KATIE WONG AI CHINCHIONG HAU ANNJENNY KONG YUG YING

the midnight satay- vendor by Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof

GHULAM-SARWAR YOUSOF

• (b. 1939) • graduated in English from the University

of Malaya (1964)• did a Doctorate in Asian Theatre at the

University of Hawaii (1976). • one of Malaysia’s most distinguished

scholars• one of the world’s leading specialists of

traditional Southeast Asian theatre.

• Currently he is Adjunct Professor at the Centre

• Director of The Asian Cultural Heritage Centre Berhad, a private research initiative set up by him to promote research in traditional Asian cultures.

the midnight satay- vendor

he cuts a sorry figure, the solitary vendoramong the sleeping bungalowspedalling up the stubbornaristocratic slopes of jesselton heightsSataySataysatay

i can see him wiping his sweaty browcan smell piquant in the air the aromaof chicken and cincangas he fans the firebeneath the sizzling rows of skewers

at home in the kampung a wife and childrenawait the meagre day’s collection:some ringgits and a few senthat go nowherein these days of inflasi; and the electiontoo, with its promise, come and gone

but life must not stop for the likes of him,so at pasar malam and along the nights inclines�wiping his migraines off his foreheadhe returns to the embers,his children amidst their kurang ajar yawnsprepare tomorrows ketupat and cucumbers�

SataySataysatay

i wish at times i could trade places with himthe midnight vendor, if only as a gamesurrender for once a so-called elegance

but education tells me i am halus, he kasar for don’t you see im a shakespeare-wallah� �with his degree that clings to me like a viceand a middle-class airconditioned nose?

Glossary:

Satay : skewered meat eaten as snackCincang : meat cut up into little pieces Kampung : villageringgit and sen : Malaysian currencyInflasi : inflationpasar malam : night marketkurang ajar : ill-bredKetupat : packet of sticky riceHalus : refinedKasar : coarseShakespeare-wallah : an expert on Shakespeare;

an educated person

Synopsis

• highlights about the differences between the upper and lower class society. The persona in this poem explains about the hardness of a satay vendor’s life who works to support his family, selling satay around the high-class residential and at the pasar malam.

• nativizes certain Malaysian cultural aspect in this poem through the use of the most

popular food among Malaysian; satay.

• uses well known local setting which is pasar malam as a nativization of cultural setting。

Theme: Difference in lifestyle between 2 Malaysians –

• a privileged, university-educated man.

• a hard-working, uneducated satay vendor.

Although the poet describes the satay vendor’s life as being tough and exhausting, he also seems to envy it.

Setting

• Aristocratic slopes of jesselton heights.

• Pasar malam(night market)

• Kampung(home）

POETIC DEVICES

1.Contrast 1

• the sorry figure of � �the satay vendor

• the stubborn/ �aristocratic slopes of �Jesselton Heights.

The word stubborn suggests the difficulty that � �the vendor has in cycling up the hills; it is as if the slopes do not want him to get to the top.

2.Contrast 2

“but my education tells me I am halus, he kasar

Halus= knowlegable man, no physical work.

Kasar=Not educated but tough because full of physical

works.

3.Usage of local language(Malaysia)

Satay : skewered meat eaten as snackCincang: meat cut up into little pieces Kampung : villageringgit and sen : Malaysian currencyInflasi : inflationpasar malam : night marketkurang ajar : ill-bredKetupat: packet of sticky riceHalus : refinedKasar : coarseShakespeare-wallah : an expert on Shakespeare;

an educated person

4.Onomatopoeia

• This is the technique of using a word whose sound suggest its meaning.

• “beneath the sizzling rows of skewers”

• Barbecue-satay-hot/cook-sound like “sizzling”

5.Alliteration/Repetition

• Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.

• Produces a rhythmic and musical effect that is quite pleasing to hear.

Satay/ satay/ satay• The arrangement is interesting; visually, it gives us an

impression of the vendor moving along the hill, his voice receding further into the distance as he pedals on.

6.Assonance

• Use of identical vowel sounds surrounded by different kind of consonant sounds in world in close proximity to each other.

• Stanza 3:row 2 and row 5…Collection… election• Stanza 4 row 4 and row 6…Embers…cucumbers…

7.Imagery:

• Images, pictures or sensory content, which we find in a poem.

• Are fanciful or imaginative descriptions of people or objects stated in terms of our senses.

• Example：

pasar malam/satay/ketupat=local/malaysia’s culture.

Point of View

• Third person/he

Shakespeare-wallah with a degree• See things in his way, standing aside watching

a life of a satay-vendor.

Moral Value

• Satay vendor-work hard to earn money by selling satay-show his love, care and responsibility towards family.

Ex.?

• Sympathy towards the poors/lower status community members.

Ex.?