the curse sample answer spm 2012

the curse sample answer spm 2012

Sample answers.
** Rememeber to write your answer in paragraphs ( at least 3)
**If you are not sure how to answer, make sure include all these elements
1. how many characters
2. how many events/evidence
3. how many values/lessons/themes
* manipulate your understanding of the story to fit the question not to fit the question to
what you know about the story
**always have concluding paragraph to reinforce or sum up what you have written
a) Characters and characteristics
1. Write on a character that show responsibility in her or his actions
Based on the Novel The Curse by Lee Sue Ann, the character that shows responsibility in
her actions is Azreen Saleh. Azreen is not only a responsible sister and daughter but also a
responsible student and friend .
Firstly, Azreen as a responsible sister comes back immediately when she hears of her sisters
death although at that time she is about to sit for an examination that is important for her.
She postpones her examination in order of giving her sister her last respect.
Secondly, as a daughter she shows her responsibility firstly, when she spends the whole
night repairing her mothers favourite rattan basket that was broken by the heavy durians
that she and Madhuri has brought in. Subsequently, with Madhuris help she makes a new
rattan basket that looks like the one that she and Madhuri have broken. In addition to that,
Azreen accepts the offer to further her studies in London for the sake of upbringing her
family social status and thus could then save a lot of money to get a better treatment for
her mother that is paralyzed by the bull escape incidents that she .
Thirdly, as a friend and a student, Azreen shows her responsibility when she accepts to join
the school hockey team as a substitution to Hock Seng that is injured. She does that even
though she knows that she will be the only girl in the team and this will tarnish her image as
a girl. In fact she plays very well and almost scores a goal. In addition to that, Azreen shows
that she is a responsible friend, when she brings a full basket of fresh vegetables and
tomatoes to The Old Lady of the forest to replace the one that she tramples earlier when
she comes to The Old Ladys house for the first time.
In conclusion, throughout the story, Azreen shows that she is a very responsible towards her
actions. In fact, I would like to have her as a friend as a friend as such is hard to come by.
2. Which character do you like the most?
The novel I have studied is The Curse by Lee Su Ann. The novel is about the main
character, Azreen, who returns from England after she finds out about her sisters
death. Upon her return, she is surrounded by many secrets. She discovers the circumstances
of Madhuris death later in the story. At the end of the story she finds out the truth
and leaves for London an orphan but more resilient and wise.
The character I like most is Azreen Salleh. She is a 20-year-old student who is studying in a
university college in London on an exchange programme. She is short, bespectacled, rather
bookish and outspoken.
I like Azreen because she is outspoken and she is not afraid to spoke her mind. She is vocal
and says her opinions although sometimes she says the wrong things at the wrong time. She
also hates her fathers treatment of her foster parents and Madhuris burial
ceremony that is conducted without her presence. In handling the village gossip, Pn
Normala, Azreen tells her off that the rain has started even before the Old Lady comes into
town.
The second quality she has is she is courageous. As a child, she plays hockey and football
with the boys. In the bulls incident, she is brave enough to accept the blame for the bulls
escape instead of blaming someone else. Azreen also shows her courage by taking up the
dare to knock on the Old Ladys door when none wants to do it. In another instance, Azreen
confronts her father about Madhuris murder despite her young age.
Azreen also has strength of character. When she returns to her village, she hears a lot of
gossip surrounding her sisters death such as as Madhuri having white blood and her death
signals a curse to the villagers. Azreen feels upset but she
never retaliates. Sheshows patience and strengh because she knows that whatever
she does, she cannot stop the villagers from gossiping about her family. In another
instance, Azreen is told that her sister is murdered. She should have been very upset about
this news but she takes it calmly and does not become hysterical. Later, when she finds out
that her father is the culprit who kills Madhuri, she feels no anger but regrets that it has to
happen. She understands her fathers anger and shame because Madhuri has been
having an illicit affair with Ashraf although she is already married to Hj Ghani. Azreen
also shows a lot of strength because after all that has happened to her family,
she stays composed and strong and returns to England for her examinations.
In conclusion, there are many qualities in Azreen that I admire and she is the character that
I like most in the story.
3. Write on a character whom I think is exemplary
a) In the Curse by Lee Sue Ann, the character whom I think is exemplary is The Old Lady of
the forest. Throughout the novel, she shows strength of character and wisdom.
When she first moves to the village as a newlywed, she is popular among the villagers and
she enjoys a blissful marital life with her husband. Everything changes as her husband who
becomes an alcoholic starts to abuse her and finally she retaliates and kills him. From then
on, the villagers treat her like an outcast. She is forced to move out of the village and makes
an abandoned house her home. She lives alone for years until she befriends Azreen and
becomes her mentor and will console her whenever she has a fight with her parents.
When Asraf approaches The Old Lady for help, she is hesitant about going back to the
village. Yet she agrees and doing so, she puts her life at risk. When she is trapped in the
burning house, she tells Azreen to save herself and she perishes in the fire. Even at deaths
door, she reminds Azreen about the importance of forgiveness and tells her to heed all the
advice she has given her.
The Old Lady is therefore an exemplary character as she is strong, wise and honourable.
b) Based on the novel The Curse by Lee Sue Ann, the character that I
consider exemplary is Azreen because she is courageous and brave. She shows resilience
and she always fight for what she believes in.
Firstly, Azreen who does not believe the villagers tales about The Old Lady is being brave by
accepting her friends challenge to firstly knocking on the door of The Old lady and then
meet her in person. . Subsequently, she befriends The Old Lady and makes her, her precious
confidante and counselor.
In addition, Azreen is courageous by confronting Puan Normalas mob outside Mohd Asrafs
house when Nek once again has fallen ill and died in order to stop her from entering Neks
house. Although she is outnumbered, she dares to face Puan Normalas horde to protect
Neks house from them. Moreover, she confronts a group of men led by Asraf who goes to
the Old ladys house to seek revenge after Nek dies as they believe the Old lady has
poisoned Nek.
It is a dog-eat-dog world out there and we must be brave and courageous to overcome our
daily obstacles and stand for our own rights. We should not be intimidated by our fear and
we must be like Azreen in order to survive the world.
The second exemplary qualities of Azreen is that she portrays resilience throughout the
story and she constantly fights for what she believes in. This can be seen when Azreen does
not give up and is determine and resilience to seek the truth of Madhuris death even
though others do not want to tell her the truth. She asks Asraf and The Old Lady about
Madhuris death and slowly gather evidences and finally she knows the truth about
Madhuris killing.
In her village, a woman should be conservative and well mannered but Azreen is a contrast
to that and thus she is hated but she ignores the villagers perception of her, as she believes
that women have their own rights. This can be seen as she befriends Asraf and joins the
boys hockey team and similarly makes The Old Lady her best friend.
In this cruel world, we must stand for our own right and fight for what we believe in. We
must follow Azreens resilience to make this world a better place.
4. Write on a character that I admire / like
The novel The Curse by Lee Su Ann is very interesting. The character I like the most is
Azreen. Azreen is from Langkawi. She studies in London. Her father is Salleh Ghani. Her
sister is Madhuri. Madhuri is not Azreen real sister. I like Azreen because she is responsible.
She takes care of her sick mother. She bathes and feeds her mother. When Old Lady
vegetable garden is trampled, she repairs it.
Azreen is determined. She always studies hard. She also wants to find Madhuris murderer.
She does not give up. Finally, she finds out the truth. Azreen is also brave and courageous.
She is Old Ladys friend. She is not afraid of the stories. The villagers say she is a witch.
Azreen does not care. It is not true. When Old Ladys house is in fire, Azreen wants to rescue
her. She is really brave.
I like Azreen because she is a loyal. She defends Mohamad Asraf. She says she opens the
gate of the farm. Azreen is a strong girl. I wish I have a friend like her. When her mothers
basket is damaged, she takes the blame. Azreen wants to protect the people she loves.
Azreen is responsible, determined, brave and loyal. Those are the reasons why I like her. She
is a good role model.
C) Lesson
1) The Curse by Lee Su Ann has many lessons for its readers. One of the
lessons, truth will be known and secrets will not last forever. There are a few characters
who keep secrets and eventually the secrets are exposed.
First, Mohd. Asraf and Madhuri. They were secret lovers. They planned secretly to run away
to Kuala Lumpur. After Madhuri died followed by his grandmothers death, he almost lost
his mind. Keeping his secret love was very difficult. He was easily influenced by Puan
Normala that his grandmother was poisoned by Old Lady. That was the reason he burned
the Old Ladys house causing her death. Finally, he realises his mistakes and comes to his
senses.
Second, En Saleh Abdullah, Azreens father. He was always proud of Madhuri. Madhuri
made him proud when she agreed to marry the village headman, Haji Ghani. When her
affair was discovered, Encik Saleh gets very angry and accidentally killed Madhuri. He never
tells anyone and until Azreen confronts him. Actually, he is ashamed because the daughter
he was really proud of, had an affair and tried to run away. He keeps seeing a ghost. He
suffers a heart attack and dies.
In conclusion, dark secrets only make life difficult. The evidence in the story has shown us
that. Any dark secrets we have, may destroy our lives. We may lose the people we love.
Always be true to ourselves and do not take advantage of others. Always think before we
act.

2) The Curse is the novel written by Lee Su Ann which has many lessons that can be
used in our lives. Today, I am going to write on one lesson which really captured my
attention in the novel that is courage.
The value of courage can be seen clearly in Azreens character. Azreen was a good friend
with the Old Lady who became a precious confidante and counsellor despite ignoring the
warnings and prejudices of the villagers. Azreen was determined to friends with the Old
Lady till the last minute of the Old Ladys life.As a child, she was not allowed to visit the Old
Lady by her parents. Even the villagers warned Azreen that the Old Lady is a witch. This
shows that Azreen is very courageous for accepting the Old Lady for what she is. From this, I
learnt to be courageous in order to speak and act according to what I think is right. I also
learnt not to judge others by listening to rumors and to think practically.
Azreen also showed courage when she took the blame for the bulls escape in order to save
Mohd Asraf. At first, she wanted to help Asraf out from the wicked farm owner, Mr. Mohan
and his sons who were accusing Asraf for letting the bull out. But to her dismay, she had to
accept the faith of her mother loosing a leg when her father hit into the bull and met with
an accident. Even though Azreen was only helping Asraf at first, but she took the blame and
had to carry it for the rest of her life. I saw Azreen as a very courageous person in this
situation and agree to what she had done. She taught me to stand up for my believes in my
life and this will really help me a lot in the future.

Last but not least, I also find Azreen as a courageous person when she challenged her father
to reveal the truth behind Madhuris death. Azreen was very sure that Madhuri was killed
by her father because she found the stain of the rubber tree sap on the parang. When she
put all the details together, she came to a conclusion and told her father straight that he
was the one who killed Madhuri. Here, we can see that Azreen was too bold and had the
courage to speak the truth even to her father when she was sure that her sister was killed.
This scene opened my mind that I should be honest and bold to say what I think is right in
my life.

D)Moral value
There are many moral values found in The Curse by Lee Su Ann. The story is set in an island
off Langkawi Island. The Curse revolves around the events surrounding the death of a village
girl, Madhuri, who is also the adopted sister of themain character, Azreen.
The first moral value is bravery. This value is shown by Azreen. First, even as a young girl she
takes challenges and tries to prove to her friends that the Old Lady is not an evil witch.
When she is yelled at for entering the Old Ladys house and destroying her vegetable
garden, Azreen bravely defends herself. In fact, she returns the next day and repairs the
trampled garden. Her action wins the Old Ladys heart.
The second evidence is when Azreen bravely takes the blame for Mohd Asraf in the bull
incident. She demonstrates courage.The same bull later injures her mothers leg causing he
to lose the use of her leg. She was blamed and scolded by her father as well as the villagers.
She bravely endures that and never tells anyone of what really happened.
Her bravery is once again tested. The third event that displays her bravery is when she tries
to tackle the angry mob who are about to attack the the Old Lady. When the Old Ladys
house is in fire, Azreen tries to rescue the Old Lady but at the end she has to be rescued by
her father. When the Old Lady dies in the tragic fire, she confronts Mohd Asraf like a
wildcat.
Finally, towards the end of the story, she finds out the secret that her father has been
keeping. She confronts her father about Madhuris murder until he is forced to confess
about the truth. She is very brave to confront people whom she knows have done wrong to
others. At the same time she is very brave when defending herself and the people she loves.


e.) Events
1) Write on an important event.
In the novel The Curse by Lee Su Ann, an important event is the outbreak of the fire which
results in the Old Ladys death.
Firstly, it is an important event because after this event, it creates a domino effect on a
number of other events which in turn helps Azreen to finally solve the mystery behind her
sisters murder. The fire enrages Azreen and like a wildcat, she confronts Mohd Asraf. He
apologises and admits that he had been too grief-stricken to be rational when he has lost
two important people in his life his secret lover, Madhuri and his grandmother, Nek. After
the fire which kills the Old Lady who is trapped in the fire, Awang, the bomoh informs
Azreen that Madhuri is not her biological sister. The secret about Madhuris identity is finally
disclosed by Azreens father who reveals that Madhuri is adopted. Moreover, the village
Pontianak is actually Madhuris biological mother who returns to the village to seek revenge
over her daughters death. According to Awang, the ghostly figure is also the vengeful
spirit that has killed Azreens chicken.
Secondly, it is an important event because we are finally shown the reason for Madhuris
murder and the culprit. When Azreen confronts her father, Encik Saleh defiantly confesses
that he had accidentally murdered Madhuri after learning that Madhuri, a married woman,
commits an adultery when she secretly sees another man.He confronts Madhuri and during
the struggle, Madhuri falls to the ground and her head knocks over the latex cup which
stains her clothes. A distraught Azreen flees after hearing the shocking news while Encik
Saleh comes face-to-face with the shadowy woman Madhuris mother who nears him with
a parang in her hand. Saleh collapses and dies of a heart attack.
Thirdly, the fire at the Old Ladys house is the climax of the novel. From that point onwards,
events dramatically unfold and Azreen gets to the bottom of the mystery. Azreen puts the
pieces of facts here and there together and begins to understand the reasons behind the
cover-up of Madhuris murder by her husband, Haji Ghani. Most importantly, we are also
exposed to the crime of the villagers who are willing to do anything including planning an
attack on the innocent and harmless Old Lady just because of superstition. Under the
instigation of Puan Normala, the villagers are convinced to believe that the Old Lady
possesses a special power to turn people into rats and squirrels, so the latter is accused to
be an evil witch who brings all the misfortunes and bad omen to the village. In fact, when
the rain continues to pour for more than four days, causing the town to be flooded, the Old
Lady is blamed to have put the curse on the village. From this event, we can see how gullible
the villagers are to believe the vicious rumours spread by the village gossiper, Puan
Normala. She does not seem to care about the destruction she causes. Her irrational
behaviour thus destroys the reputations of victims such as the Old Lady even in the eyes of
children. At the same time, through this event too that we see the purity of the Old Ladys
heart. Despite being ostracised by the villagers, the Old Lady bears no grudges and is still
willing to help people like Asrafs Nek. More importantly, the Old Lady at the point of her
death before the burning house collapses on her, she reminds Azreen to forgive all the
villagers who have wronged her.
In conclusion, the fire is the most important event as it is the catalyst for many more events
in which makes the stories more interesting.

f) Theme
Write on the theme of love
The Curse written by Lee Su Ann touches on many aspects of life. Basically, all the aspects
revolve around our own community and can be used as guidance in our life.
The theme of love which is actually the main conflict in this whole novel. Firstly, we can
see this aspect between mother and child when we read how loving was Azreen towards
her mother when she came back from London. She realized her mother still does not know
about the death of her sister, Madhuri. Azreen took over the duty to take care of her
mother who was suffering from Alzheimers disease which was getting worse. Azreen
cooked porridge for her mother like Madhuri used to do and fed her. This shows that
Azreen loves her mother very much and feels responsible to take care of her after her
sisters death.
The concept of love can also be seen through Encik Saleh who loves his daughters very
much but does not know how to show it. He kept his love within him and was always looking
fierce and angry towards his daughters and wife. He loved his family very much and that is
why he worked hard on the farm.He also repairs chicken coop, repairs fencse and roofs
and chops wood in order to earn a living for his family. As a hard-working man, he wanted
to give his family the best out of him due to his love towards them which he does not show
openly. Here, I admit that I admire Encik Saleh as a loving father towards his family but he
should have shown his love in a more appropriate way.
Lastly, the concept of love can be seen in the characters of the Old Lady and Azreen. Azreen
was very lucky to find a meaningful and comfortable relationship with the Old Lady of the
forest. She was very close to the Old Lady until she told her all her secrets. She always goes
and visits the Old Lady whenever she felt bored, angry or happy. This shows that Azreen
really loves the Old Lady and does not give a single thought to what the villagers say
about the Old Lady. Azreens love towards the Old Lady was very strong until she was willing
to go into the burning house in order to save the Old Lady. But, faith wins. The Old Lady died
in the fire while Azreen was saved by her father due to his love towards his daughter.
As we can see, the concept of love is very strong throughout the novel. Each and every
character in this novel has the desire to love and to be loved.
2) Write on the theme of forgiveness
Lee Su Ann, the writer of the novel The Curse had brought up many themes in her writing.
One of the themes that I liked very much in this novel is forgiveness which was clearly
portrayed in Azreens character.

As we know from the beginning, Azreen is a very outspoken, aggressive and stubborn
character but towards the ending of the story she had learnt to forgive others. Azreen was
very much influenced by the Old Lady who begged Azreen to learn to forgive others at the
time of her death. We can see very much that Azreen kept her promise when she forgave
Mohd Asraf who had deliberately played with her emotions. All the while Azreen thought
Asraf liked her but, Asraf was actually falling for Madhuri and when he admitted that to
Azreen, she was speechless at first. Azreen hid herself from Asraf by running away until she
reached the cliff of the hills when Asraf confessed his love towards Madhuri. But as time
passed, her anger melted away slowly and she forgave Asraf as the Old Lady had told to
her just before she died.

Azreen too learnt to forgive her father who murdered Madhuri. Even though she felt sad at
first but she did not feel angry or resentment at him but she realized that she had lost her
only father that she used to know as a very hot-tempered man. Slowly Azreen forgave her
father but she could not see him eye to eye so she left him alone and that was the time
when Encik Saleh had a heart attack and collapsed. But if at all Azreen had not promised the
Old Lady to forgive others, I do not think that she would forgive her father for murdering
Madhuri.

Azreen too forgave Madhuri for all the hurt and resentment she caused in Azreens life.
Azreen was jealous of Madhuris beauty and genteel behavior. She was the favorite
daughter. She also resented Madhuri as Madhuri was able to captivate Asraf who eventually
fell in love with her. But, when Azreen discovers that Madhuri was adopted and the truth
about Madhuris murder at the hands of her own father, she feels nothing but pity for poor
Madhuri . Finally she forgives her sister, Madhuri.

Last but not least, Azreen also forgave Asraf and wished him luck from the bottom of her
heart when he left Langkawi to take a teaching course in KL. When she read a note from
him, she did not feel angry but she smiled after reading the note and also questioned herself
whether she had learnt to forgive others. From Azreens character, I too learnt to forgive
others in my life if they hurt my feelings. Being revengeful will not give us anything in life
except the negative value.
From the evidence above, the theme of forgiveness had been portrayed very well in this
novel through the protagonist, Azreen. I hope each and every human will learn to forgive
others in their life.
3) Write on the theme of Mothers Love
The novel The Curse by Lee Su Ann touches on many values that are useful in our daily
lives. As for me, I am touched with the value of mothers love in this novel.
Azreens mother is forever seen talking nonsense since her Alzheimers disease was
becoming worse. She was not given a name in this novel but always referred to as Mak.
Azreen felt guilty because she was the one who was responsible for her mother to loose one
of her leg. Even though, we know that Azreen admitted leaving the gate of the farm open
but actually she was only helping Mohd Asraf from being blamed. Due to her act, her
parents met with an accident when her fathers motorcycle hit the bull. Azreens mother
never hated Azreen for what had happened and she always loved Azreen. She even told
Azreen that it was not her fault that she lost her leg in the accident. This proves that Mak
was never angry towards Azreen and she accepts what happened to her as faith. This shows
the true love that a mother has for her child even though she is in pain.
Another incident that showed how true a mothers love is when Madhuris mother, the mad
lady who strolled in the village and always watched over her daughter. Even though
Madhuri was raised by Encik Saleh and his wife from a baby, the mad lady always kept
herself close to Madhuri. She used to watch Madhuri and Azreen when they come back
from school. This shows that she still loved her daughter even though she gave in when her
baby was lost. She knew she could not raise Madhuri in a proper way so she just kept quite
when Encik Saleh took the baby and decided to raise the child. But as a mother, she still
loved Madhuri and always sees how her daughter is living with her foster parents from far.
This is what we call mothers love. Even if the child is not with the real mother but she
always pray for her child to lead a happy life and that is why she took revenge against Encik
Saleh who killed Madhuri.
From these two mothers, the readers are shown the value of love that a mother has for a
child. Both mothers in this novel are not normal in certain ways but their love for their
children did not fade but they loved their daughters very much in their own different ways.