Selling the Motherland and Blood and Tears - Essay Example

Book Review Keris Mas is the pen of Kamaludin Muhammad who was born in 1922 and died in 1992. He is one of the more popular South Asian writers and perhaps the most prominent literary giant to come from Malaysia. While he has made several contributions to world literature in terms of writing in the Malay language, his short stories hold a special universal appeal mainly due to the characters he creates and the language used by him to show what the characters are going through within the story. He has been recognized as a writer par excellence by the international bodies as well as the Malaysian government which made him Malaysia’s first national laureate. Amongst his collection of short stories, Blood and Tears stands out from amongst the rest because of its literary values and the ideas presented within. In the introduction to these stories, Ali (1984) compares Mas to other Malaysian writers and says that, “The few short stories which he has contributed have greater literary value than the more prolific output of many other writers. For this reason alone Keris has earned a special place and is to be regarded as the leading figure in the new literature (Ali, 1984, Pg. 8)”. If anything at all, Blood and Tears establishes that quality is indeed more important than quantity. While examining the stories, it becomes clear to us that the historical and cultural influences of the Malaysian past figure prominently in the works of Mas. Like many other nations in south Asia, Malaysia has a history of colonization as well as rule by foreigners on local soil and the after affects of colonization remain with the people even after many decades have passed. The struggle between the Japanese and the British over Malaysia during the Second World War gave birth to the country but also create social and cultural dichotomies which still linger as a part of the social structure of the country. Mas was certainly an influential writer and had a close group of fellow writers that sought to bring about changes in Malaysian society by creating awareness through literature. Speaking about these likeminded writers as well as himself as a writer, Mas says that: “We criticized societal backwardness and those whom we regard as the instruments responsible for the birth of such backwardness. We criticized colonialism and its instruments, that is, the elite class, those whose consciousness have been frozen by the influence of feudalism and myths, and superstition that has been enmeshed with religion (Wikipedia, 2007, Pg. 1)”. Such leanings are evidently shown in the stories since his background affects the way he constructs his tales. Since Mas was born in Pahang where he observed the sufferings of the common folk, he writes as a supporter of the poor and the weak who are often helpless in front of stronger, richer individuals. For example, stories such as Hari Raya by Grandmother’s Grave and Not Because of Her, discuss situations where the poor are exploited by their situation as well as those who have become the remnants of colonization. While comparing him to other writers, we can take the example of Prof. Lim who uses the conditions she faced as a poor child in Malaysia to discuss the human condition in her stories which is a trait that is similar to Mas (Chiew, 2005). In terms of using stories to discuss political situations Mas can be likened to Ahmed who uses his stories to discuss political issues and he goes as far as saying that, “If politics is foul and can foul other things, then I as a writer will present the foulness and elements that are fouling other things, in my own way (Ahmed, Pg. 1).” However, Mas excels them both simply due to the poetics involved in his tales and the way they are presented to the readers. Stories such as Selling the Motherland as well as Blood and Tears show his political ideas but he has restrained speaking out within the stories against the government or against the sufferings of the common people under the colonial regime since such could be taken as inciting a revolt. However, he does show how certain people can be deceitful and they are out to exploit the weaker members of society. For example, the character of Encik Yusuf comes across as a personified representation of the corruption of the strong in society as he is clearly a hypocrite who makes a fool out of his employees. Other characters, such as Usman, present an interesting viewpoint of the Malaysian society as well as the personal dilemma of an individual who is so jaded with the situation around him that he is unable to come to terms with others in society. His own spirit is broken because others around him fail to understand that his motives are pure even though his actions may not show themselves to be completely without question. We also meet the character of Enick Rahman who is married to a dutiful wife but does not consider her to be an equal partner in marriage but simply takes her as a means to an end. The exploitation of the Malaysian poor at the hands of foreign and local individual is power is aptly reflected in the story of Rahman as his wife is simply a tool for him to fulfill his desires and satisfy his individual needs. Of course the female character may not be the one who becomes the central point of the story in tales such as Not Because of Her but the drama and the conflict of the story does remain connected with the feminine. As a champion of the poor, Mas does not shirk from showing the true face of society in his stories and it does not take anything away from his literary skills if the topic is social conditions or the political situation in the country. In conclusion, It becomes easy to say that the social environment is the most important factor for the stories created by Keris Mas and it essentially becomes what is more important than the events of the story itself. While this may be seen as social criticism more than writing short stories, I feel that the drama contained within the stories is not tainted or reduced in quality because the drama and the social commentary are intertwined beautifully in an almost lyrical manner. The inner feelings and the personal thoughts of the characters conveyed by Mas create a universal appeal which is not limited to the Malay culture or the Malay society. Therefore, Mas can be proudly claimed by the world as a part of their own heritage of literature even though he remains the first laureate of Malaysia. In this way, his importance and the value of his work for art in general and literature in particular is increased manifold since instead of remaining a regional writer, he becomes a global author of tales that speak to the human condition. Works Cited Ahmed, S. 1999. ‘Shahnon Ahmad’, [Online] Available at: http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/shahnon.htm Chiew, M. 2005, ‘Writing in Prof Lims blood’, [Online] Available at: http://allmalaysia.info/news/story.asp?file=/2005/1/17/msiansabroad/9397683&sec=mi_msiansabroad Mas, K. 1984, Blood and Tears, Trans. Aveling, H. Oxford University Press. Wikipedia, 2007, ‘Keris Mas’ [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keris_Mas Read More