Shahnon Ahmad : novels of the troubled years, 1965-1978

Abstract

In modern Malay society, literature has served to mirror the attitudes and aspirations of Malays as well as the forces and processes which shape their lives. This has been evident since the emergence of modern fiction in the twenties, but particularly so after Independence in 1957. During the post-Independence period Malay society has experienced many challenges and changes, ranging from rural poverty and development, social and religious problems, politics and nationalism, racial tension, social unrest, to the Islamic awakening. Shahnon Ahmad emerged as a Malay short story writer in 1956 and as a novelist in 1965. He concentrated on portraying the troubled years in Malay society. As a writer, he is particularly concerned with his craftmanship and development of literary techniques of characterisation, through internal portrayal, style and language. His sensitivity to and mastery of the Malay language contribute in large measure to the effectiveness and success of his writing. As a Malay himself, Shahnon is very concerned about the problems facing Malays in Malaysia today. His writings reflect this concern and take as their themes current social issues in villages and towns. As a man, Shahnon is concerned with the feelings of himself and his people during the troubled years. These feelings are expressed in the emotions of his fictional characters. Ten of Shahnon Ahmad's novels have been selected for analysis in this thesis. They are the novels written between 1965 to 1978 and they reveal discernible stages in Shahnon's development as a writer. Thematically the works reflect contemporary concerns in Malay society, and examined chronologically they of fer a valuable insight into Malay perceptions of their society. Tne novels fall into natural groupings according to their central issues, which are: the rural struggle in Rentung and Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan; social problems and religion in Terdedah and Prates; Malay politics and nationalism in Menteri and Perdana; tension and change in Srengenge and Sampah; and renewed social commitment in Kemelut and Seluang Menodak Baung. The thesis has examined Shahnon's novels in these groupings and has focused on the use of theme, setting and technique. Attention has also been given to Shahnon's portrayal of character. The study of Shahnon Ahmad's ten novels within the thirteen-year period 1965-1978, which coincided with the economic, political and cultural development of Malay society, reveals three significant inter-related perspectives: the author's reaction to and reflection of Malay society; his presentation of themes of leadership and poverty, and the portrayal of characters from the village and the city; and his exploitation of language together with a development of literary style. These characteristics make Shahnon Ahmad a remarkable Malay writer and an outstanding novelist of modern Halaysia.