The Curse: An Important Event

Based on the novel you have read, choose an event that you think is important. Give reasons for your choice with close reference to the text.

            In the novel “The Curse” by Lee Su Ann, there are a number of important events. In my opinion one of the important events is the climax of the novel which is the attack on the Old Lady by an angry mob.

            The Old Lady tries to cure Mohd Asraf’s grandmother with her medicine but she dies suddenly. Mohd Asraf is convinced by Puan Normala that his grandmother, Nek, is poisoned by the Old Lady. Angry at his loss, Mohd Asraf leads an angry mob which results in a tragic accident and the demise of the Old Lady. This event is significant because after this incident all the questions that are in the minds of the villagers are answered.

            For Azreen, the death of the Old Lady signifies the loss of a true friend, confidante and counselor. Consequently, she confronts Asraf ‘like a wildcat’. He breaks down and tells her the truth that he and Madhuri are lovers and they have planned to elope to Kuala Lumpur. The next morning, Awang the ‘bomoh’ reveals more secrets. Azreen learns that Madhuri is not her real sister and that Madhuri’s mother is still alive. She is the vampire-like figure of a woman lurking around the village, out to avenge the death of her daughter.

Azreen finally confronts her father, Saleh Abdullah, who admits that he kills Madhuri in a fit of anger when he discovers that she is having an affair with a man in the rubber plantation. The ‘white blood’ that comes out from Madhuri’s body turns out to be the latex from the rubber tree. Later, when he comes face-to-face with the woman with the long black hair and blazing eyes (Madhuri’s real mother), he is terrified. Fear coupled with guilt results in him suffering a heart attack and he dies.

The important event in this novel when the Old Lady is attacked by the angry mob has shown that the truth will always prevail at the end.