MAIN ISSUES (THEMES) IN THE STORY:
· Social and cultural issues:
A village deeply entrenched with Malay traditional beliefs e.g seeking the aid of the bomoh (spiritual healer) when Rosli appeared to be in a trance and showed symptoms of being possessed when he was in the midst of carrying out his ‘translating’ job
· Tradition vs Modernity:
ü Elements of modernity (progress) depicted through a movie screening in the village
ü Amidst modernity, the local villagers still hold strong to superstitious belief mainly to find a solution (cure) for any ailments as can be seen when Rosli appeared to be possessed by the characters from the movie he had been translating
ü Young and educated people like Rosli not believing in spiritual healers but more on rational, logical thinking when he cried in a hostile manner that he was actually ‘sick’ of his present life which led him to the verge of insanity and disillusionment
· Importance of education:
Simple-mindedness of the villagers made them look up to Rosli and simply believed his translations of the foreign movies (revealed their ignorance and low educated status that Rosli later on despised)
· Blurred distinction between reality and fantasy:
Being too engrossed in his translations made Rosli envious and resentful of the life and looks of the actors and actresses on screen. At one point, he seemed to be possessed with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman’s characters (from the movie Casablanca) that he felt he was part of the movie and no longer a teacher or a ‘lying’ translator.
· Issue of language;
not forgetting our native language (mother tongue); forgetting our language means we are forsaking our Malay roots and identity
e.g. Rosli’s father wanting him to become a Malay language teacher although initially, he wanted to become an English teacher
MORAL VALUES FROM THE STORY
· Greed and fame can ruin one’s life
e.g. Rosli felt a sense of pride when the villagers started to rely on him for the movie translations and became dissatisfied with his mundane, plain life after taking up the translator job.
· Pretending to be a person that you are not will bring damaging consequences:
Rosli became his own victim of lies and false appearances which turned him from a grateful and simple man to a person who is full of resentment, hostility and envy.
ACTIVITY: Record and upload a video providing your views on the question:
l Do you think the short story has changed your perception (positive or negative)on the job of a movie translator?
l What are the things that you can learn from this story and apply in your life as a student?
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