Literature in English.
This is a story of how a 'mistake' turned out to be a life-changing experience.
I do not read books.
Ever since I knew how to read, I was never interested in reading books. Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl wasn't a part of my childhood. Ladybirds books, yes, only because they were filled with pictures.
Which poses a serious question. Why did I even take up Literature in English for SPM?
At the beginning of Form 4, I only had 9 subjects. I knew I had to take up one more, be it Pendidikan Seni or Literature in English. Judging from my artistic interests, I could have waltzed through Seni, after all chances of getting good grades in Art were much higher compared to a subject that needed one to read and analyse, something I wasn't comfortable with.
Frankly, I do not know why I took up Literature.
But from the looks of things, I can conclude that I am kiasu because I'd like to take up challenges and I know I'd learn much more from Literature, I am severely disappointed with the Seni coursework (the project) and I followed the 'norm', or at least at that point of time, it was considered the norm. I couldn't help much, considering the fact that the only class I have in common with my primary friends is Bible Knowledge.
Originally, I only sat-in the class, with the thought behind my head that when the time comes, I'd only choose whether I should take the SPM paper. I had nothing to lose after all, a little bit of extra information wouldn't hurt anyone. But when the time came, heck, I said this to myself "I did not just spent 1 whole year of my life staying back every Tuesday and Thursday to study Literature and not end up with a sort of proof that I read books".
Two years down the road, 5 short stories, 1 novel, 1 drama and 6 poems later I am proud to say that
Literature in English is the most beneficial subject (or at least among the 10 I took).
I say so because every other subject 'gives you a fish', however Literature 'teaches you how to fish'. Take for example, Pendidikan Moral [1225], they give you the definitions. Knowing all 36 definitions will not make a person morally better.
As for Literature, they give you nothing. There are no KOMSAS or small little booklets to tell you what the theme or the literary devices are. You have just got to do it yourself. You read the story, you analyse, you come up with your own reasoning and you just argue your points out in the paper. Literature taught me to be independent, to stop relying on reference books and well, just D-I-Y.
But of course, at this age and time, communication is vital. Thus comes the invention of the Internet, Google and Facebook. Google has been an extremely helpful friend, perhaps my best friend in Literature. There are loads of resources out there and all it takes is a click of a button AND money. I say money because most of the good analysis of books / stories are premium content, meaning one has to pay for it. But if you have the Googling skills, you'd find your way to free content or at least somehow someway get your hands on the premium content, for free. I significantly honed my Googling skills, it's all about keywords.
Then comes Facebook. Facebook itself is a wonder, if used properly. The day before the Literature paper (which was yesterday), Roy created a Literature group on Facebook. For a few hours, the few of us who were at the right time at the right place were discussing about the stories, warming up our brains to analyse and dig deeper. Even Miss Siow, our teacher was there to answer our funny little questions and I quote her "I must say I'm very very very proud of this literature group." Notice the triple verys. Hah! I bet everyone learned a thing or two just by lurking at the group. For that, I want to say a very big thank you to Roy, because I couldn't have warmed up my brains if it weren't for the questions, not after my Perdagangan paper anyway.
The Literature paper requires candidates to do 4 questions, one from each section, namely Short Stories, Novels, Dramas and Poems. Each question consists of 3 sub-questions, 1 comprehension question and 2 essays. It is a 2 and a half hours paper. If you do your Maths well enough, you'd be able to figure out that you have 37.5 minutes to churn out an answer and 2 essays. Time management is a key factor in exams. For this reason, I have learnt that I shouldn't dwell in one question, no matter how unfinished I am, you have just got to MOVE ON. This helped me greatly in my Perdagangan and also Accounts where time is short but nowhere near as short as Literature's. I bet Literature taught everyone to write faster.
Lastly, Literature is quite an open subject. The scope is wide, so you will never know what to expect. People say Accounts is scary because of it's surprisingness but once you meet Literature, it's terrifying. The questions asked are intriguing and I love the fact that when you read a question, it automatically triggers your mind, like POP. Sort of like the same feeling you get when you strongly disagree against a statement.
I have an embarrassing confession to make, right up until today, I have never read the novel or the drama from cover to cover. I've only read bits and pieces here and there and extracted the significant quotes. Yerp, that is how I roll. Literature students would find the Literature component in the English and Malay paper a breeze as the questions are so much more predictable.
If it wasn't for that mistake or should I say, extraordinary leap of faith two years ago, you wouldn't be reading this article, because I wouldn't have been capable of writing one anyway.
Now I know how to analyse the things around me and am adequate enough to write articles such as the one about
Streaming and SPM subjects. At the moment, this is as far as it goes, some people say I'd make a good journalist but I just found out, to be able write such compelling articles, one has to read a lot, which is something I am not prepared for.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Miss Siow for giggling with her hands covering her mouth. Not really, but for teaching us for two years, stealing other teachers' classes and for not leaving us at the end of Form 4. As for the papermates - Abel, Daniel, Faith, Mark, Roy, Sze Yuin and Victor, thanks for the 2 hours of togetherness every week. I'd miss that next year. The little things like not bringing food when we're allowed to, stealing each other's essays to judge them and funny talks about relationships. =)
The real reason behind this post is, I'd like to give away my Literature notes, exam papers, analysis and everything else. So anyone out there taking Literature for SPM in 2011, give me a holla or Facebook me. Seriously.
Something to excite your senses. Just so you know, I'm still normal, thank you.
