45 pages • 1 hour read
Hanna AlkafThe Weight of Our Sky
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Historical Context: The 1969 Malaysian Race Riots
The race riots in Kuala Lumpur took place on May 13, 1969. This followed the Malaysian general election, in which the predominantly Chinese minority parties took seats from the Alliance Party, the predominantly Malay party. The origins of the conflict can be traced to earlier divides between races in Malaysia, as the Chinese minority was perceived to control the economic and urban areas of Malaysia. This divide bred resentment between Malay groups, who felt that they were not reaping the rewards of gaining independence from British colonial rule in 1957. Chinese groups also felt disrespected by the Malay dominance in political representation, which they felt did not hold their interests in mind.
The Penang riots in 1957, 1959, 1964, and 1967 served as precursors to the Kuala Lumpur riots, in the last of which Mel’s father is reported to have died. The race riots in Singapore in 1964 even led to Singapore’s separating itself from Malaysia in 1965. As noted in the text, the Malaysian government reported that 196 people were killed in the 1969 riots, though independent sources report a death toll closer to 600. In the aftermath of the riots, the Malaysian government adopted a variety of policies, including the New Economic Policy, which supported an ideology of Malay Supremacy, further exacerbating racial tensions in the country. In the novel, the riots provide a backdrop for Mel’s narrative, highlighting and exploring the issues of racial tension in Kuala Lumpur. Characters like Uncle Chong and Auntie Bee express dissatisfaction with racial tension while opposing violence, while characters like Frankie express the violent resentment shared by the rioters, presenting both perspectives from the 1969 event.
Medical Context: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
The protagonist of the novel, Mel, has a mental health condition called OCD, or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, in which the individual deals with uncontrollable thoughts and behaviors known as obsessions and compulsions. For Mel, this is expressed in tapping and counting in groups of threes to ward off visions of her mother’s death and, as the novel progresses, the deaths of her new friends. OCD often involves anxiety over intrusive and upsetting thoughts and feelings, and compulsions are a means by which the individual can attempt to assert control over these feelings. However, compulsions are involuntary, meaning the person performing the compulsive actions may not want to perform them, which increases feelings of anxiety and helplessness. Among the most common obsessions are thoughts of contamination, misplacing items, losing control, inappropriate or sexual thoughts, and a need for perfection. Mel’s obsession is characterized in the text as inappropriate, with Mel fearing how others might react to her visions of violence and death, and her tapping is used as a way to ward off those images.
Critically, Mel’s OCD is expressed in the form of a Djinn, or spirit, common in Islamic cultures. Djinn are the original genies in mythology. Not all Djinn are malicious, but Mel sees her OCD as a form of possession by a malicious Djinn, who shows her the obsessive thoughts and visions, and whom she must appease with her compulsions. Many of the treatments that Mel seeks in the novel are religious, treating her mental health concern as a spiritual matter of possession. Treating mental health concerns as spiritual concerns is common, and it is important to note that many cultures still treat mental health concerns in this way in the modern era. For Mel, the ending of the novel accurately reflects life with OCD, as she notes the continuous battle she fights against the Djinn for control over herself. Most modern treatments for OCD seek to mitigate or reduce symptoms, rather than attempting to “cure” or resolve the condition entirely.
