen.

In a nutshell, Monsieur Loisel is a resourceful, willing to sacrifice and patient person. His good characteristics attract my interest to read the short story til the end.

Seven Basic Rules for How NOT to Read a Poem

When we hear the words poetry, we often feel that learning poetry is difficult. But actually if we take it easy and try to enjoy learning poetry it will be something interesting. While doing one of my assingment, I came across this seven basic rules for how not to read a poem. I found it to be interesting and would like to share it. I also try to practic it in order to make me interested and happy to learn poetry myself.... And I found that it works!

The Seven Basic Rules are :

1. DO NOT try to unpack the meaning of a poem
Poems are not elaborate, literary puzzles. No matter what some English teachers may have  told you over the years, there are no prizes for being able to “decipher” what a poet is really saying. Poems are born in feelings. Poetry uses compressed and loaded language not primarily to convey meaning but to convey feeling. Meaning in poetry is always secondary.

2. DO NOT think you need to be a trained English Major to read a poem
Poems are one of the first literary forms we enjoy. Mother Goose and Dr. Seuss delight because they are fun to hear and fun to say. Language play is one of our first loves. It can also be one of our last.

3. DO NOT read a poem only once
Most poems benefit from being read twice. If one of those times it is read out loud, so much the better

4. DO NOT read only a single poem
A poem does not exist in isolation. The best way to read a poem is to read it within the context of a volume of poetry. Each poem you read by a poet helps you to read the next poem by the same poet.

5. DO NOT be intimidated by a poem
Poetry cannot be intimidating for the simple reason that poets have issues: depression, anxiety, insecurity…. Poetry like all art is born in suffering. Read just about any poet’s biography and you will quickly realize that the person who wrote even the most dense poem is too anxiety-ridden to be the least bit intimidating. Chances are if you met your favorite poet, the experience would be completely underwhelming. If the creator is not intimidating, how can their creation really be all that intimidating.

6. DO NOT keep a poem to yourself
When you find a poem you like, share it with another. Better yet, buy a volume of poetry with that favorite poem in it and give it to another as a gift. A favorite poem is one of the greatest gifts you can give to another.

7. DO NOT avoid buying books of poems
The more poetry books you buy, the more you will read. The more poetry books you read, the more comfortable and enjoyable poetry will be for you.

The House Of Six Doors

Synopsis : Mama takes thirteen-year-old Serena and her sister to the US in search of fortune, leaving behind their multicultural family, stability, and the colors of the Caribbean. After driving from Miami to Hollywood, their money and luck run out and a 1963 Ford Galaxie becomes their first American home. Guided by the memory of her native Curaçao and the words of her wise grandmother, Serena confronts unimagined challenges and grows up quickly. What gifts will this new country bring, and at what price?


My thoughts: I cannot even imagine what it must be like to move from such simple surroundings such as those described into the hustle and bustle of Hollywood. To go from a place where you have a nice life and lots of friends and family to being isolated and homeless. I especially cannot imagine what this must feel like when it not of your own choice.


Serena is plucked from her happy life at home to a faraway place where she experiences chaos and confusion. For reasons I have yet to discover, Serena’s mother chooses to leave her family and move to the United States to pursue a better life. She is convinced she’ll be able to find a job as a nurse without any trouble whatsoever. Once in Miami she discovers that her nursing license is only good in California and that it has expired. Without much of a plan they purchase a car and hit the road headed for a better life in California.


I can tell you that if you like novels with a multi cultural aspect you might like this one. It also contains a lot of “old world” wisdom from Oma that might appeal to some readers.

The Value Of Tales & How It Can Be Cooperated In The Language Classroom

Tales are stories that being told to students that really give pleasure to them. Tales normally did not burden the students’ mind because the way the tales were written is much more relax than other academic stuff.

Normally, tales contain a lot of moral values. These moral values were important in order to educate the readers about something good to be done in life. It educates readers through the experience being told in the tales. Tales can make the readers to think about the characters in tales and choose to follow the characters or not. If the tales gives positive moral value, it will somehow help the readers to try to follow the good things from tales. It happened otherwise for those who know about the negative characters which tend to criticize and hate the negative characters. It helps readers to expose more with moral values that can be learn through tales.

Besides, tales can prevent students from doing such negative things in life like what had they learn in tales.

From my opinion, tales can be cooperated in language classroom by adding more tales in English syllabus. I do not think this kind of additional can increase the students’ burden. It was really helpful for them to learn tales in order to gain some lesson from it.

Besides, teachers can play their roles by using tales in their lesson. It will make teaching become more interesting. Teachers also can be story teller for student and for sure students like that way because they love to hear it instead of reading it from books.

Teacher also can make tales as reading texts in class. It is important to use it as reading texts because it much more exciting to read.

School also can play their roles by making some competition about tales. School can be the promoter for tales. School can create the culture to love tales or at least be familiar with tales. Good kind of rewards for winners will create better atmosphere for students to participate.

Teaching Idea

I feel teaching should be done in a creative way. Studying can never be boring if it is taught in a playful manner. One must understand that while introducing a new concept to children, some could have a hard time grasping it. These new concepts can be simplified by relating them with things that we do in our everyday life. Through role play a child can identify with the concept by being part of the making of that concept.

Here I will like to share a teaching idea that I obtain for the net. I had tried it out with my pupils and I found it interesting and meaningful to my pupils. They enjoyed the lesson and are able to understand well.

I introduced the concept of conjunctions to my pupils through an interesting activity that I had learned. I informed my pupils that conjunctions are words which join two sentences together. I divided my class into groups of three. One pupil had to make a sentence, the next pupil had to add on an entirely new sentence and the last pupil had to use a conjunction to combine the two sentences. The pupil who represents a conjunction has to join hands with the pupils representing the sentences by standing between them. While the other two stand on either side of him in a single chain.

Through this activity pupils had fun learning in a very enjoyable way. Try this idea with your pupils and look at their feedback. You will find that teaching is easy and fun.

A Ghost Story - "A Rose For Emily" by William Faulkner

I really like “A Rose for Emily” so I’m going to post again. After reading the story again and again,  and last night I started thinking of this story as a southern ghost story, given all of its eerie qualities and its focal position in the past. I think that the story is utterly haunted; reappearing words like “once been” emphasize the importance of the past from the very beginning to the end of this story which circulates in a sporadic time frame around a funeral and death. If we look in to the characters names, as we always do with Faulkner, we will notice that Emily’s last name, Grierson, almost contains the word eerie. Mentions of shadows, dust, and “a close, dank smell” are suggestive of life after death or an open coffin. Emily is described as submerged, perhaps like a ghost that lingers on earth unable to enter heaven. This could be one way I would support that the conflict of God and Satan, as I mentioned in my previous post, is present here because Emily is so much like a ghost trapped between these realms. One example of her being stuck in the middle is that she knows and is taught that every woman must marry yet she is unable to do so because her father denies her this opportunity.

I think all of the allusions to death and the afterlife have one very important objective here. Perhaps Faulkner, in his attempt to tell a story about the human experience, is demonstrating the inevitability of Miss Emily’s fate. She is predestined to be lonely, has been submerged by her father her whole life, and remains steadfast in her traditional ways, which no longer are valid in present Jefferson (exemplified by her refusal to pay taxes).

Faulkner wants us to recognize that Miss Emily is different and unusual. He describes her as “what would have been merely plumpness in another was obesity in her.” We have to interpret this as Faulkners way of alluding to the uniqueness of Miss Emily’s existence. I believe this uniqueness forces the reader to relate Miss Emily to that of a ghost.

In every way Emily is a ghost. This story is of that ghost, that stranger, whose would have never been told nor know. Moreover, it’s as if the story itself is a ghost, one that is “on a paper of archaic shape, in a thin, flowing calligraphy in faded ink,” at least I could have imagined it to be. In telling it, Faulkner is demonstrating his respect and offering tribute to Miss Emily’s experience. I think it symbolizes something quite simple actually, I think it’s like Faulkner communicating to this character via letter and on that letter it says,


Here is a rose for you Emily.
Love,
Faulkner.

Interesting right.

Try reading "A Rose For Emily" again as a ghost story, seeing how that changes things.

Have fun reading....

Local Twist To Shakespeare

The Star, Sunday 30 January 2011 stated that a school is showcasing its adaptation of old English plays with the objective of promoting an appreciation of literature. This news interest me where I as a TESL student will have to put myself interested in it in order to get my students to do so.

We know that literature was initially read and valued only by those enthusiasts and elites who excel in the areas of arts and language studies has gradually paved its way to become a more dynamic resource in other areas such as in second or foreign language teaching and learning, Mathematic and Geography to name a few. In the case of second and foreign language teaching and learning, for example, literature has been widely accepted as motivating materials, an access to other cultural background, a resource for language acquisitions and a medium to expand learners’ language awareness. At the same time, literature has also gained reputation to have a wider educational function that may trigger critical abilities increase emotional awareness that would assist in educating a person as a whole ( Lazar, 1999 ).

In relations to this, students from Ipoh International School’s (IIS) A-Level programme are on a mission: to share their love for Shakespeare with others. The 52 members of the school’s Shakespearean Theatre Club have been visiting schools around Ipoh, Perak to showcase their adaptation of Shakespearean plays, including Macbeth, The Tempest and Julius Caesar. This is a very good programmed to me where it can help to reawaken interest in the classics and to promote an appreciation of literature in English.

So why wait! Give them a call and help your students to get interested in Shakespearean text that had been remolded into a modern context language.  

7 Must-Read Malaysian Books

Conventional wisdom says that we Malaysians do not read.  I do agreed with it. It is just so difficult to get our kids to read. Oopps.... Not just our kids but even to said ourselves. But why not go further? Dive head first into the world of letters with our guide to must-read Malaysian literature! Here are the seven Malaysian literature that one must read.

Sajak-sajak Saleh: Poems Sacred and Profane
Salleh Ben Joned 

The cartoonist Lat famously remarked that meeting quirky poet, Salleh Ben Joned, was "like meeting Hang Jebat on his day off". Ever a black sheep, Salleh never gained a place among Malay-language literary circles, possibly because he was staunchly bilingual. This collection of poetry, now in its third edition, is serious, funny, and scatological - sometimes all three at once!

I Am Muslim
Dina Zaman 

This collection of essays was drawn from column veteran Dina Zaman's old space in Malaysiakini. As the title suggests, it is about Malaysian Muslims - specifically, it dwells in the left-of-centre, middle-class, Muslim women's sphere of experience. That alone makes it a worthy read. Dina Zaman is a riveting storyteller: watch out for "Doubling Gods", an account of her visiting a master bomoh.

Sejarah Melayu
Tun Sri Lanang 

If the classical Malay is too heavy-going for you, try C C Brown or John Leyden's translations. Both are adequate - although academics will quibble over the details - and allow you entry into an epic tale of supernatural swashbuckling, that begins with Alexander the Great and ends with the arrival those insidious, fair-skinned Feringgi: the Portuguese.

Where Monsoons Meet: A People's History of Malaya
Musimgrafik 

This comic-book history of Malaya was conceived and written by members of FUEMSSO (Federation of United Kingdom & Eire Malaysian & Singaporean Student Organizations), back in 1979, in the heydays of student activism and grandiloquent acronyms. Designed to help "young citizens to comprehend the issues ... that led to the formation of the Malaysian union", it is wry, progressive, and passionate, touching on areas - like communism and the Malayan Left - that history books today still fear to tread. And it's snarky. Sejarah is rarely this fun.

Kathakali
Uthaya Sankar SB 

The volume of 16 short stories for young adults is merely the latest in the long bibliography of the prolific, self-aggrandising Uthaya Sankar. He writes fiction exclusively in Bahasa - and, being ethnically Indian, that's weird for some people. In the 1990s, for example, Uthaya's insistence that the Malay language be known as an inclusive "Bahasa Malaysia" led to tussles with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. He's an excellent tale-weaver; Amir Muhammad ranks him "among the finest writers in this country" .

Tangerin & Nikotin
Mimi Morticia 

This diminutive pocketbook of poetry comes to us courtesy of Sang Freud Press, a small publishing house that - along with several others - is pioneering a new, urban Malay-language idiom: uninhibited (whether in terms of subject matter or linguistic convention), syncretic (it borrows from English liberally), surreal and mischievous. Mimi Morticia's debut is all these things (Also try Sufian Abas's Kasut Biru Rubina).

Rojak
Amir Muhammad 

Amir Muhammad is one of the most interesting figures in Malaysian literature: a filmmaker, columnist, artist, publisher - it goes on. His latest fiction endeavour is the fruit of Amir's exploration of the British Council Malaysia's City of Shared Stories KL web project: it allows anyone to write a short story (1,600 characters or less) and affix this tale, via virtual pin, to anyway on a map of the Klang Valley. This collection of stories varies dramatically in terms of form and tone, and never feels repetitive or quotidian.

Hope that by reading this post, we will get one of this books and start reading.

Try reading it. It trully will be interesting!

" Potato People"

There are many lesson that can be learned from the novel, Potato People. Perhaps the most important is that we should never give up hope.

Patrick Flynne was a young orphan in Ireland during the time of great famine. He had to fend for himself. All around him were people suffering from the effects of the famine. Some of this people were nasty and took advantage of weaker people, but others were good. Patrick, like many other people, ate whatever he could find. Once he had to eat the rotten meat of a dead dog. Patrick saw his home in his village destroyed and burn down. He saw his best friend, Sean, being arrested. He dream of escaping to Amerika. We should never give up hope and must strive for a better life.

I have enjoyed reading the novel, ‘Potato People’. The story is interesting, and it has an important message. The story tells about the food famines during the Irish potato blight in 1840s. Its message is that we must control our destiny and work hard towards achieving a better life, like Patrick and Marie. They persevered and never gave up hope for a better life. In the end they settle down in California and became cattle ranchers. I am inspired by the story of their success.

The story is interesting and tells about the food famines during the Irish potato blight in 1840s. Many Irish wanted to migrate to the new world. Its message for it readers is that we must work hard towards achieving a better life, like Patrick and Marie. In the end, they settled down in California and became cattle ranchers. I am inspired by the story of their determination and success.

Potato People highlights the message of love. Sean showed his love for Patrick by turning up with the money for the ship tickets after having gone to great lengths to obtain the money. Patrick and Marie struggle together in a new country. Love blossomed between them for they shared difficult as well as happy times. Patrick showed his love for the poor and hungry when he welcomed them at his home in California. These characters portray the value of selfless love.

The character in ‘Potato People’ who is brave is Patrick. He showed a great courage by leaving Ireland for a new life in Amerika. Life was full of hardship. He endured the struggle and even joined the Union Army to fight against slavery. His courage paid off when he was promoted to the rank of Captain and had the respect of the people. After the war, he travelled a lot, experiences many dangers and finally, settled down in California.

Patrick and Marie show perseverance and determination to achieve a better life in America. Life in the new country was tough. Often, they had to go hungry. However, they persevered for they never gave up hope for a better future. After so much hardship, they settled down in California. Patrick married Marie and became a wealthy cattle rancher.

I have learnt an important lesson from ‘Potato People’. It is the effort taken in working towards a better future. During their early years in America, Patrick and Marie had to endure many years of hardship. However, the hope or a better life in a new country made them persevere. Their perseverance paid off for life become much better many years later. I have learnt that if one is determined to struggle, one can achieve one’s dreams for a better future.

The character I like most in ‘Potato People’ is Marie. She is intelligent, cheerful and determined. She remained cheerful despite the widespread hunger an uncertainty. Her intelligence save her and Patrick when she stopped him from revealing their identity to the soldiers. In New York, she was determined to make a better life for herself. Her struggle finally paid off when she married Patrick and they both settled down in California.

I like the character Sean. I think that he was very loyal to his village and he love the people very much. Although he stole from Mr Greystone, he did it because he felt that Mr Greystone was greedy and unfair by burning the village down. The money that he stole, he gave to Patrick and Marie so that they could go to America to lead a better life, a live that he could not live. He was punished for stealing the money, but he did it because he could not bear injustice.

The novel ‘Potato People’ has the message of loyalty for its readers. Sean and Patrick were loyal in their friendship with one another. Sean did not reveal the identity of Patrick and Marie to the soldiers. This was to save their lives. When Patrick saw Sean being led away in chains, he wanted to approach Sean, showing his loyalty. Fortunately, Marie saved his life by stopping him from doing so. Like them, we too, must be loyal to our friends.

The novel ‘Potato People’ brings attention to the value of love. Sean showed his love for Patrick by turning up with the money for the ship fare. Patrick and Marie struggled in the new country, sharing the hope for a better future. Love blossomed between them as they shared their hardships with one another. Patrick showed his love for the poor and hungry when he welcomed them at his ranch in California.

The title ‘Potato People’ is relevant to the novel. The story is about the ‘potato blight’ in Ireland in the 1840’s. the people who were victims of this famine were called the ‘Potato People’. They fed on whatever they could find, even decayed meat of dead animals. These people, like Patrick and Marie, saw emigration to the New World as an escape from the starvation and national chaos.

In the novel ‘Potato People’ I especially find the incident in the chapter ‘The Feast’ somewhat intriguing. When Patrick following Marie into the house full of food on the table, it seemed like they had wandered into a dream. This experience was somewhat exciting, yet was dangerous. Had they been caught, the story would have surely ended differently. Strangely, they found humour in narrowly escaping danger. This was both exciting and thrilling to me. It has taught me to strive hard to achieve my dreams.