Comment on Diana Ann Xavier’s blog entitled “ANIKE & The experience of reading it.

Anike is a very nice play written by Wong Pui Nam. The play was actually adapted both from the Sophocles’s Antigone and from the Hikayat Melayu on Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat. I also find it enjoyable in reading this play as the writer puts a lot of the Malay terms into the play that makes me feel that the play is so close to the heart. It is really true that the writer has instilled our culture in this play by placing a lot of Malay culture and lifestyle in this book as what said by Diana.

Yes, it is much easier to read Anike as we have already read Antigone which has the same story line as Anike. Basically, we know what to expect next in the play. We know what will happen next. It is also easier to comprehend as the writer used simply words and phrases in this play. We could understand what the dialogues in the play and this lowers our anxiety and indirectly increases our interest in reading the play.

Anike did die in the end and that was really the sad part in the story and this got to show us that Anike did not die in shame as she did no fault but the one who did not suffered much more than Anike. Maniaka suffered a lot from losing his son and wife and wished that his life could be taken away. It is not that easy. Those bad one will suffers a great more pain than to just die off easily. God is fair. You pay for what you did.