THE CURSE -CHARACTERS

AZREEN

Main character of the novel. Studies in England. Happy to be away from her village. Did not have good relationship with her parents especially her father due to her defiant behaviour and tomboyish outlook. An outspoken and independent girl. Envious of her adopted sister, Madhuri. A helpful friend especially when she claimed responsibility for letting the bull run loose in order to save Mohd. Asraf's skin. Caring for her sick mother and Old Lady. Intelligent as she managed to further her studies in the United Kingdom.

 

MADHURI

A beautiful and polite lady. A submissive wife and daughter. Religious and good at reciting Quranic verses. Conservative compared to her sister, Azreen. Protective of her sister when they were young. A polite and caring daughter. Concerned about her sick mother.

 

MOHD. ASRAF

A dedicated and popular teacher in a local school on the island. Independent since young. Good friends with Azreen while they were in school together. A caring grandson who is concerned about his grandmother's well-being. Loves Madhuri and wanted to take her with him to Kuala Lumpur.

 

SALEH ABDULLAH

Madhuri and Azreen's father. Active and strong for his age. A stern father to Azreen since when she was young. Not on good terms with Azreen since the motorcycle accident which paralysed Azreen's mother. A manipulative father who let Madhuri become Haji Ghani's second wife in order to protect his interests. An egoistic person who could not accept Madhuri's love affair with Mohd. Asraf and in the end killed Madhuri in a fit of anger at the rubber plantation.

 

HAJI GHANI

The village headman who fell for Madhuri and took her as his second wife. Neglects his first wife, Fathihah in the process. An influential man on the island. Hides the cause of his wife's death in order to protect his reputation. Knows of Madhuri's affair with Mohd. Asraf. A religious man.

 

SITI

An obedient daughter of Pn. Kamsiah. She helps Mohd. Asraf to look after his grandmother while he looks for the medicinal plants. She is also a responsible girl as she warns Azreen about the mob that is lead by Mohd. Asraf to the Old Lady's house. She is gullible as she likes to ponder over the gossips and rumours told by Normala, the village gossip.

 

PUAN NORMALA

The rumour monger of the village and her topic of interest is on Madhuri and how she died. She is sneaky and malicious when she coaxed Mohd. Asraf to confront the Old Lady, accusing her as the reason why his grandmother's health deteriorates and she finally dies. She is also superstitious when she blamed the Old Lady's visit to Mohd. Asraf's house as the reason for the continuous rain.

 

THE OLD LADY

An educated woman as she has knowledge of herbal medicine to treat illnesses. Her house is always neat and situated by the hillside. She is a caring and concerned woman as she takes Azreen in and gives her food and shelter whenever she has fights and problems. She is also a resourceful person and she is a good cook and her recipes and secret ingredients are very much sought after.

 

DATIN SHARIFAH AND DATUK ZULKIFLI

Azreen's rich foster parents whom she stayed with for two months foster programme. Datuk and Datin helped her financially in her studies in the UK. Even though she only stayed with them for a short period of time, she still maintains a good relationship with them. Even though they are foster parents, they treat Azreen as their own child. Azreen calls her Mak Cik which signifies their close relationship.

 

BOMOH

The Bomoh is the person whom the villagers seek for traditional cure. It is through the Bomoh that the mysterious happenings that took place in the village are uncovered. The truth behind the death of Madhuri and the status of Azreen are also finally revealed by him.

FATIHAH

She is Haji Ghani's first wife and appears to adore Madhuri. However, she secretly hold grudges against her husband's young wife. She feels that her husband favours the young wife more than herself. She tries her best to win her husband's heart after the death of Madhuri

 

 

THE CURSE-CHAPTER 12

Azreen visits her family's graves. She leaves a flower on each grave and leaves quietly. She leaves a flower at the hillside where the Old Lady was buried, too. As Azreen leaves, she sees a smiling figure which resembles Madhuri's smiles.

THE CURSE-CHAPTER 11

 

Azreen delves on the bomoh's words that Madhuri was not her real sister. She encounters a shadow of a woman from behind the wooden fence again that directs her to a woodpile a few feet away behind her house. Azreen and her father walk towards the woodpile and see a "parang" that Saleh used to chop wood. There is white and sticky stain at the edge of the parang. Azreen immediately recalls Normala's words "She had white blood" and she stares at her father in disbelief. Saleh recalls how fond was he with Madhuri and how he found her as a baby at the paddy field. He stumbles upon Madhuri and Mohd Asraf together at the rubber plantation. In his fury, he kills Madhuri and her body knocks over the latex-filled container. Upon hearing this revelation, Azreen runs away from her father.

Saleh suffers a heart attack and dies. Meanwhile in the village, a rumour spreads like a wildfire that a woman who looks suspiciously like his dead daughter had been wandering about at the time of his death.

THE CURSE-CHAPTER 10

Azreen awakes to a flurry of knocks on her door. She finds out that Nek has passed away and Mohd Asraf is heading towards Nek's house with a few men for revenge. Azreen tries to stop him and in a struggle, stabs him at the foot with a spade. The torch that he was holding fell onto the wall of the house and soon the house was on fire. Azreen finds Nek, barely alive lying beside the stove and she advises Azreen to learn to forgive before it is too late. Azreen's father saves her before the whole house crumbles.

Mohd Asraf confesses to Azreen that he loves Madhuri and they were planning to abscond from the island when he was offered a teaching course in Kuala Lumpur. Madhuri wanted to confess to her husband, parents and Azreeb about her affair with Mohd. Asraf. However, Madhuri was found dead at a rubber plantation. Azreen then meets Awang, the bomoh, who tells her that Madhuri was not her real sister. Awang also confesses that he was the one who left the gate open that led to the motorcycle accident that paralysed her mother. Awang also confirms that he had seen Madhuri and Mohd Asraf together several times in the rubber estate. The chapter ends with Haji Ghani, the headman thinking about his young wife meeting her lover on that fateful day when she was killed.

THE CURSE-CHAPTER 9

 

Siti keeps an eye on Mohd. Asraf's grandmother (Nek) while he goes out to get her medicine. Pn. Kamsiah and Normala are curious at the Old Lady's presence at Mohd. Asraf's house.

The Old Lady tries to cure Nek. Azreen is puzzled to discover a university prospectus that reveals Mohd. Asraf's intention to pursue his studies in Kuala Lumpur. When Azreen returns home, she sees the bomoh scampering behind the bushes. As she confronts the bomoh, he informs her about the mob incident at Mohd. Asraf's house.

She immediately runs to Asraf's house. Normala blames Azreen for bringing the Old Lady to Mohd. Asraf's house and causing heavy downpour to hit the village. An argument starts and Azreen's father intervenes to stop the commotion. Meanwhile, Nek is beginning to recover and Mohd. Asraf is extremely relieved. They thank the Old Lady for bravely coming over to cure Nek and the rain finally stops.

THE CURSE –CHAPTER 8

 

Azreen's mother dies. Meanwhile, Mohd. Asraf continues to worry over his sickly grandmother. Mohd Asraf goes to the market to look for medicinal plants for his grandmother but fails to find any. In desperation, he goes to the Old Lady's house for help. The Old Lady hesitates at first but after much persuasion from Azreen and Mohd. Asraf, she finally agrees to go over to Mohd Asraf's house to help his grandmother.

THE CURSE-CHAPTER 7

Asraf is concerned about his grandmother's deteriorating health. At the same time, Hj. Ghani, mourns at Madhuri's tombstone. While deep in thoughts, he almost saw someone, a woman in a flowing white dress, strolling past the trees. At home, Azreen's father reprimanded her for not latching up the chicken coop. A chicken carcass, with its neck broken, lies on the bottom step of the coop. The next morning, Azreen reads Julian's letter about the examination week in college. Then, she reads Madhuri's letter of her marriage and relationship with Kak Fatihah (Haji Ghani's first wife). The letter also hints that Madhuri has a secret to be revealed to Azreen when she returns home for her holidays.

THE CURSE –CHAPTER 6

 

The Old Lady relates to Azreen that she saw Madhuri's lifeless body and the wound on her. She suggests that Madhuri's murder was covered up as investigation into her death would reveal more secrets. Puan Fatihah, the village headman's wife recalls how her life changed forever when her husband, Haji Ghani, became attracted to Madhuri.

Azreen recaps how Madhuri tried to defend her from her father's wrath for stealing mangosteen and the good times she spent with Madhuri. In a flashback, Azreen admitted her folly for letting the bull go in order to save Asraf from Encik Mohan and his son's wrath. The escaped bull knocked into the motorcycle that her parents were on and caused her mother to be paralysed. The Old Lady reveals her past life with her abusive husband who drove her to kill him in self-defence. She made herself a home in a deserted house in the jungle.

THE CURSE-CHAPTER 5

Azreen meets Asraf. She enquires about Madhuri's death but is only given vague details of the incident. Normala, the rumour monger, spreads rumours about what had happened to Madhuri. Awang, the bomoh, makes an appearance as he dreams that a disaster is about to hit the village soon. Awang recalls the incident when he stole a chicken at Encik Mohan's farm causing a bull to escape. Asraf was blamed for the fiasco but Azreen bravely took the blame on his behalf. Back to the present, Azreen looks for the Old Lady in the jungle to catch up on old times. The Old Lady discloses that Madhuri was murdered.

THE CURSE -CHAPTER 4

Azreen reaches home but is unable to see her sister,Madhuri's body as it has already been taken away for burial. Meanwhile, there is an air of mystery over Madhuri's death. Village gossip, Normala keeps insisting that she saw Madhuri's blood being white in colour. Azreen takes her mother to the burial ground.There she sees her father, Saleh Abdullah and Madhuri's husband, Haji Ghani. Her father gets angry at her for bringing her mother there. Walking back from the cemetery, she meets her old friend and classmate, Mohd. Asraf. They exchange greetings and Azreen is upset whenever she sees him as she knows he likes Madhuri more than her.Back in her living room, Fatihah, haji Ghani's first wife tears up the curtains Madhuri had put up in their house with keris. She is angry with Madhuri for dominating her home and ruining her peaceful married life with her husband.

CHOIR...DEAR CHOIR

It has been a very tiring week for everyone, I guess. We had "inter-sports house" sports events for 3 consecutive days. Right after recess, the choir team had their training right until 4.30 p.m. I admire their perserverence, no matter how tired they were, when it comes to singing, they tried to do their best. Yesterday we had a rehearsal in Persada Johor. It went well,perhaps because the organiser had not prepared the hall yet...so the team managed to overcome their stage fright. I let them to familiarize themselves with the stage, making themselves comfortable. Today is the day, for the first time our team is invited to perform in a grand event. I prayed hard that they could perform all the songs really well.

HOLIDAY HOMEWORK FOR MY DEAREST FORM 5 STUDENTS (2011)

Salam and greetings everyone. As promised, your teacher is here to give you homeworks for your Chinese New Year holiday. I know you must be bored to death, so I have something to keep you occupied, ya!

Since all of you have finished reading the novel, we'll discuss....characteristics. What you need to do is to find the evidence from the text, based on the characteristics of the characters.

CHARACTER	CHARACTERISTICS	EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT (state the page number)
Azreen	A student at a London university
	Four years younger than her older sister
	20 years old
	Bespectacled
	Speaks her mind, fiery tempered, stubborn, close to her sister, Madhuri
	Can be defiant when she chooses to
	Filial daughter to her parents
	Kind and accepting of others (i.e Old Lady)
	Loyal and protective (over Asraf)

The Curse- Chapter 3

Azreen is greeted by her uncle, Datuk Zulkifli and his wife, Datin Sharifah at the airport. They are her adopted parents. They try not to talk about Madhuri's death. They take her home.
Back home, Azreen listens to rumours about Madhuri's death, spread by the village gossip, Normala. She spreads the news that Madhuri was murdered. She keeps on saying that she saw Madhuri's body before it was taken away. She saw that the blood was white in colour, which is a bad omen. She believes that they have all been 'cursed'.

The Curse -Chapter 2

When Azreen is on the plane, she recalls her childhood days with her sister, Madhuri. Madhuri was well-liked, prettier than Azreen. She was four years older than her and had been a filial daughter to her parents. On the contrary, Azreen is short, bespectacled, fiery-minded and always speaks her mind. She does not like to be compared to her sister, and rather envious of her sister's popularity. As blood is thicker than water, she also remembers the happier moments spent with Madhuri when they cycled past the paddy field and picked rambutans and fallen durians from the fruit plantations.

The Curse, Chapter 1

Azreen Saleh who is studying in London receives the news that her sister, Madhuri has died. She leaves quietly, without telling her friends. On the way to the subway station, she meets her classmate, Julian Ng. She tells him the reason of her return to Malaysia. She is reluctant to elaborate further. He tells her that he might visit her when he goes back to Malaysia.

New Novel -The Curse (Form 5)

Salam and hello everyone. It has been quite a while since I last dropped a few words in my blog. Due to this very short break, I would like to use this opportunity to disseminate some useful notes to help you understand the novel you are studying this year.

It took me a while to read the novel, and I could foresee certain drawbacks as the author uses a lot of flashbacks in the chapters. To help you understand the story better, you really have to use your imagination. Just imagine that you're watching a movie or drama on the television where they have flashbacks in black in white.

Alright, enough with my ramblings, let's start talking about the novel. I shall divide it according to chapters to avoid confusion.