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A New Historical Approach to John Donne’s A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning
Get PDFA Valediction: Forbidding Mourning is one of John Donne’s most celebrated and most significant poems in which he declares, quite ingeniously, his ideal of spiritual love which transcends the ordinary and inferior love of others that is based on mere physicality. This essay applies New Historicism, a school of literary theory since the early 1980s, to Donne’s seventeenth-century poem. The study begins with elaborating on the major concepts and principles of New Historicism. Then, the historical, cultural and biographical circumstances that surrounded and motivated the composition of Donne’s poem are discussed. Finally, the discourses of religion, science, love, sexuality, space and time and the circulation of power implicit in the compass imagery, the metaphysical conceit used in this poem, are explored
A Semiotic Analysis of Cyber Emoticons (A Case Study of Kaskus Emoticons in the Lounge Forum at Kaskus-the Largest Indonesian Community)
Get PDFKaskus emoticons have been used widely in cyber, whether in Kaskus forum or blogs and other Instant Messengers (IMs). The use of emoticon in the forum is believed to be the latest way in communication among members. The use of emoticons is necessary to overcome the constraints of online communication, the need of being expressive and time limited. Kaskus emoticons are culturally unique because they are created by Indonesian online users without resorting to western style emoticons. Even though emotion is something universal, the way of how certain community represents it through emoticons is interesting to note. This study is aimed at exploring the significance of Kaskus emoticons in the Lounge forum at Kaskus, the Largest Indonesian Community. The analysis is rooted on semiotics, particularly Roland Barthes’ orders of signification involving five emoticons appearing in the Lounge forum at the site. The findings show that the emoticons have meaning and functions as a way to communicate, particularly in the online forum. It serves as a means of (visual) communication between users to emphasize the statement in online communication, and to show mood of one’s state of feeling so that others can easily acquaint his thoughts. More to the point, emoticons are treated as alteration for some words and their meanings are associated with linked circumstances
The Washback Effect of the English National Examination (ENE) on English Teachers’ Classroom Teaching and Students’ Learning
Get PDFSince 2005, Indonesia has administered the National Examination (NE), from which the result is used as a basis to decide the students’ exit from secondary schools. As a high stake testing, the NE has caused various washback effects, both positive and negative. Consequently, the existence of the NE has been accompanied by heated debates and controversies. The pros believe that the NE may improve secondary education standards, while the cons argue that the NE will create injustice and unnecessary anxiety among the students. However, both the pros and cons base their arguments on common sense not supported by a sound reasoning. The present study tries to explore the washback effects of the English National Examination (ENE) in Indonesian secondary education context, involving three Secondary Schools categorized based on their NE achievement. The results of the study indicate that English teachers and students from the schools involved have different perceptions on the ENE. The English National Examination has an influential impact on teachers’ teaching in the aspect of: activity/time arrangement, teaching materials, teaching contents, teaching methods, teaching strategies, ways of assessing, and on the feelings and attitudes of the students. The ENE also affects the students’ learning in the classroom in which teachers mainly teach to test, practice the test and develop test-taking strategies. The dimensions of the washback effect of the ENE on both English teachers and students are negative and positive, strong, specific and for a short period time
Analysis of Misunderstanding Caused by Different Interpretations of Speech Act Labels in Tintin and Asterix Comic Series
Get PDFThis paper presents analysis of misunderstanding occurred in a conversation which is caused by different interpretation of speech act labels between the speaker and the hearer. Misunderstanding occurred in these comic series causes various emotional effects to the hearer involved in the conversation. The hearer might feel happy, impressed, embarrassed, or even proud of what the speaker conveys through his/ her utterance. It depends on the face wants used and intended between the participants in the conversation. According to Goffman in Brown and Levinson (1987), “face is something that is emotionally invested, and that can be lost, maintained, or enhanced, and must be constantly attended to in interaction” (p. 60). There are two kinds of face wants. The positive purpose is called face saving act, while the negative one is called face threatening act. The data in this paper are taken from Tintin and Asterix comic series. The theories used cover pragmatics area, especially taxonomy of speech act theory (Yule, 1996; Mey, 2001; Leech, 1991) and theory of the notion of face by Erving Goffman (as cited in Yule, 1996; Thomas, 1995). Therefore, this paper will try to convey how the misinterpretation of speech act labels affects the participants in the conversation
The Meaning of Nature for Santiago in His Efforts to Find the Real Happiness in The Alchemist
Get PDFSantiago, the main character in the novel The Alchemist, is trying to find the real happiness in his life. Having dreamt of exactly the same thing twice, he wants to have his dreams come true. He is eager to find the hidden treasure that was shown in the Egyptian Pyramids in his dreams since he has the faith he will not be able to be happy and peaceful, unless he could find the hidden treasure. Using the literary philosophy theory on transcendentalism, particularly Emerson’s theory written in McKinnon’s (1985) book, this article discusses how nature can help Santiago in his process of finding the real happiness, namely the hidden treasure, in his life. Though he has to undergo a great deal of difficulties, threats, and dangers in his effort to find the treasure, he eventually succeeds in finding the treasure; namely the girl he loves dearly and his own happiness
A Local Counter-Discourse against National Education Problems: Postcolonial Reading of Andrea Hirata’s Laskar Pelangi
Get PDFThis study aims at exploring postcolonial themes raised by Andrea Hirata’s Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Warriors). Specifically, it will reveal the characteristics of hybridity found in the novel that prove this literary work may be categorized as postcolonial writing despite the fact that western or white colonialism has no impact or trace at all in the novel. Furthermore, the study will prove that this national novel with its very local issues is a counter discourse, a subversive tool for the writer to criticize the domination of certain groups upon their own marginal fellows. Education, as a global issue, is one Indonesian national and typical ironic problem teased through local culture and even mysticism in this novel
Salinger and Holden: Silent Heroes of Modern Times
Get PDFAmong the great writers of the tumultuous decade of 1950s America, J. D. Salinger acquires a peculiar stance. His popularity rests precisely on two bases: that he was the writer of one literary bible of the young generations to come, The Catcher in the Rye, and that he was, ironically enough, resentful toward the publicity brought by this novel and few, but brilliant, short stories. This essay will focus on the mystery of Salinger’s silence and self-imposed exile by exploring his life and ideas and the various social and critical responses to his celebrated novel
Reading from the Margin: Examining Nahum Tate’s vs. Shakespeare’s King Lear as Cultural Products
Get PDFNahum Tate’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear was so successful in Restoration theatre. Modern critics, however, regard Tate’s work as a second class drama which deserves mockery and dismiss it from master narratives of the history of English theatre. Therefore, we examine the ‘fields of cultural production’ of Shakespeare’s and Nahum Tate’s King Lear from Shakespeare’s time to the present to find out how each period values a certain work of literature. In the discussion, we would like to argue that the shifting ‘fields of cultural production’ determines the acceptance and rejection of Nahum Tate’s King Lear. By analyzing the ‘fields of cultural productions’ of both plays, we show that Tate’s has been excluded from the canonization within modern field of production’s discourses because of shifting circles of belief
Daddy Issues in J. M. Coetzee’s In the Heart of the Country
Get PDFIn this article, we try to explore the psychological problems of Magda, the main female character in J.M. Coetzee’s In the Heart of the Country, and the causes of the disorders. Using the theories of Oedipus Complex in females, we try to prove that Magda suffers from neurosis, which later develops into psychosis. The serious mental problems in the young lady result from her unsuccesful resolution of her sexual desire towards her own father. Magda’s female Oedipus Complex is caused by the absence of the mother figure, the sexual attachment to the father, and the unrevoked hatred toward the mother competitor
Investigation of Scalar Implicatures of Binus University Students
Get PDFScalar implicatures are based on a range of quantifiers ordered in terms of informational strength, for example in quantity: some, most, all; in frequency: sometimes, often, and always. This study measures the scalar implicatures among university students who learn English as a foreign language. The participants for this study are fourth semester English Department students at Binus University. Using the same instruments as in Slabakova (2009) and Noveck’s study (2001) the present study aims to find out the general ability of the university students of computing scalar implicatures and to discover the level of pragmatic/logical competence of the university students with regards to their gender and grade point average. The results show that the students with GPA lower than three are more logical than those with GPA higher than three; while female students are more pragmatic than male students