ABSTRACT
This chapter explains one of Thein Pe Myint's 1938 short stories, one that in remarkably spare form explores the attitudes of the ordinary Bur-man toward the colonial rulers. It illustrates the peculiar circumstances in which Burmans found themselves, and clearly betrays its authors Marxist leanings. The story is centered on a family confronted with the simple challenge of acquiring enough fuel to keep their lamps lit at night so that their children may study. On the one hand it reflects on the peculiarity of being nominally ruled by a king so remote that the Burmese are unsure of his precise status, while on the other offering a strong critique of an absurdity much closer to home. The impoverished Burmese workers living in the midst of the British oil field are unable to afford to buy a little oil for their lamps. Myint illustrates the untenable position into which the British colonial arrangements forced the Burman people.
