OF BUNGA TELUR AND THE BALLY SHOES

PREPARED BY:S.GOMALA

OVERVIEWThe story is set in a traditional Malay village in the state of Kelantan, which is located on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Among the Malays, weddings are usually celebrated on an elaborate scale. Although the story takes place in contemporary times, matchmaking is still practiced. The older folks, usually the women, take the responsibility of choosing a bride / bridegroom for their children. This is often followed by the elders taking full charge of the wedding preparations. Amongst the Malays, the 'bunga telur‘ is a must. The 'bunga telur' is a hard-boiled egg that is presented in a special caseto guests who come for the wedding.

SYNOPSISThis short story is about Jamal, a young Kelantanese man who decides to get married. His mother chooses a bride for him - a beautiful, educated, rich and cultured girl. Soon, Jamal gets involved with the wedding preparations and discovers that expenses will be very high. Therefore, he works out a more reasonable budget.However, he still has to raise funds to pay for the expenses. Jamal tries to get a bank loan of RM5000 but rejects it when he finds the loan repayment to be too steep.He is happy to get a small loan of RM1500 from his mother. Finally, on the eve of his wedding, Jamal has no good shoes for his wedding. He had sold his Bally shoes to his Cousin Lan to raise funds for the wedding.

PLOTIn this story, all the key events are woven into a pattern. It comprises the following

ExpositionJamal decides to get married. A bride is chosen for him.

Rising ActionJamal finds that he lacks funds for the wedding. He thinks of ways to reduce expenses.

ClimaxJamal suggests using Hacks sweets instead of 'bunga telur'. His traditional sisterthreatens to call off the wedding.

Falling actionHe sells his Bally shoes to his cousin, Cousin Lan.

ResolutionAt the dress rehearsal, Jamal discovers that he has no good shoes for his wedding!

SETTING

There are two main settings - the physical setting and the social setting.

The following are some of the physical settings in the story :

The state of Kelantan* Jamal's house* The bride's house* The bank* Cousin Lan's house* A few shops in Kelantan

The social settings show the following :

* A matriarchal setting society, where women are the dominant force andmen are weak and have lost their masculinity.* A traditional 20th century society where traditional unwritten roles ofbehaviour for men and women prevail.* There are no good means of public transportation.

CHARACTERS (MAJOR)Character Character Traits Textual Evidence

Jamal

A weak characterHe is easily bullied and ordered around by the

womenfolk. He cannot make decisions by himself.

Rather irresponsible and a spendthrift

He does not save even though he only has a small salary. He does not consider the fact

that he may not be able to support a wife on his small salary.

Rather foolish, naïve, ignorant and simple-minded

He sells his Bally shoes to his cousin Lan for a low price. The actual cost is RM800. He does

not think before he acts. The Bally shoes would have been perfect for the wedding!He also does not manage to get back the

RM500 loan from his cousin.

Obedient son

He accepts his mother’s choice of a bride for him.

He accepts his mother’s reprimands gracefully and even his elder sister’s sarcasm.

Soft-hearted

Jamal cries when he is not able to take his relatives’ comments. He does not insist that

the other cousin return his money. He apologizes to the cow that is to be

slaughtered for the wedding.

Honest

He sells Cousin Lan the shoes cheaply, although it could have fetched a much higher

price. He does not take any wanton advantage of his future bride.

Patient

Jamal is not fussy. He is capable of making sacrifices when required. He goes through all the wedding preparations, the fitting sessions and lunches with his future bride with many

of his relatives looking on.

 

CHARACTERS (MINOR)Character Character Traits Textual Evidence

Jamal’s mother

Status - consciousHe ensures that her daughter-in-law is from a rich and

cultured family, educated, fair and pretty.

GenerousShe gives Jamal RM1500 for the wedding, knowing that he may not be able to return her the money.

PatientShe is especially patient with her son, Jamal, in explaining the many preparations needed for a

wedding.

Dominant and demandingShe insists that Jamal pay for certain items for the

wedding.

Fierce

Like many Kelantanese women, she has a good heart but scolds and lectures Jamal because he needs to be

more responsible especially regards with finances. She is rather unreasonable to demand so much

money from him since he has very little savings. She is very pushy and determined that everything will

work out according to her plans.She and her daughter excite him with stories of the

bridal chamber and then threaten to call off the wedding, leaving Jamal teary and frustrated.

Jamal’s sister

Short-temperedShe tells Jamal off when he suggests that they cut

cost on the ‘bunga telur’ by distributing Hacks sweets instead.

TraditionalShe insists on the ‘bunga telur’ although it is

expensive.

Dominant and bossyLike most Kelantanese women, her husband has no

say in anything.

UnreasonableShe insists that Jamal pay for the ‘bunga telur’ even

though she knows that he has no money.

Cousin Lan

Status-consciousHe insists on wearing only designer labels even

though the items come from Golok, Thailand, are imitations!

Shrewd, conniving and miserlyHe tries to strike a hard bargain with Jamal about the sale of his Bally shoes, even though he covets it and

knows that they are genuine.

Decisive and accommodating at the right momentWhen Jamal threatens to go elsewhere to sell his Bally shoes, he quickly agrees to buy it at the asking price.

THEMESBeing Responsible* Jamal decides to get married without considering whether he can supporta wife and children.* Jamal sells his Bally shoes to his cousin for immediate cash, but fails toconsider the fact that he might need them for his wedding. He is notambitious, and has not considered getting a better-paying job.* Jamal's mother insists that Jamal give her a huge sum for the weddingeven though he has so little savings - this is mean and irresponsible.* Jamal's sister threatens to call off the wedding just because Jamalsuggested that the 'bunga telur' be replaced with Hacks sweets.

The Importance of Custom and Tradition* Custom and tradition must be followed in a traditional society like Kelantan -for example, the choice of bride is the responsibility of the elders. Jamalcan only view his bride in the presence of relatives. Jamal must follow and gothrough all the wedding preparations.* Women are the dominant force in Kelantan society - the men have to listen!* It is important to keep to traditions - 'bunga telur' is given as a gift forevery wedding guest.

The Need for Moderation* Jamal is not very mature, and is not earning much. Thus, his decisionto get married seems a little hasty. He is also quite a spendthrift,and does not save much. He has to learn to budget and be moderate,especially with regards to his future wife.* Jamal's mother and sister are dominant and impatient with him. They alsothreaten to call off the wedding. They are unkind to raise his hopes aboutthe wedding and then threaten to call if off.* Both his mother and sister have short tempers and exaggerate matters often.* Jamal learns to exercise good judgement and practice moderation whenhe turns down the bank loan.

Status Consciousness* Jamal's mother makes sure that her daughter-in-law has looks, status anda good education.* Jamal's mother wants a grand wedding for Jamal, even though it meanssacrifice, making wrong decisions and, perhaps, borrowing.* Jamal's sister insists on the 'bunga telur' even though it will cost anabsurd RM1.20 for each egg! The outward show was to maintain their status.

MORAL VALUESThriftThis is seen in the case of Jamal. He is a spendthrift, but with the approachingwedding, he learns to cut his expenditures.

PatienceHuman beings must learn to be patient. Jamal learns to exercisepatience and tolerance with his mother and sister. Both havethreatened to cancel the wedding.

GenerosityWe must be generous. Generosity is shown by Jamal's mother. She iswilling to give him RM1500 for his upcoming wedding.

Self-ControlWe should respect chastity. Jamal's exercise of moderation andself-control are important in a modern era of sexual permissiveness

POINT OF VIEWThe story is written from the omniscient point of view. The narrator knows everything.He knows all the thoughts, emotions and actions of all the characters.

TONE AND MOOD

The story is told with some humour and has an ironic twist at the end. The writerhas a detached tone throughout the story. Therefore, the reader does notget emotionally involved with the characters but watches in amusement at Jamal'sattempts to raise funds and the ironic ending of the story.