The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
The sarong is a basic form of dress, best known as the fundamental dress form of the Malay Archipelago peoples, men and women alike. A long, straight piece of cloth wraps around the waist. In deference to its primacy in Malay dress, it is generally thought of as being in colorful batik and cognate materials, but metaphorically the sarong can seem to describe the short kilt of ancient Egyptian men. In the 1930s and 1940s, the "exotic South Seas" attire was popularized in Dorothy Lamour films generous in native or para-native skin. Meanwhile, the name lent itself to such imperialist Bob Hope word play as, "what'sarong?" Although never assimilated into mainstream Western dress, the sarong has been used in designer collections and sportswear to connote the beach and/or Orientalism. For America, the sarong symbolizes an exotic, luxurious existence of pleasure.