The development of the country's diversity can be traced in the fiction produced by the Nation. The two main fiction novels I am going to use to go over these statement are" The Return" and "Green is the color", written by two important first generation writers KS Maniam and LLyod Fernando.
This paper will explore the question of whether Malaysian Literature in English has a significant devote the social and cultural tapestry of the nation along with historical and sociological literatures.
The definition of social and culture respectively are, the former is anything pertaining to human society and the latter is characterized by the historical nature, the relativity and the diversity of your nation, which undergoes change alongside changes in the economic, social and political organization of society
History is any written accounts of days gone by and sociology is the study of society, the functioning, organization, development and types of human societies.
Definitions from " Collins Dictionary of Sociology" by David Jary and Julia Jary.
I would like to use an excerpt from Muhammad Haji Salleh's "Reclaiming Worlds: Theories in the Texts", that gives a location for fiction in the social and cultural representation of the country.
" A culture is as a great old tree from the planet earth of history, traditions, societies and worldviews. Moulded over the centuries by complex processes, an admixture and blend of the forces it is continuing to grow special flowers and fruits with special qualities and identities. A LITERATURE, a literary mind, is a superb branch of the tree. "
Fiction links history and sociology, for the reason that it complements these two branches of study giving a 3rd perspective, a creative depiction of the united states. Literature has the type of agency to reflect and touch upon society, to voice certain concerns. Literature is the fiction that provides new realities to history, through the changes the country has undergone.
"Literature has the responsibility to reflect what the nation is and what it's been and what it ought to be. " (Poole, R)
The history of a particular period in the united states could be understood better by reading a text that depicts the historical recounts of the same period. It really is two dimensional, one could browse the chronological recount from a historical text and further deepen their knowledge and understanding through reading a work of fiction dealing with the same facet of history but from a literary standpoint or read a literary text better even as we know the context, a general idea of the nation's history. Yes! understanding aspects of history by reading literature. This is what I aim to prove in this essay, to identify the relationship between history and fiction.
Literature definitely has a location alongside history and sociological texts in the social and cultural representation of the country.
Malaysian Literature in English sprung at the time the Nation was in the process of being built, its advent in the 1940's with concerns of post world war two and the complacent reliance on colonial power. Active writings commenced in the 1950's, the pre- Independence stage and slowly made its way to the post Independence stage capturing all the major turns in the historical milestone of the Nation. The recounts of history captured by eminent first generation writers of the century namely KS Maniam and LLyod Fernando in their writings runs parallel with the recounts within historical texts, but further delves into human aspects, insights into issues, fears and sentiments felt by the country's people who had been bound and brought together by history. For the intended purpose of this assignment on how literature is associated with history I would like to approach the discussion from the angle of pre-independence and post-independence of Malaysia and both texts that'll be the parameters of the discussion will be the Return by KS Maniam and Green is the color By LLyod Fernando. My choices derive from the fact that The Return depicts the annals of the Nation, the plural Malaya, before the independence of 1957 and the novel "Green is the Colour" presents the multi ethnic, multicultural Malaysia of post independence 1957. In other words I will be tracing the introduction of plurality and the introduction of diversity (multiculturalism) through the eyes of both novelists mentioned previously. By presenting close textual analysis of both fiction novels, I am going to walk you through this periods of history, the before and after, and the transitional periods which forms the basic foundation history which resulted in the forming of society and the Nation as superbly presented in both the mentioned texts.
PRE-INDEPENDENCE MALAYA- THE PLURAL MALAYA
Before I go into length about the historical landscape of the novel a small amount of history on the subject would be asked to facilitate a better understanding of the cultural climate of that era. It might be useful to know how we came about to being "plural'. The British imported indentured labor, since late 19th century from south China and south India for his or her own capitalist venture, resulted in the co existence of the three main races in Malaya then. This was further compounded by the British divide and rule policy which kept these three races in their own spheres with British administration implementing rules and policies that hindered any formation of inter-ethnic alliances aside from any mingling one of the races. This was to guard their own political and monetary interests. The training system further drove a wedge between the ethnic groups as it was by means of vernacular school system. Thus the birth of plural society.
This is what is reflected in KS Maniam's " The Return". The novel is approximately a Tamil family moving into Kedah after the second world war. The plot covers three generations, Ravi the narrator and the central figure of the novel, his father and his grandmother- the life and struggles of a typical Tamil family of the post-war period. The central theme of the novel is the seek out identitiy of the protagonist, living between the culture of the immigrant post-colonial society. The transition of a group of folks moving from one world to some other world. The novel deals with the cross come across of the immigrant culture with the host community culture. The other themes are also around the sensation of "Unhomeliness", "displacement" and "living inbetween spaces" experienced by the immigrant community as they battle to adjust to their new environment. The sensation of unhomeliness cause the characters, especially the older generation to get desiring their ancestral home and keeping the hyperlink alive through the practice of rites, rituals and celebrations, making a home far away from the home they knew before. . Regardless of whether Maniam represents only the Indian community as when he claims "he writes best what he knows best", he is actually representing the other ethnic communities as well through his writing. He writes how the different communities kept within their own therefore moving into isolation, with minimal interaction with one another and living of their own space. This description gives the reader a good indepth knowledge of the historical background of this particular era where plural society existed and exactly how the different ethnic communities lived.
J. S Furnivall 1948, 304, describes plural society" as a medley of peoples, European, Chinese, Indian and native who do mix but do not combine. Each group holds by its own religion, its own culture and language, its own ideas and ways. As individuals they meet, but only in the market place, in investing. There is a plural society, with different parts of the community living hand and hand, but separately, within the same political unit.
" It simply means different ethnic groups lived side by side in their separate enclaves and are involved in different economic activities but rarely interact except, literally, at the marketplace place.
This is a definition of how people of different ethnocultural background lived and interacted with each other. That is also a result of the Imperial legacy left behind by the British. Prior to the Colonial rule by the British, there have been migrants who were Javanese, Arabic, Indian and Chinese surviving in Malaya however they assimilated with the neighborhood culture by means of mixed marriages, fusion and syncretism in cultures, language and even religion. After the introduction of the machine of indentured labor, the migrant communities were encouraged to keep and retain their social and cultural heritage and political links to their motherland, while living in the pockets of their own communities. The essence of which has been captured by Maniam in his novel.
He writes, "I have been exposed to a host and a language that would trail me for the others of my entire life, the environment was the estate houses, the rubber trees and the red laterite road that led from the primary, tar road into remoteness. There was a lonely trickling stream that i crossed to and from school and in the length, the faintly blue mountain tips. Nothing else might well have brought home to me the actual fact the Indians were isolated and lived in an environment of their own. " ( The Return)
"The language was the Tamil language, which we chanted for the reason that two- room, green, plank building called then and also to this day, a school. The chanting was not without purpose: the sound rhythm and imagery of the language helped obliterate the sterility of life beyond your classroom. '
( The Return)
" Both facts, environment and language, have remained, unconsciously the majority of the time within me. Though I was used in an English School from then on twelve months in a Tamil one, the Tamil language had an influence on my works. These facts have remained the same, with some modifications, but the fiction is rolling out for me, into reality. That fiction I ambiguously call, the destiny of your folks from whom I've not had the opportunity to produce a complete break. That fiction has been the exploration of days gone by, present, psychology, conflicts and ambitions of the Indian Community in Malaysia. "
( Fiction Into Fact, Fact into Fiction: A Personal Reflection by KS Maniam)
The writer in emphasizing the immersion he feels in his language and the isolated environment of the city he lived, gives us an insight concerning what sort of plural society functioned. The members of each community had a specific space carved out for them to live life just how they know best, thus forming just a little world for themselves within a larger one. That they had their own culture, social engagements and festivals where in fact the connect to their ancestral home is strongly evident.
" These festivals ( Deepavali, as well as Thaipusam and Ponggal created a special country for us. We were inhabitants of an invisible landscape tenuously brought into prominence by the lights, mango leaves strung out in the doorways, the pilgrimage to Sri Subramanya temple in Sungei Petani on Thaipusam day, the painting of the bull horns after Ponggal and the countless taboos that covered our day to day life' ( The Return)
This is an insight concerning how deeply immersed the members of the Indian community were in their culture brought of their homeland and exactly how their lifestyle is filled with rituals and customs practiced by their ancestors, how its embraced and practiced in a faraway land, its propriety and meaning never questioned, its importance in creating a sense of home for them out of your need for a feeling of belonging. There is absolutely no possibility to learn and mingle with other communities, no syncretism what so ever whether it be language, culture, food or just meaningful co mingling. Whether or not there was it could strictly maintain places like the market where there's a necessity to get their essential food supplies. Interaction would be at minimal as there would be language and cultural barriers.
Thus the consequences of plural society are;-
Lack of interaction between communities and ethnocentric perspective of the world
Lack of intercultural dynamics resulted in the forming of enclave communities
Lack of a meaningful contact caused too little " a typical will"
Therefore the different communities lived a segregated existence, geographically, they were self sufficient and had little need or regard for the other in every domains including education, politics, culture, religion, language plus more. This is actually the snapshot of how the plural society lived as clearly and concisely presented in the text "The Return" by KSManiam. Here historical texts using its chronological order of facts complements a lot more subjective, fiction based, but true historical recounts given by the literary mind. An insight and probe in to the lives of individuals who lived out the history of this particular era, a testimony and some realism that gives deeper meaning and understanding to any reader.
Another aspect of the novel that I wouldlike to highlight is the use of energy. The stories of three generation family members give the notion of struggle with the culture of the reception country (Malaya) and adaptation required for change and cross cultural syncretism which happens much much later in the history of Malaysia but what's important is the evolving process which takes place from this point (Pre-Independence) to (Post- Independence). The novel's treatment of time provides sense of continuity, from the immigrant "Ravi's grandmother who had arrived from India to her grandson who goes to England to help expand his studies and returns as a teacher. There's a sense of continuity as if the writer actually plans to walk us through the Nation's history through the development of his characters personal life and ambitions. Through the narrative technique of the autobiography of the key character, personal memories of days gone by gets shifted to the present and it is understood as an activity of change. It really is this process which also shows the development of society from being plural to becoming multicultural as the novel moves with time in one era to another. The novel spans three generations which may be traced with the arrival of Periathai in Malaya ( early 1940's to 1957) after Kannan, Ravi's father's death. It is also through this era that the writer gives details in to the history of the Nation. Maniam takes the reader through British Occupation, the Interim Japanese Occupation, the Communist Insurgency, the Emergency period and lastly the independence of Malaya.
" However the hospital compound wasn't always quarrels and class prejudice. There was the Kings birthday celebrated in a memorable manner. Then the entry to the graveled hospital road was straddled by an arch bearing the legend""Long Live The Majesty" Lights blinked during the night for a complete week.
(The Return)
" That year curfew, reduced by two hours was impose only between 12 and 5amThe Majestic in Bedong screened mainly Chinese, Malay and Indian films. People moved about with less fear. An army unit was stationed at Merbok. "
(The Return)
" Bedong have been changing, the old shopkeepers had to look at a more progressive attitude. They were unable to keep out the travelling salesmen who conducted business on the roadside. The old shop facades came down. Planks that had served as shutters each numbered and slotted into a wooden groove, the entranceway detached and assembled, were slowly replaced by the iron grille. "
" One night while we were still at the job on the clothes, we heard Tunku Abdul Rahman, our Prime Minister, on the radio, uttering the words: "Merdeka!, "Merdeka! Merdeka!". so Independence came and the immediate signs were the further reduced amount of the curfew hours and in the kinds of goods displayed at the pavement stalls. I saw a whole world rise next to the road, cramped and glittering, towards reachable peaks of personal dreams. Possesions wasn't exclusive anymore, it was everyone's prerogative"
( The Return)
All the aforementioned excerpts show the progress of the country's history as seen through the eyes of Ravi, from the colonial celebration of the King's birthday, to the curfews during the Japanese and Communist Insurgency and the Independence celebration. Ravi, who represents his Indian community stands beyond your circle and looks in as though he is an outsider, he is not part and parcel of the country's struggle nor proud of its new status as an unbiased country as he is one of the component of a plural society and cannot see beyond the requirements of his daily chores. He hears the proclaimation of Independence, yet is passive and sometimes appears continuing with the ironing of the clothes eager to finish his chores. He cannot partake in the joy of independence as being part of any plural society, there is absolutely no common will or a vision, there is absolutely no sense of togetherness, hence no sense of celebration, pride or joy as a united, free and Independent Nation.
In this novel the writer has also revision certain historical facts especially how the Indian community fared during this period of history, by giving voice to the forgotten or silenced community whose plight was never heard. This is a historical recount on the migrant community, the storyplot of how they lived and survived in a fresh land can be read as a historical reading as it sheds light on the real issues faced by this community. The birth of the new Ravi, that has undergone British education, and the process he undergoes is almost parallel to the process the isolated Indian community goes through, no longer can they hold on to their identity to be a member of your plural society however the need to improve and evolve in line with the changes the country is going through, thus the slow evolvement from the plural society towards multi ethnic or multicultural society, that i will discuss on the next half my paper using the text "Green is the color"
POST-INDEPENDENCE MALAYSIA
The novel "Green may be the Colour" is set in the post- 13th May 1969, inter racial riots in Malaysia. My reason for selecting this novel is due to the setting of your energy, the first reason, as a continuum from the sooner novel " The Return" which depicts enough time frame of pre-independence, this novel takes into account the phase from the 1957 independence till the riots of 1969, and then the after math phase, which is the primary framework which the plot is developed. The second reason is, to highlight the development from plurality to the development of diversity in Malaysia, pre and post Independence. In this specific text, the author has re-lived and reconstructed a part of National history through combining his personal memories along with his imagination. A fiction exists and it offers a lot insight into a period in history that was dark and made people uneasy because of its sensitivity. A historical recount would give description of events that led to the riots and a factual report on the occurrence but this novel, a fiction, covers not only the physical areas of the volatile situation the united states was at but also presents an insight into the minds of the multi racial characters and their clashing opinions and visions. The author shows how their lives and relationships are influenced by the political developments in the country.
" there may be commotion everywhere, violence is breaking out intermittently, civilians are active with guns, the streets full of barricades and broken glass, shops are being looted, cars set on fire and occasion sounds of bomb explosions peal through air. . "
The above is a physical description of the May 1969 riots, from the novel Green is The Colour, taken from " One Sky Many Horizon's", by Mohammad A Quayyum.
The description that provides an insight to how generally people felt during that amount of chaos and disorder is " Everybody spoke some other language, everyone used different words, everyone was hurt and angry that others didn't understand them" ( Fernando 1993:59)
Only literature can provide a deep insight to both history and the human mind, through the dramatization of the characters in a fiction, their feelings, moral and psychological reactions to crisis. Into a reader this might be valuable information not only about the history of your Nation but also the social and cultural aspect of the people who make the Nation.
I wish to draw particular attention to the period among 1957, Independence to the incident of the 1969 race riots. The moral and sociological problems of a newly independent country with a legacy of colonial past and a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious make-up.
For this purpose I'd like to draw the variations between both plural and multi-ethnic society. The major variations lie in the actual fact that a plural society is not managed, it just exists but in a multi ethnic society, the members are moving towards the wil, an "imagined society" consistent with creating a Nation, independent from colonial rule. Essentially, a transformation from plural to multiethnic or multicultural backdrop. This gives a larger sense of co existence between members of the several communities. As pockets of community overlaps, this would naturally cause tensions. With interaction comes issues of race relations, racial intolerance and "xenophobia", the phobia of the "other".
Xenophobia is thought as an exaggerated hostility towards or concern with foreigners ( Collins, Dictionary of Sociology by David and Julia Jary)
When we figure out how to deal and deal with the above mentioned issues, that's when tolerance and understanding of race, culture and religious barriers would present the power for folks of different races to have together harmoniously.
Multiculturalism, just how I'd read it is management of diversity. According to C W Watson in his publication "Multiculturalism", the term multiculturalism " it denotes a society where there is several cultures".
"When a nation is a multicultural society and someone's sense of self worth is intimately and unavoidably bound up with their cultural identity, then your state, if it wants the country to survive can do one of both things. It can try to destroy the multicultural dimension of the society by rooting out all cultures other than the single one that will become dominant. . . The choice is always to celebrate and encourage multiculturalism in the expectation that citizens who are proud of their culture to see that culture being endorsed by their state will worry to join in common citizenship with members of other cultural groups to protect the liberal tolerance which is so important for them. "
Taken from the book "Multiculturalism "by C W Watson.
This excerpt is important to me as it captures the essence of the novel "Green is The Colour". " to become listed on in common citizenship with members of other cultural groups tp protect liberal tolerance", this is what is presented in the novel, a note that if we want to enjoy unity and harmony there must be an even of tolerance and understanding among the members of the several ethnic groups.
Multiculturalism talks about the demands of the minorities, each race wants to be represented and demand for recognition and equality. If not met, tensions brew and lead to apprehension and mistrust among the members, conflict and contestation for supremacy and control. The Malay's wanted their political, social and economical rights as the natives of the land protected. The Chinese and Indians, on the other hand wanted greater political freedom as citizens of the soon to be independent nation. The race riots of May 1996 is a culmination of the above. It brought a knowledge that the society imbalance and issues of communalism needed to be addressed. This is the opening of the novel, the immediate aftermath of the riot and the distrust and suspicion the people of different races have of each other.
The author presents this landscape and through his various characters can highlight the issues and problems that arises in the way the problem is handled. A variety of sensitive issues mainly on race, religion and gender, that want careful handling is taken to the surface and handled. The writer, Fernando, tells us indirectly that the management of diversity requires recognition, acceptance and tolerance of the "other".
In the novel, the author has presented competing views of the nation through its central characters. T he major ethnic groups in the united states, namely Malays, Chinese and Indians receive equal attention. The rigid views of Panglima and Omar. While Panglime is more towards the forming of a Malay Malaysia, Omar is designed for an Islamic Malaysia.
The words of Panglima,
" I saw the way the so called modern values have led us to the situation we are actually in. The folks divided, so many religions, real rojak, partitioned not into two parts but many parts. We need a single group of values to keep us to-gether'. (page169 text)
Omar uses religion to flee modern Western values and rediscover the pre-colonial past,
" He spoke about modern life and how it had become corrupt. Everywhere people were chasing money, living immoral lives. This was a godless time and he was lucky to find Tok Guru Bahaudin to help redeem his life.
He tells Sara, " this country is ours. We will make it our very own" (109)
He views his non-Malay, non-Muslim friends with distrust because they do not share his culture and religion. His take on Gita,
" Gita, she was a distraction and in the end a danger. The same could be said about others. No need to cut them off completely but if they wanted to live with little if any religion and pray to idols, they must be kept far away. (40)
However in the type of Yun Ming, we see loyalty and dedication to the united states. Even if he is referred to as kafir by Panglima, he's known as "sincere' and willing to "understand". Panglima counts on him to attempt inconvenient tasks, instead of his Malay officers.
Yun Ming is so keen to bridge cultures and bring harmony and homogeneity that he is willing to sacrifice his own tradition and culture. He is willing to embrace Islam in attempting to marry Sara.
Dahlan is the character who speaks the right words, and does the right what to heal a nation that is in big trouble, however he is viewed to be too radical and outspoken, that he offends many people. He preaches religious tolerance, demands equal opportunities for those races, marries a Hindu woman without asking her to convert, stands up for a Chinese spiritual leader and offers to attempt the funeral rites for Fatimah Neelambigai, lady convert who will not be buried by either side of her family. Even if Dahlan represents the "voice" of each person who wishes to start to see the ideal "imagined society', he is criticized for his approach, which is deemed too " euro interpellated". That is another message from the writer that infers the necessity for a subtle, careful approach in handling a matter of such great sensitivity that you just can't go at once collision in reaching the ideal.
The characters that display human compassion and extraordinary depth are Sara and Lebai Hanafiah.
Lebai Hanafiah will not practice discrimination or prejudice treatment of individuals and teaches the spirit of equality and dignity to all.
" There are so many who wish to force you to check out the correct path. Each one's right path is the only person. I am sick and tired of seeing the folly spread in the name of such right paths. I fear those who seek to come between me and love for many humanity. They are the way to obtain hate and destruction. " (116)
I particularly like Sara's views on how to take care of and solve all the problems arising in a multicultural society on the road to creating a new Nation.
" She pondered within the uses of words like 'disturbances', 'trouble', 'riots', and 'killing', noting the way the use of each unerringly identified the user. She added that, in the end, we are building a new country, we were working out our very own future and we will solve our problems as they arise. She developed and clung to the use of the plural personal pronoun because they soothed her, they stirred feelings of patriotism, of love for fellow citizens whether Malay, Chinese, Indian or Eurasian. They exempted her from asking what really had happened. " (page 77)
Lloyd Fernando, has presented the multiple views of the muti racial society, as a social fact in our life in this country till today. The diversity is shown through the potrayal of extreme modern minds in characters like Dahlan, extreme conservative on the other side of the spectrum, just as Omar and the balanced approaches required verymuch in a nation like ours as presented in the characters of Lebai Hanafiah, Yun Ming and Sara. In his novel the the multiracial characters interact and talk to each other, each one's identity and sense of belonging is tested and their needs and wants recognized.
In comparison to the sooner novel " The Return", the plot revolved about the emerging of the idenetity of a single character against the setting of any plural society, there have been tensions existent even in that homogenous makeup, within one's own community. By utilizing a parochial framework and the setting of post colonial era of Malaya, Maniam presented the concerns of a plural society evolving to a multiethnic one. In Green is the color, Fernando assumes where Maniam has left off and presents a multi racial and multicultural landscape and the problems that arises from such a make up. Diversity is the main framework and he creates opportunities for inter racial relations. The message that comes through is the capability to accept and tolerate differences, regardless of race and religion.
Both the authors have captured the essence of Malaysian history not only in conditions of mentions and descriptions of history of this era but these recounts gives us glimpses and insights into how society evolved from one amount of history to another. The struggles of people and society in a multi ethnic, , multicultural backdrop, carving niches for themselves through negotiation, tolerance and acceptance in a country constantly growing and developing. It gives a better knowledge of how exactly we got here and we are able to appreciate and celebrate our diversity better. The role played by both of these fiction novels in presenting history in this informative and interesting manner is undeniable. Both texts incorporate the attributes of historical as well as sociological novel.
Read together, the accounts presented by both the novels give a comprehensive, detailed picture of the sociopolitical conditions and the sequential unfolding of the Malaysian landscape. Therefore does fiction have a location alongside history and sociology texts in the social and cultural tapestry of the country? The answer is a simple YES.
