ON-LINE 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 impoartantly included as part of the school syllabus - (both in BM and Englsih).

1. Kamaluddin Muhamad (Keris Mas)
2. Dato' Shahnon Ahmad
3. Datuk Dr. Usman Awang
4. Datuk A. Samad Said
5. Muhammad Dahlan bin Abdul Biang (Arena Wati)
6. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Haji Salleh
7. Datuk Noordin Hasan
8. Datuk Abdullah Hussein
9. S. Othman Kelantan
10. Dr. Anwar Ridwan

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

1. Her boldness in sexual desire
2. Gender equality

Is Hillary Tham's poem more suitable?

Hilary Tham is a local writer.  Her writings suitable for students to appreciate because the elements she is using are related to our students environment.  Such as Mrs. Wei & ancestor worship and Becoming a woman.  These poems words are easy and more suitable for students.

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 out students anything?

Yes, this is a universal experience.  Teenagers nowadays provided with the best from their parents but they still think they lack of facilities.  They always compare with others and complaint about what others have and they don't have.  This story can teach students the consequences of being ungrateful.

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

His father is a white man and his mother is a black woman.  He confuses where he should be when he died because his father died in a houe but his mother died in a shack.

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

Yes.  The white folks put on a polite and happy faces through the dinner but Langston could feels the tension because his skin colour.  His skin colour has been the attention of that evening.  The irony is although the Americans have implemented democratic for a very long time but they still bias in terms of colours and races.

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

Yes, especially the lower-class.  His poem portraying the oppression of the marginlised and lower-class.

Langston Hughes fights for the voice of his people.  What is the movement called?

The Negritude movement