SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This thesis offers a comparative examination of short stories written by writers from southern Thailand and northern Malaysia, namely Phaithuun Thanyaa, Kanokphong Songsomphan, S. Othman Kelantan and Azizi Haji Abdullah. The texts have been analyzed within the framework of comparative and reception approaches to highlight the similarities and differences between Thai and Malay short stories. An attempt has been made to identify their respective unique qualities. This study asserts that the authors use their work as a means of communicating an account and portrayal of the particular identities of southern Thailand and northern Malaysia and, more generally, of their countries as a whole. The regions of southern Thailand and northern Malaysia are chosen because of their particular political, social and historical interaction. Moreover, the short stories are chosen because, in both countries, they are used as a vehicle of self-expression and of social criticism. Furthermore, this study also shows that Thai and Malay writers are influenced by their oral tradition and the didactic aims of producing literary works. This study comprises six chapters including an introduction and a conclusion. All chapters will address the significance of regional factors found in Thai and Malaysian short stories. Among the regional issues which form an element of this study are history, politics, religions, animistic beliefs, and ethnic perceptions. In conclusion this thesis contends the significance of the region as writers' source of inspiration yet the regional problems they have raised reflect the authors' commitment to their national society and religion and their sensibilities towards their national culture.