Thursday, January 27, 2005
Redo But Grow In Understanding
My first assignment is returned yesterday. I am disappointed because I have no grades as I have to redo it. Most of my friends have got grades of B, B- or B+. The highest grade is Wai Lieng who got A and followed by Zainal A-. Here I would like to congratulate them.
I know why I did wrong after consultation with Dr Edwin. I do my analysis on King Lear, a very difficult text to deal with. I think only two persons in my class do analysis on King Lear and the other person also has to redo it .
Many people like to do easy work. They like to do what is familiar than unfamiliar one. Actually, we have discussed Oedipus the King in detail when we were in MPTI and that is why many of my friends choose to do analysis on it. I know I am a person who likes to do something challenging. Instead of doing something I know, I do something I am not familiar.
English literature is difficult for me as I have never been exposed to it before I come for PKPG course. I am also not a TESL optionist but PC (Pengajian Cina) optionist, therefore it is difficult for me to do better in literature.
However, I believe in hardwork. If I work hard diligently, I will be able to reap what I sow. My last semester result is quite good, with five A and one B-. I got B- for the course “The Teaching of Short Stories” and it had brought down my CGPA to 3.791.
I don’t blame the lecturer for giving me low grades. There are others who got C and even D for the same course. I know I have to work even harder. I always tell myself grade is not important, what is more important is I have learnt something and gain knowledge and insight from the course.
Though I have to redo my assignment, I feel that I become more understanding on the characters of King Lear. I learnt a lot of things from drama. Apart from knowing the literary elements like characterisation, setting, theme and so forth, my inner person is built up. I know the importance of human relationship especially from King Lear and how we should deal with one another. I can feel that I am growing as an individual. I know I am going to become a better person. So thanks to drama.
I know why I did wrong after consultation with Dr Edwin. I do my analysis on King Lear, a very difficult text to deal with. I think only two persons in my class do analysis on King Lear and the other person also has to redo it .
Many people like to do easy work. They like to do what is familiar than unfamiliar one. Actually, we have discussed Oedipus the King in detail when we were in MPTI and that is why many of my friends choose to do analysis on it. I know I am a person who likes to do something challenging. Instead of doing something I know, I do something I am not familiar.
English literature is difficult for me as I have never been exposed to it before I come for PKPG course. I am also not a TESL optionist but PC (Pengajian Cina) optionist, therefore it is difficult for me to do better in literature.
However, I believe in hardwork. If I work hard diligently, I will be able to reap what I sow. My last semester result is quite good, with five A and one B-. I got B- for the course “The Teaching of Short Stories” and it had brought down my CGPA to 3.791.
I don’t blame the lecturer for giving me low grades. There are others who got C and even D for the same course. I know I have to work even harder. I always tell myself grade is not important, what is more important is I have learnt something and gain knowledge and insight from the course.
Though I have to redo my assignment, I feel that I become more understanding on the characters of King Lear. I learnt a lot of things from drama. Apart from knowing the literary elements like characterisation, setting, theme and so forth, my inner person is built up. I know the importance of human relationship especially from King Lear and how we should deal with one another. I can feel that I am growing as an individual. I know I am going to become a better person. So thanks to drama.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Atoning For Sins
Today is Thaipusam, a day of consecration to the Hindu deity, Lord Murugan, sometimes also called Lord Subramaniam. A feature of the festival is the carrying of a kavadi, a frame decorated with colored papers, tinsels, fresh flowers, and fruits as a form penance.
The Kavadi-bearer observes strict celibacy. Only pure, Sattwic food is taken; he abstains from all sorts of intoxicating drinks and drugs. He thinks of God all the time. Many of the Kavadi-bearers impose various forms of self-torture. Some pass a sharp little spear through their tongue, which is made to protrude out of the mouth. Others may pass a spear through the cheek. This sort of piercing is done in other parts of the body also. The bearer does not shave; he grows a beard. He eats only once a day. The spear pierced through his tongue or cheek reminds him of the Lord constantly. It also prevents him from speaking. It gives him great power of endurance.
On Thaipusam, some keen devotees undertake to walk barefoot from home to one of the shrines of Lord Subramanya, bearing the Kavadi all the way and collecting materials for the offering. They have to walk a hundred miles sometimes!
The Kavadi-bearers remind me of Oedipus. He blinds himself after knowing the truth. He could have killed himself but he does not. He wants to suffer because he wants to atone for his sins. He has sinned against his parents by committing patricide and incest. As he says, “I have sinned against them both / So vilely that I could not make my peace / by strangling my own life.”
Oedipus wants to live his life by continuing to feel the suffering, so he gouges out both his eyes. It is a terrible sight but this is a mere physical suffering compared to the torture of his mind.
I admire Oedipus because when he finds out his has committed the sins, he does not try to defend his actions. In fact he takes on full responsibility by deciding to punish himself. He inflicts upon himself a punishment in many ways worse than a death, to atone for his unforgiven sins. At the end of the play, the only thing he has left is his human dignity.
Oedipus is a hero just like the Kavadi-bearers. They suffer by the mortification of flesh so that their sins are cleansed and forgiven.
The Kavadi-bearer observes strict celibacy. Only pure, Sattwic food is taken; he abstains from all sorts of intoxicating drinks and drugs. He thinks of God all the time. Many of the Kavadi-bearers impose various forms of self-torture. Some pass a sharp little spear through their tongue, which is made to protrude out of the mouth. Others may pass a spear through the cheek. This sort of piercing is done in other parts of the body also. The bearer does not shave; he grows a beard. He eats only once a day. The spear pierced through his tongue or cheek reminds him of the Lord constantly. It also prevents him from speaking. It gives him great power of endurance.
On Thaipusam, some keen devotees undertake to walk barefoot from home to one of the shrines of Lord Subramanya, bearing the Kavadi all the way and collecting materials for the offering. They have to walk a hundred miles sometimes!
The Kavadi-bearers remind me of Oedipus. He blinds himself after knowing the truth. He could have killed himself but he does not. He wants to suffer because he wants to atone for his sins. He has sinned against his parents by committing patricide and incest. As he says, “I have sinned against them both / So vilely that I could not make my peace / by strangling my own life.”
Oedipus wants to live his life by continuing to feel the suffering, so he gouges out both his eyes. It is a terrible sight but this is a mere physical suffering compared to the torture of his mind.
I admire Oedipus because when he finds out his has committed the sins, he does not try to defend his actions. In fact he takes on full responsibility by deciding to punish himself. He inflicts upon himself a punishment in many ways worse than a death, to atone for his unforgiven sins. At the end of the play, the only thing he has left is his human dignity.
Oedipus is a hero just like the Kavadi-bearers. They suffer by the mortification of flesh so that their sins are cleansed and forgiven.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Physical Vs Spiritual Blindness
I have been watching a Korean TV series recently. It depicts a girl’s determination to bring the truth to light. Her parents had been killed unjusticely by some villains in the palace. In her pursuit to expose these villains’ wickedness, she experiences a lot of hardship and opposition. However, she is able to reveal the truth finally.
There is one scene that impresses me a lot. The girl and her senior cook go to the market to buy fish from a blind man. They want the fresh fish. The blind man just touches the skin of the fish and smells it and he is able to get them the most fresh fish. Though he is blind physically, this does not hinder him from making good judgment.
This reminds me of the Greek tragedy Oedipus the King. Throughout the play, Sophocles makes a lot of references to eyes, with the metaphor sight versus blindness.
Early in the play, Oedipus falsely accuses Teiresias and Creon of conspiracy, he angrily calls Teiresias ‘sightless’ old man and ‘child of endless night’. Then Teiresias also responds by using the same metaphor,”you mock my blindness, do you? But I say that you with both your eyes are blind.”
At the end, Oedipus knows the truth by learning his tragic fate. He is the one who kills his own father and lies on bed with his own mother. He has committed patricide and incest. Therefore, he gouge his eyes,which have been blind to the truth for so long. He says,”How could I bear to see when all my sight was horror everywhere?”
Though Teiresias is physically blind, he sees the truth from the beginning, while Oedipus, who has physical eyesight, is blind to his fate. By the end, Oedipus makes his eyes blind when he learns the truth and finally sees.
Sometimes, people are blind spiritually in many ways. They are blind in love, money, material possessions, religion and so forth. They are so blinded that they are not aware of the dangers that lie ahead. For example, a girl falls in love with a man. In courtship, she might have seen how the man behaves and treats others badly, yet she chooses to ignore. Then she marries him but after that she realises she has made a mistake because the man beats her violently. However, it is too late for her to know it.
Of course the girl won’t be like Oedipus who gouge out his eyes for knowing the truth. But this teaches us a lesson. We should see things through spiritual eyes if we want to make a right decision. Don’t be blinded by things that seem to be appealing but actually it is not. Therefore, my friends, do not be misled by your own physical eyes!
There is one scene that impresses me a lot. The girl and her senior cook go to the market to buy fish from a blind man. They want the fresh fish. The blind man just touches the skin of the fish and smells it and he is able to get them the most fresh fish. Though he is blind physically, this does not hinder him from making good judgment.
This reminds me of the Greek tragedy Oedipus the King. Throughout the play, Sophocles makes a lot of references to eyes, with the metaphor sight versus blindness.
Early in the play, Oedipus falsely accuses Teiresias and Creon of conspiracy, he angrily calls Teiresias ‘sightless’ old man and ‘child of endless night’. Then Teiresias also responds by using the same metaphor,”you mock my blindness, do you? But I say that you with both your eyes are blind.”
At the end, Oedipus knows the truth by learning his tragic fate. He is the one who kills his own father and lies on bed with his own mother. He has committed patricide and incest. Therefore, he gouge his eyes,which have been blind to the truth for so long. He says,”How could I bear to see when all my sight was horror everywhere?”
Though Teiresias is physically blind, he sees the truth from the beginning, while Oedipus, who has physical eyesight, is blind to his fate. By the end, Oedipus makes his eyes blind when he learns the truth and finally sees.
Sometimes, people are blind spiritually in many ways. They are blind in love, money, material possessions, religion and so forth. They are so blinded that they are not aware of the dangers that lie ahead. For example, a girl falls in love with a man. In courtship, she might have seen how the man behaves and treats others badly, yet she chooses to ignore. Then she marries him but after that she realises she has made a mistake because the man beats her violently. However, it is too late for her to know it.
Of course the girl won’t be like Oedipus who gouge out his eyes for knowing the truth. But this teaches us a lesson. We should see things through spiritual eyes if we want to make a right decision. Don’t be blinded by things that seem to be appealing but actually it is not. Therefore, my friends, do not be misled by your own physical eyes!
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Do Not Trust Flatterers
Still thinking of Lear’s relationship with Goneril and Regan, it reminds me of the fable “The Fox and The Crow”. It is a popular story among the young children. I am sure all of you are familiar with the story. It is about the cunning fox saw the crow sitting on a tree. It had a piece of meat in its mouth. The fox wanted to eat the meat and tried to get it from the crow. So it began to praise the crow for having a sweet voice and wanted to hear it sing a song. The crow was flattered by its words, believed it and so it sang. Once the crow opened the mouth to sing, the meat fell and the fox snatched it and ran away.
The moral of the story is do not trust flatterers. I think if Lear has read this story before, he would not be easily deceived by his daughters’ flattery words. He would not act like the crow who loves flattery words but pays a price by losing its meat. However, Lear loses more than what the crow loses. He loses the whole kingdom, his position and authority as a king and a father. He has to pay a great price for favouring flattery words.
As for me, I think the flatterers today we need to be aware are the salesmen and insurance agents. I once fell into the trap of an insurance agent. He flattered me so much that I was moved to sign an insurance with a premium of RM550 per month! Fortunately, thanks to the offering of this PKPG course, I stopped paying for the insurance as I couldn’t afford it. Though I had paid it for almost a year that I had lost RM6600, I feel my load is lighter now and free from debts. Yes, do not trust flatterers.
The moral of the story is do not trust flatterers. I think if Lear has read this story before, he would not be easily deceived by his daughters’ flattery words. He would not act like the crow who loves flattery words but pays a price by losing its meat. However, Lear loses more than what the crow loses. He loses the whole kingdom, his position and authority as a king and a father. He has to pay a great price for favouring flattery words.
As for me, I think the flatterers today we need to be aware are the salesmen and insurance agents. I once fell into the trap of an insurance agent. He flattered me so much that I was moved to sign an insurance with a premium of RM550 per month! Fortunately, thanks to the offering of this PKPG course, I stopped paying for the insurance as I couldn’t afford it. Though I had paid it for almost a year that I had lost RM6600, I feel my load is lighter now and free from debts. Yes, do not trust flatterers.
Friday, January 21, 2005
Human & Beast
When Lear is angry, he calls his daughters all kinds of names. He likes to describe their attitudes in terms of animal behaviour. He calls Goneril ‘sea-monster’, ‘detested kite’ and Regan ‘wolvish visage’ and ‘like a vulture’.
All of these images, sea-monster, kite, vulture and wolf are of animals which eat other animals, satisfying their hunger at the expense of others. The word ‘kite’ is a new word for me. Unlike the kite we fly in the sky, it means a kind of bird of prey of the hawk family. This kind of bird is very ungrateful to its parent. As it grows up, it eats its own mother!
Animal appetite is the downfall of both Goneril and Regan. They both lust after Edmund. Their jealousy with each other leads to their death, as Goneril poisons Regan and kills herself with a knife.
This is just a play that has been written by William Shakespeare in the sixteen century. Yet we can find the similarity between human behaviour from his time and our time. Today, we hear a lot of terrorism, wars, human injustices etc. Sometimes people kill one another for no reason. Even among family ties, there is no love. I had read an article about a Tsunami victim who brought her grandson just to get the relief goods distributed only for children. After she gets the goods, she abandons her grandson.
Yes, human have behaved like brute beasts. They have no sense of morality and conscience just like Lear’s daughters. If we don’t control ourselves and the next generation, the earth will be a place for only beasts!
All of these images, sea-monster, kite, vulture and wolf are of animals which eat other animals, satisfying their hunger at the expense of others. The word ‘kite’ is a new word for me. Unlike the kite we fly in the sky, it means a kind of bird of prey of the hawk family. This kind of bird is very ungrateful to its parent. As it grows up, it eats its own mother!
Animal appetite is the downfall of both Goneril and Regan. They both lust after Edmund. Their jealousy with each other leads to their death, as Goneril poisons Regan and kills herself with a knife.
This is just a play that has been written by William Shakespeare in the sixteen century. Yet we can find the similarity between human behaviour from his time and our time. Today, we hear a lot of terrorism, wars, human injustices etc. Sometimes people kill one another for no reason. Even among family ties, there is no love. I had read an article about a Tsunami victim who brought her grandson just to get the relief goods distributed only for children. After she gets the goods, she abandons her grandson.
Yes, human have behaved like brute beasts. They have no sense of morality and conscience just like Lear’s daughters. If we don’t control ourselves and the next generation, the earth will be a place for only beasts!
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Quantity Versus Quality of Love
Can love be measured? I find that Lear has fallen in this “unrealistic” device by testing the love of his daughters. Like any parent, he wishes to be loved and appreciated in response to the kindnesses he has performed. However, the way he does it is ridiculous.
Lear thought that he could measure the standard of his daughters’ love by the flattery words from them. Goneril and Regan are content to flatter and promise obedience, knowing they will turn him out once he has relinquished his authority. On the other hand, Cordelia refuses to flatter him like her two daughters though she has true love for her father. As a result, she loses her share of his kingdom and her father.
Then Lear has problem with his two elder daughters for maintaining the number of his attendants. He brings a hundred knights with him to stay with Goneril. When Goneril wants to reduce the numbers to fifty, he goes for Regan. However, Regan is even worse, she does not allow fifty, but twenty-five. Lear is so angry that he utters to Goneril,
“I’ll go with thee:
thy fifty yet doth double five-and-twenty,
And thou art twice her love.”
At last, Lear wants to stay with Goneril because her love is twice as much as Regan. Isn’t it ridiculous? Lear seems to be interested in number and he thinks that the more number his daughter allows the more her love is. But we know that this is not true. Love comes from the heart, not by flattery words or the measure of compromising. We should focus on love that has quality rather than quantity.
Lear thought that he could measure the standard of his daughters’ love by the flattery words from them. Goneril and Regan are content to flatter and promise obedience, knowing they will turn him out once he has relinquished his authority. On the other hand, Cordelia refuses to flatter him like her two daughters though she has true love for her father. As a result, she loses her share of his kingdom and her father.
Then Lear has problem with his two elder daughters for maintaining the number of his attendants. He brings a hundred knights with him to stay with Goneril. When Goneril wants to reduce the numbers to fifty, he goes for Regan. However, Regan is even worse, she does not allow fifty, but twenty-five. Lear is so angry that he utters to Goneril,
“I’ll go with thee:
thy fifty yet doth double five-and-twenty,
And thou art twice her love.”
At last, Lear wants to stay with Goneril because her love is twice as much as Regan. Isn’t it ridiculous? Lear seems to be interested in number and he thinks that the more number his daughter allows the more her love is. But we know that this is not true. Love comes from the heart, not by flattery words or the measure of compromising. We should focus on love that has quality rather than quantity.
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Oedipus and Tsunami Victims – Are They Fated?
The natural disaster happened on 26th December 2004 has caused an alarm among people all over the world. Many of those directly and indirectly affected by the disaster are asking, “Is it Acts of God?” or “Is it an inevitable fate?”
I would like to draw the attention to the Greek tragedy “Oedipus the King”. Oedipus has tried to avoid the fulfillment of the oracle that prophesies that he will kill his own father and marry his own mother. So he leaves Corinth and comes to Thebes and helps the people to solve the riddle by the Sphinx. Then he becomes the king and marries the widow, Iocasta. However, the truth reveals latert hat the wife whom he has slept with is his own mother!
Many might say that Oedipus is fated to fulfill the oracle. But I personally feel that if Oedipus is not persistent in pursuing the truth and if he desn’t kill Lauis for self-defense in the beginning, he might be able to run away from fate.
I feel that if each one’s moment of death is already fixed or fated, there would be no need for us to avoid dangerous situations or to care for one’s health, and safety precfautions would not alter mortality rates. Then why do we care for our health or take our children to the doctor? Why are there fewer fatal accidents when drivers obey traffic laws? Obviously, taking precautions is beneficial.
The same answer goes to Tsunami victims. According to science explanation, the earthquake is caused when a huge tectonic plate slips and crashes onto another tectonic plate. It is quite simply, planet earth making occasional adjustments to its tectonic plates. Therefore, it is nothing personal. It is not the wrath of God. It was not a test of humankind.
There is warning given even before the outbreak of Tsunami but many people ignore because they don’t believe it. This is what happened to fatal accidents when people ignore the rules and warnings. Therefore, it is important for us to take precautions. We also should do well to count our blessings and appreciate life a little more.
I would like to draw the attention to the Greek tragedy “Oedipus the King”. Oedipus has tried to avoid the fulfillment of the oracle that prophesies that he will kill his own father and marry his own mother. So he leaves Corinth and comes to Thebes and helps the people to solve the riddle by the Sphinx. Then he becomes the king and marries the widow, Iocasta. However, the truth reveals latert hat the wife whom he has slept with is his own mother!
Many might say that Oedipus is fated to fulfill the oracle. But I personally feel that if Oedipus is not persistent in pursuing the truth and if he desn’t kill Lauis for self-defense in the beginning, he might be able to run away from fate.
I feel that if each one’s moment of death is already fixed or fated, there would be no need for us to avoid dangerous situations or to care for one’s health, and safety precfautions would not alter mortality rates. Then why do we care for our health or take our children to the doctor? Why are there fewer fatal accidents when drivers obey traffic laws? Obviously, taking precautions is beneficial.
The same answer goes to Tsunami victims. According to science explanation, the earthquake is caused when a huge tectonic plate slips and crashes onto another tectonic plate. It is quite simply, planet earth making occasional adjustments to its tectonic plates. Therefore, it is nothing personal. It is not the wrath of God. It was not a test of humankind.
There is warning given even before the outbreak of Tsunami but many people ignore because they don’t believe it. This is what happened to fatal accidents when people ignore the rules and warnings. Therefore, it is important for us to take precautions. We also should do well to count our blessings and appreciate life a little more.
