IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP ASSESSMENT 3

Objectives:

To conduct a diagnostic assessment for students to recall information from the poem to get insight into how well they have learned the material

To give indication to the teacher of how well the information has been taught in the previous lessons

To enable the teacher to conduct remedial or enrichment exercises in the forthcoming lesson based on error analysis of each and every question

1. When did the people in the poem return home?

2. What kind of a setting do you see in the poem, ‘ In the Midst of Hardship’ by Latiff

Mohidin?

3. Describe the conditions of the people in this poem.

4. Despite the conditions of the people in the above poem, did they give up?

Which line tells you this?

5. What do you understand by ‘ but on their brows, there was not a sign of despair’?

6. What natural disaster had occurred to the place?

7. Name the animal that had gone missing in this poem.

8. Do you think the people in the poem are rich? Justify your answer with evidence

from the poem?

9. Why do you think the people are desperately looking for the lost animal?

10. What is alliteration? Give an example of alliteration from the poem.

11. Do you think the people here are hopeful and optimistic? Justify your answer.

12. What can you learn from this poem?

13. Do you think the poet has chosen a good title for this poem? Give a reason for

your answer.

14. Do you like the poem? Give a reason for your answer.

Have I Understood?

IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP

1 dawn

2 Village 3 They are soaked in water and sweat, and their clothes are tattered /They are

probably hungry after a day braving through the flood and slightly injured 4 They did not give up as shown in ‘ their brows there was not a sign of despair’

or ‘They were born amidst hardship and grew up without a sigh or a complaint’

5 These people did not give up or lose hope.6 A flood7 (An albino ) buffalo8 No. Any possible reason(s)

9 It is their son’s buffalo/They love their son/ Any other possible answer

10 between bloated carcasses11 Yes.

‘but on their brows there was not a sign of despair.’

‘They were born amidst hardship and grew up without a sigh or a complaint’

12 Any possible answer13 Any possible answer14 Any possible answer

Answer Key

ASSESSMENT 3 ASSESSMENT 3

IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP

LATIFF MOHIDIN

Born on 25 August 1941 in Negeri Sembilan, Latiff Mohidin was educated at

Lenggeng, Seremban, Singapore, and the University of Fine Arts in Berlin. This poet

and artist has held exhibitions of his works and travelled abroad extensively in the

1960s and 1970s. He has served as Writer in Residence at the Science University of

Malaysia, Penang, the National University of Malaysia and Dewan Bahasa dan

Pustaka. At present, Latiff is a freelance poet and artist. His poems have won the

Putra I poetry Award. Among his books are: Sungai Mekong (1972), Kembara Malam

(1974), and Wayang Pak Dalang (1977). Garis: Dari Titik ke Titik (1988), a book on the

creative process (art and poetry), won the Honourable Diploma Prize at the Festival of

International Books at Leipzig, Germany in 1989.  

Latiff Mohidin is usually known for his graphic and imagistic experiment. He

addresses social themes in his poems, illustrating the all-important concept that poetry

serves society. Among the poems he has written are  Dream 1, Mirror, The

Puppeteer’s Wayang, Words Adrift on Air, The Legend of the Dawn, His Thick Shroud,

The Shore of Time, Mask of My Name is Rawana and ‘A City, A Grandmother and

Death’.

Poet’s Background

IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP WORKSHEET P2

Questions Answers

1. When was Latiff Mohidin born?

2. Name his birthplace.

3. Name a place where he had his

education.

4. Give a country to which he has

been

before.

5. Apart from being a poet, what

else

does he do?

6. What award has he won?

7. What is his nickname?

8. Name one of his poems.

9. Latiff Mohidin believes that poetry

serves …..

10. Name one of his works.

Getting-To-Know-You

IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP

This poem tells of the hardship that a family in a village faces after a big flood. The

elders return at dawn in soaking-wet clothes. They go straight to the kitchen. They are

probably hungry. Their hands and legs are bruised but they do not show any sign of

despair or of losing hope.

After braving the dreadful flood for the last 24 hours, they still can not find their son’s

albino buffalo. Despite all the adversities and suffering, the people in the poem do not

complain or lament on their misfortunes. They spend time together, enjoying each

other’s company. They are grateful for the fact what they still have instead of what is

lost. Life goes on with their daily chores of preparing food and habit of rolling their

cigarette leaves. They are still able to joke with one another.

Synopsis

IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP WORKSHEET P1a

Looking at pictures

A Picture Says A Thousand Words