Death and dying as a literary device: a reading of selected works by contemporary Malaysian writers
There is no reliable information of death as an experience and it remains until now as an unknown but trustworthy mystery. Hence death has to be encountered in ways known to readers via the help of fiction. In literature death, both physical and physiological exists at many levels. Though the id...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics
2017
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/61285/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/61285/1/Death%20and%20dying%20as%20a%20literary%20device%20a%20reading%20of%20selected%20works%20by%20contemporary%20Malaysian%20writers.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848854382569848832 |
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| author | Ali Termizi, Arbaayah Mohd Noor, Nurul Soleha Wan Salim, Wan Iman |
| author_facet | Ali Termizi, Arbaayah Mohd Noor, Nurul Soleha Wan Salim, Wan Iman |
| author_sort | Ali Termizi, Arbaayah |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | There is no reliable information of death as an experience and it remains until now as an unknown but trustworthy mystery. Hence death has to be encountered in ways known to readers via the help of fiction. In literature death, both physical and physiological exists at many levels. Though the idea of death is infinite, it never fails to provide
meaning to the development of a narrative because it
contributes to the emotional effects, plots twists, suspense and mysteries. In addition it adds closure to the plot, a closure which is not alien to most detective / crime fiction and horror / ghost stories. Presumably death has to be meaningful in these genres in order to be treated as an important part of human existence and thus elevated its status as a significant literary device. What about other genres? Is it justifiable to use death as the ultimate
fear in order to tighten the plot or add weightage to the drama in genres other than the ones mentioned earlier? Thus this paper aims to analyse how death is employed as a literary device by contemporary Malaysian writers and to study whether the fear of death (or the dead) as expounded by Freud is necessary in these works. It shall focus on the ways of dying, the disclosure of death news and other character/s reaction towards the news in selected works in order to answer the research questions. Preliminary findings from this paper are expected to establish the utilization of death as a literary device in works by contemporary Malaysian writers. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T11:08:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-61285 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T11:08:59Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-612852018-09-06T03:18:37Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/61285/ Death and dying as a literary device: a reading of selected works by contemporary Malaysian writers Ali Termizi, Arbaayah Mohd Noor, Nurul Soleha Wan Salim, Wan Iman There is no reliable information of death as an experience and it remains until now as an unknown but trustworthy mystery. Hence death has to be encountered in ways known to readers via the help of fiction. In literature death, both physical and physiological exists at many levels. Though the idea of death is infinite, it never fails to provide meaning to the development of a narrative because it contributes to the emotional effects, plots twists, suspense and mysteries. In addition it adds closure to the plot, a closure which is not alien to most detective / crime fiction and horror / ghost stories. Presumably death has to be meaningful in these genres in order to be treated as an important part of human existence and thus elevated its status as a significant literary device. What about other genres? Is it justifiable to use death as the ultimate fear in order to tighten the plot or add weightage to the drama in genres other than the ones mentioned earlier? Thus this paper aims to analyse how death is employed as a literary device by contemporary Malaysian writers and to study whether the fear of death (or the dead) as expounded by Freud is necessary in these works. It shall focus on the ways of dying, the disclosure of death news and other character/s reaction towards the news in selected works in order to answer the research questions. Preliminary findings from this paper are expected to establish the utilization of death as a literary device in works by contemporary Malaysian writers. International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics 2017-03 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/61285/1/Death%20and%20dying%20as%20a%20literary%20device%20a%20reading%20of%20selected%20works%20by%20contemporary%20Malaysian%20writers.pdf Ali Termizi, Arbaayah and Mohd Noor, Nurul Soleha and Wan Salim, Wan Iman (2017) Death and dying as a literary device: a reading of selected works by contemporary Malaysian writers. International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics, 3 (1). 13 - 17. ISSN 2382-6282 http://www.ijlll.org/vol3/102-AM0014.pdf 10.18178/ijlll.2017.3.1.102 |
| spellingShingle | Ali Termizi, Arbaayah Mohd Noor, Nurul Soleha Wan Salim, Wan Iman Death and dying as a literary device: a reading of selected works by contemporary Malaysian writers |
| title | Death and dying as a literary device: a reading of selected works by contemporary Malaysian writers |
| title_full | Death and dying as a literary device: a reading of selected works by contemporary Malaysian writers |
| title_fullStr | Death and dying as a literary device: a reading of selected works by contemporary Malaysian writers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Death and dying as a literary device: a reading of selected works by contemporary Malaysian writers |
| title_short | Death and dying as a literary device: a reading of selected works by contemporary Malaysian writers |
| title_sort | death and dying as a literary device: a reading of selected works by contemporary malaysian writers |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/61285/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/61285/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/61285/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/61285/1/Death%20and%20dying%20as%20a%20literary%20device%20a%20reading%20of%20selected%20works%20by%20contemporary%20Malaysian%20writers.pdf |