Finally...

Well, it seems that this is my last posting for the time being. I would like to conclude that I really have fun in completing this task as assigned to us in the earlier of this semester. I’ve dream to have my own blog in the internet but I don’t know how to do it. By taking this course (EDU3217 - Teaching the Language of Drama), my dream has come true and I’m happy to share my feelings and knowledge with my classmates through online. We’ve commented on each others’ postings and it’s an enjoyable way to know others’ point of view about drama. With this blog, I have the opportunity to know my friends opinions towards the play and their attitude on certain issues.

Through drama, I’ve been given opportunity to learn the great works by the magnificent playwrights. These people were enable to see the world in the other way round, therefore they can come up with the enormous works. Apart from that, I’ve become familiar with their works such as Antigone, King Lear, Pygmalion, and A Streetcar Named Desire and glad to be one of them who have the opportunity to examine on it. I feel regret that we can’t meet Wong Phui Nam due to our schedule. That’s the only chance we can meet him before the final exam to questionnaire him on his version drama - Anike. Anyway, his drama is the version of Sophocles’ great play- Antigone, I guess we will able to answer it during the final (unless if we don’t revise on it).

As a conclusion, reading drama is not a tedious because sometimes it is enjoyable although its old language becomes a barrier for me to have better understanding of the story. One thing I realized on reading drama, if we keep on reading the lines, we’ll be slowly comprehend the flow of the drama and the conflicts arises. Therefore, I have a new perspective on drama because it can be a pleasure reading for me due to my lack of knowledge on how to read drama. Now, I can start reading my mother’s collections….;)

I would like to say my gratitude towards Assoc. Prof. Dr. Malachi Edwin Vethamani on his interesting lesson for this semester. Since he’s been teaching us for two semesters, I’ve been familiar with his methods in teaching literature in English. I hope I will manage to teach my future students to love literature as I feel right now. Adios amigos!

The Homecoming...?!

This is my second time to go to KLPac to watch theatre. At this time, I have the opportunity to watch a play at night due to its schedule. The play is played at night on weekdays and we have no other options since we refuse to watch it on weekend. We also have chance to use the facility in UPM that is free trip to KLPac by a coaster.

I have no idea about this play and lack of prior knowledge on Harold Pinter’s work. Looking at the title suggests to me that the play is about a person who has finally goes back to his/her hometown. Guess what? My interpretation is correct…but the conflicts do surprised me. The first conflict is about a treatment of an abusive father-Max, towards his three sons; Teddy, Lenny and Joey. Regarding on the issue, Max have misuses his authority as a father and fails in raising up his sons to be a good person. They ignore him whenever he tries to communicate with him. Besides that, he himself always discourages his sons on whatever their doings. He does not support them as he supposed to as a father. He also looks down on his brother’s job – Sam is a chauffer. The second conflict is about an immoral act between a daughter-in-law – Ruth, with her both brother-in-laws. In addition, her father-in-law also craves for her…! Oh, my GOD!

I really don’t like the second part of the play where Max and Lenny have plan to use her in order to gain some money. She has to be a prostitute and at the same time, she must fulfill their sexual desire. What kind of family they are? The dialogue irritates my feelings where the male characters are looking down on women as if they have no price at all! In my opinion, Pinter must have had bitter experience with women or have had seen the similar events through out his life. Therefore, he decided to expose these issues to the public, which I think is not relevant in our context.

I’m not really enjoy watching the play due to its serious issues but I do admires the actors’ talent. To me, they have done their best and now it depends on the audience to judge their performance. Max- plays by Thor Kah Hoong has shows a confident act as an abusives father (instead of his skinny looks…oops, please don’t get mad). Loo Jia-Wei- plays the role of Ruth, is brave and an open-minded person, therefore she performs well even though she has to kiss Lenny lively due to the script. Patrick Teoh plays the role as Sam and he is the one who does not agree with the immoral act that happens in the house. His character shows various facial expressions and he succeeds.

Overall, the play has reminds me that the conflicts do exists in our society and it scares me. I hope that our society will gain self-awareness in this matter in order to be a proper society with appropriate manner.

Why...?

Why everybody must die? Why? I kept thinking in my mind that it shouldn’t happen especially to Cordelia. Shakespeare should write his play in the other way round – Cordelia must be the ruler of the kingdom instead of Edgar. Why I brought up this issue? It is because I used to read stories, which have ‘happy ending’ at the end of it and always think that ‘good people will have good life’ and vice versa.

Later, I realized that this is a ‘tragic play’ so I have to switch my point of view that this would happen in the story. Shakespeare had written such a fine play and successfully presented conflicts which might happened those days and probably at the present. The play is about human life so it must have conflicts…if there are no conflicts then life is boring! We are human and we need conflicts in our life thus we can experience and learn from it.

In this play, the old king – Lear – faces a major tragedy in his life when he decided to let his three daughters to rule their country and already divided the land into three parts. As human being, Goneril and Regan didn’t want to rule the country for the sake of their father because they didn’t want to be slaves. Therefore, they planned to get rid of him after he has disowned Cordelia. The conflict becomes worst and leads to the murderer of Regan before Goneril killed herself. Cordelia was killed with their order and that causes Lear’s death, which brings Edgar, becomes the new king.

So bloggers, I believe that each of us has experienced several of conflicts – whether major or minor conflicts – and we do learn from it…am I right? Whether we like it or not, want it or not, we should face it and try to solve it as best as we can. Thus, we can be prepared for other future conflicts…hopefully no and don’t think I’m crazy okay!

Finally, I started to read variety of genre and it gives me a lot of new experience. It does help me in finding answers of what happens in the stories I’ve read and events around me…;)