A Common Story

A Common Story by Kassim Ahmad
This story depicts the realities of human life as we see now to quite a great extent. A simple question of "how many of us actually do what we like and want as opposed to what brings food, name and fortune?" is enough to put us in the same dilemma faced by Yusuf.Yusuf lived in a tumultous time, a time when a new nation was to be born and yet, facing one of its greatest challenges to date. Yusuf faced a similar challenge. Coming from a small kampung of illiterate rubber-tappers and padi-planters, he faced a great change in his life. Not many small village-folk had the opportunity of going to a big city,much less go there to study and prepare for a lucrative job. The same can be said now of many young people. After finishing their secondary schooling, many young Malaysians are privileged to further their tertiary education in academia far from their own kampung. Yusuf learnt, saw and experienced many new,unimaginable things. It all helped mould his own mature opinion of the world and its human inhabitants. He was exposed to the "Singaporean conditions of culture which included Beethoven at one end and Bill Haley at the other. In between, there was Hemingway, the Week-Ender, blue films, love-making in the parks" and so on. Like Yusuf, most of the young people are exposed to new cultures and habits that can be both good or evil (new social networks, new habits and new-found freedom, drug abuse etc.)In this story, Yusuf's father and to a lesser extent the village folk ( shown by their concern of Yusuf being "a sort of Communist") had hoped that Yusuf would return with an academic title that would stand him in good stead in his pursuit of money power and fame. Their hopes and aspirations was that Yusuf would return to provide a better future for his family. This is reality. It is seen also in the hopes and aspirations of every parent in the world now to see their children succeed ( rather than their children doing what they want to do for a livng). Yusuf took an uncommon path in his life. Yusuf had seen the best and worst of both the village and city worlds before choosing what he wanted in life. However, unlike most young people nowadays who would most probably choose the first or most promising career that comes before them,Yusuf took the road not taken by most people. He took the road which made him happy rather than the road that society would expect and want him to take