Synopsis of the poemThe persona in the poem is an old soldier.

He is tired as he is old
and weak. He and his people suffered in the past in their fight for freedom of their country
and they made many sacrifices. People lost their lives and some remain nameless or
unknown.
The persona, who believes that he will be in the wheelchair for the rest his life says he can
only watch the happenings around him. Physically, he is helpless and he has no energy left.
He was either seriously injured when he was a soldier or is very ill. He finds that times have
changed and being a crippled man, it is too challenging for him to fight the injustice he sees
around him. He is troubled by many lies being told everywhere.
Being highly spirited, he calls on the younger generation to wake up and fight on. They have
to realise that they have to form lines or ranks irrespective of racial, religious and social
differences to fight courageously for justice. He wants the young people who inherited the
country's freedom to be united and denounce lies which may threaten the country.
The persona feels helpless that he is not heard. He urges the younger generation to fight or
speak up for what is right because it is now their turn to do so.
The SettingThe poem is set after indenpence. The persona feels that the independence he
has struggled for is now threatened by subversive elements.
Tone and moodIn the first stanza, the tone indicates that the persona is sad and weary
because he is old and weak. The persona is also melancholic, reflecting on his past sacrifices
he made for the country's independence.
In the second stanza, the persona voices his helplessness, anger and contempt because his
country is facing threats.
The tone used in the third stanza is serious and demanding. The persona urges the present
generation to form a united front to uphold the freedom that he and many others has fought
for.
The persona ends by insisting that the younger generation continues to fight against
injustice because he can no longer do so.
Themes1. PatriotismPatriotism is one of the themes of this poem. The people in this
country have made a lot of sacrifices to fight for their freedom. They have achieved
independence but now there are other threats such as deceit. This affects the country's
safety. The persona calls on the younger generation to fight for justice and to speak up
against deceit.
2. Being courageousAnother theme is being courageous. In the past, people made many
sacrifices and fought bravely with the country's enemies for their freedom. Now, the
persona urges the younger generation to be brave and fight against other threats in the
country. He tells them to stand up and speak with courage.
3. UnityIn the past, people were united when they fought for independence. Now, the
persona emphasises that the younger generation who has inherited a free country should
unite to preserve their freedom. They should stand united by building a wall of people or
forming ranks irrespective of racial, religious and other social differences. The "lines" in the
poem, A Fighter's Lines refer to the persona's lines and the lines or ranks formed for unity.
We have to be united and strong as in the saying, "United we stand, divided we fall".
Values1. We must be brave to uphold justice.The persona urges the younger generation to
stand up against the widespread lies which are rampant in society today. This 'net of deceit'
worries his as it can destroy the solidarity of the people. Therefore, he urges them to stand
united and uphold justice to preserve the freedom and safety of the country.
2. We must be willing to make sacrifices to preserve our independence.In the fight for
independence, the persona and other soldiers sacrificed and risked their lives when they
fought for independence. Now, he is wheelchair-bound because he was either crippled in the
war or is now old and sick. Now, he wants the younger generation to make sacrifices too to
preserve their freedom.
3. We must be united to preserve our freedom.The persona wants the younger generation
to stand united regardless of their differences to ensure their freedom.




























A Fighters Lines

I am old and worn
and have lost all my strength
sufferings
and the history of the fight for independence
have forced sacrifices
that know no name
or life

from the wheelchair of the rest of my days
I, body and energy crushed
see and cannot do much
these times are too big a challenge
for the remnants of my crippled years
the net of deceit spread everywhere
disturbs me

In the name of justice
Wake up and form ranks sons of our ancestor
Be brave
And erect a wall of people
Stand up heirs of our freedom

I have no more voice
It is you now who should speak!
Marzuki Ali
This poem talks about the feeling of a retired soldier who had fought for the countrys independence. This poem is
looking from the first person point of view who is a retired soldier as the poem uses the pronoun I , as seen in the
stanza 1. In this stanza, the persona says that he is old and worn and has no energy. From this Stanza, we know that
the persona once had become a soldier and he had suffered a lot to free the country from invaders. Many lives had
been sacrificed to fight for our independence. At that time, they fought with all of their will.
Consequently, he is wheelchair bound. Due to the loss of energy and the fact that he is now old, he has enough energy
to only be able to sit on the wheelchair. This is portrayed in Stanza 2. After years of independence, the persona sees
that the people are trying to destroy themselves by indulging into the world full of lies. Now, there is nothing much he
can do as how he did before- protect the country. This is shown in the lines:
see and cannot do much
these times are too big a challenge
for the remnants of my crippled years
the net of deceit spread everywhere
disturb me
In stanza 3, the persona calls out to the younger generation to stand up and protect the country. Due to the spreading
of lies, he now urges new generation to speak out their opinions and fight for their freedom. He tells us in order to
fight for our freedom, first we have to be united, erect a wall of people and fight for the sake of our nations harmony.
Synopsis
Our ancestors worked very hard for independence. Many died for the country. In the midst of struggling for
independence, he was injured and now he is wheelchair bound. He was strong then. However, the challenges facing
the country are far greater than before. He is unable to fight it now. He has no more power to control or change
anything although he has a strong will. Due to his strong will and in the spirit of patriotism, he urges the youngsters to
see the truth and not drown in sea of lies. He stresses here that if we, as the younger generation cannot find the way to
stop the dishonesties and lies we are putting our countrys fate in danger as this dishonesties can actually shake the
stability of our country. As the persona feels helpless, he wants the younger generation to come forward and fight in
the name of justice.
Setting
In this poem, there are two settings. First is in an independent country- independent of colonial rule and any foreign
control. This is shown by the line, and the history of the fight for independence have forced sacrifices that know no
name or life. The word history tells us that the persona is reflecting the past. The second setting is an old man sitting
on a wheelchair inside his abode- home where he sits and ponders on the days problems. This is shown in Stanza 2
(Line 1), from the wheelchair of the rest of my days.
Theme
The important theme in this poem is patriotism. The personas experience of being a soldier; fighting with the
enemies and going through hardships has made him a person who loves his country. But now he is old and disabled
and cannot do much to free his country from current challenges. Due to his patriotism he cannot bear to see the
country sink in the sea of lies, he urges the young to fight for it. He urges the younger generation to unite in spite of
their differences and speak out the inequalities and dishonesties in the community so much so that the freedom
retains.
Tones
The persona voices out his hopes through various tones. There are three different tones in the poem. In Stanzas 1 and
2, the persona enhances the tone of frustration as he shares his disabilities and weariness of not being able to fight for
the country anymore. They are shown through the line, I am old and worn. Apart from that, the line from the
wheelchair of the rest of my days , stresses his disability and leads him to feel frustrated. He shows the tone of
disappointment as he talks about the deceits that have spread everywhere as what he says in the line, the net of deceit
spread everywhere disturbs me. He also feels disappointed as he and his friends have fought so hard but now people
themselves are creating problems due to greed and deceit. His tone changes dramatically as in Stanzas 3 and 4, he
goes from frustration and disappointment to hopefulness. He eagerly urges the new generation to stand up and rid of
their fear of voicing out their opinions as stated in the line, In the name of justice wake up and form ranks sons of
our ancestor and Be brave. At the same time, he also stresses on the needs for the younger generation to be united
and seek for their freedom as he clearly states in his lines, And erect a wall of people and Stand up heirs of our
freedom.
Symbols
A few symbols are highlighted in the poem. First is the wheelchair that connotes disability. The wheelchair
symbolises the sacrifices for the country-the hardships he went through for the sake of achieving the countrys
independence. Although, he is now wheelchair bound, he still has the will and determination to awaken the younger
generation from their long sleep on how important it is to retain the independence achieved from the sacrifices made
by the older generation like him. Another symbol in the poem is a wall of people. It symbolises unity of the people.
In this poem, it refers to a need for the younger generation to unite themselves regardless of race, skin colour or
background to speak and not to be influenced by the deceits being spread. It is also important for the younger
generation to erect a wall of people to retain the independence achieved.
Metaphor
One major literary device used in this poem is metaphor. A metaphor is comparison made between two things
without the use of words such as like or as. In this poem, we can see there are two examples of metaphor. In Stanza
2 (Line 6), the persona uses the net of deceit where he voices out problems encountered by the younger generation.
The modern generation deceives each other and how the deceit is being spread- it is widespread just like a fishing net
that spreads out when cast into the sea. The next metaphor is as in the Stanza 3 (Line 4), a wall of people where the
persona feels that the people need to be united and become like the concrete wall to counter any challenges met.

Moral Values
Whether we are young or old, we must fight for our country. We may be physically handicapped but we can still
contribute as we can be alert mentally. We must value the issues of human rights that our ancestors have fought for.
Discussion
The poem implied that our country Malaysia comprises a variety of races, religions and beliefs. Dishonesties and lies
can be the viruses that could destroy our unity and peace. The new generation is urged to form a wall of unity
regardless of our differences and stand together as a family to retain our freedom. Apart from that, to retain our
countrys independence, we must be brave to uphold justice. We must be brave to seek the truth and only then we can
make a path to a better future.