Latar Masa, Latar Tempat, Latar Masyarakat (Cerpen Tingkatan 4)

Cerpen Munsyi : Latar Masa, Latar Tempat, Latar Masyarakat (Cerpen Tingkatan 4)

Latar

Latar Tempat

(a)  Rumah Mel.

(b)  Rumah Munsyi.

(c)   Kampung Mel, iaitu Mel dan Bondanya menetap di situ.

(d)  Sebuah perkampungan tradisi di pinggir kota yang merupakan tanah rizab Melayu.

(e)  Ibu kota.

Latar Masa

(a)  Bulan Mei.

(b)  Beberapa purnama.

(c)   Pada suatu hari.

(d)  Minggu pertama berada di kota.

(e)  Seminggu selepas itu.

(f)    Lebih kurang lima ratus tahun yang lampau.

(g)  Seminggu selepas proses merobohkan rumah-rumah di kampung tradisi.

Latar Masyarakat

(a)  Masyarakat yang amat mencintai agama, bahasa, budaya, dan adat resam turun-temurun.

(b)  Masyarakat yang amat mempertahankan maruah dan harga diri.

(c)   Masyarakat yang berpendirian tegas semasa membuat keputusan.

(d)  Masyarakat yang bijak merancang masa depan.

(e)  Masyarakat kota yang hilang maruah dan jati diri.

(f)    Masyarakat yang amanah dan jujur untuk menyempurnakan hajat seseorang.

(g)  Masyarakat yang menjadi mangsa pembangunan.

(h)  Masyarakat penjajah yang mengamalkan gaya pemerintahan ‘pecah dan perintah’.

Poem The Charge Of The Light Brigade (Form 4) : Meaning

Line no.	STANZA 1	INTERPRETATION
1	Half a league, half a league,	A league is an old way to measure distance, and it was equal to about 3 miles. So half a league is roughly a mile and a half– the brigade/battalion was charging forward in the battlefield
2	Half a league onward,
3	All in the valley of Death	The place where many soldiers would die in the battle (very scary & uncertain)
4	Rode the six hundred.	The exact number of soldiers was 600, riding horses
5	“Forward, the Light Brigade!	The captain commanded the soldiers to move forward bravely Note: they are called "Light" to separate them from the "Heavy Brigade," another kind of cavalry unit at the time.Tennyson's poem is based on real events. In 1854, there was a Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War.
6	Charge for the guns!” he said.	The soldiers were ordered to attack
7	Into the valley of Death	The soldiers moved to the battlefield, prepared to fight and to die fighting.The brigade was ordered into the valley, even though they knew that they were going to die.
8	Rode the six hundred.	Emphasis on the small number of soldiers – few but brave soldiers riding on horseback

Line no.	STANZA 2	INTERPRETATION
1	“Forward, the Light Brigade!”	Again, the captain commanded the soldiers to move forward
2	Was there a man dismayed?	Was there any soldier who would lose his courage, be terrified or sad?
3	Not though the soldier knew	Of course the Light Brigade was too tough and loyal to feel dismayed. These men did not feel discouraged at all. They were ready to do their job, even though the order might be crazy (to meet their death).
4	Some one had blundered.	The soldiers knew that this charge was not a good idea, that someone had made a mistake.
5	Theirs not to make reply,	The soldiers were loyal and obedient – they did not talk back to their commander
6	Theirs not to reason why,	Or to figure out the point of the attack
7	Theirs but to do and die.	All they could do was to ride and fight and possibly die
8	Into the valley of Death	Repetition of stanza 1 – to emphasize courage/bravery, loyalty, commitment, duty
9	Rode the six hundred.

Line no.	STANZA 3	INTERPRETATION
1	Cannon to right of them,	The soldiers were surrounded by enemy cannon on their left, right and front. Bad news for the Light Brigade – they were actually surrounded by enemies.
2	Cannon to left of them,
3	Cannon in front of them
4	Volleyed and thundered;	So the huge walls of cannon all around them were firing and making a sound like thunder
5	Stormed at with shot and shell,	The soldiers in the Light Brigade were being shot at with bullets and big explosives fired from the cannon - a violent, noisy, destructive force that sounded like a storm.
6	Boldly they rode and well,	These soldiers were not scared of the gunfire. They rode bravely, confidently and with determination. It shows us how heroic these men were.
7	Into the jaws of Death,	They were ready/willing to die of honour
8	Into the mouth of Hell	‘Hell’ – suffering and torture but the soldiers were brave
9	Rode the six hundred.	600 brave/courageous soldiers – men of honour

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Poem The Living Photograph (Form 4) : Meaning

Stanza One
Line no.	Line	Interpretation
1	My small grandmother is tall there,	The persona is describing her grandmother in the photograph (tall : healthy & well)
2	straight-back, white broderie anglaise shirt,	Her physical appearance (straight-back) & what she wears (very neat & proper) Note: broderie anglaise is French for ‘English embroidery’
3	pleated skirt, flat shoes, grey bun,
4	a kind, old smile round her eyes.	Her smile shows that she is kind & gentle
5	Her big hand holds mine,	Her grandmother is loving & caring
6	white hand in black hand.	The white hand belongs to her grandmother & the black hand is the persona’s (togetherness)
7	Her sharp blue eyes look her own death in the eye.	Her grandmother’s vision is still good but she is actually dying
Stanza Two
Line no.	Line	Interpretation
1	It was true after all; that look.	‘that look’ refers to the look of someone dying
2	My tall grandmother became small.	Her grandmother’s condition got worse when she was sick and dying
3	Her back round and hunched.
4	Her soup forgot to boil.	She was too ill to take care of herself
5	She went to the awful place grandmothers go.	She died
6	Somewhere unknown, unthinkable.	The place her grandmother was sent to(afterlife) - was a mystery to the persona
Stanza Three
Line no.	Line	Interpretation
1	But there she is still,	The persona is looking at the photograph of her grandmother and her when she was three years old
2	in the photo with me at three,
3	the crinkled smile is still living, breathing.	To her, the memory of her old grandmother is still new and fresh

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