Jurnal POETIKA
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Ideological Fantasy of Social Harmony (Rukun) in Rural Java, Indonesia, in Ahmad Tohari’s Di Kaki Bukit Cibalak
Full text linkAhmad Tohari presents the narrative of a village community under a corrupt village head in the novel Di Kaki Bukit Cibalak (2022). One of the villagers initiates an effort to improve the village's economic state amid hesitation to confront the corrupt village head. This article qualitatively examined the ideological fantasy of social harmony (rukun) in rural Java, Indonesia, as depicted in Ahmad Tohari's Di Kaki Bukit Cibalak. The sociology of literature approach correlated the story's facts with the social realities in Java. Data were collected through documentation techniques. Meanwhile, the analysis was conducted using Slavoj Žižek's theory of ideological fantasy and the concept of social harmony. The findings revealed that the lower-class villagers in rural Java had a symbolic mandate to 'surrender' to maintain social harmony, even though the subject aimed to defy the corrupt village head. The Javanese villagers preferred to avoid open conflict, which led the subject to leave its idealism rather than confront the corrupt leader despite their disgust of the corruption and their aspiration to improve the village. As the representation of reality, it is critical as the ideological fantasy of social harmony causes the lower-class villagers to postpone resisting the corrupt village head to maintain peace, providing chances for any kind of violences thrive in real life
Land and Legacy: Investigating Horizontal Conflicts in the Short Story "Dataran Melengen" through Postcolonial Ecocriticism Framework
Full text linkThe issue of ecology in former colonies is an inevitable consequence of past colonialism. The difference now is that the “colonial” subjects have transformed into multinational corporations that exploit nature and people by seizing the land on which communities depend for their livelihoods. This land grabbing is sanctioned by Indonesia through the legalization of laws that allow capitalism to flourish, while local communities become increasingly impoverished. This ecological issue is depicted in literature that critically addresses environmental issues. Therefore, this study examines the short story “Dataran Melengen” (2003) by Korrie Layun Rampan, which actively portrays the ecological issues in Kalimantan caused by companies holding Forest Concession Rights. This research actively employs postcolonial ecocriticism theory by Graham Huggan and Helen Tiffin as its formal framework and critically analyzes the text using Fairclough's critical discourse analysis method. This theory extensively discusses ecological issues in postcolonial countries, highlighting how state approval and abuse of power contribute to these issues. The study reveals ecological issues within the Dataran Melengen community, including horizontal conflicts driven by poverty, along with cultural loss, terror, and trauma. The short story “Dataran Melengen” serves two key functions as mentioned by Huggan and Tiffin: aesthetic and advocacy. These functions are expected to catalyze a third function—activism—where literature can drive social change. The research process involved a close reading of the text, contextual analysis, and a critical discourse approach to explore the interplay between narrative, power, and ecology
A Child's Determination: Supporting Parent to Cope with Depression in Elizabeth G. Bedia’s Balloons for Papa
Full text linkIn appealing to readers below the age of thirteen, picture books can prove formative in children’s mental growth and well-being. Nevertheless, despite their potential importance, few studies have explored children’s picture books that focus on children grappling with familial struggles and mental health, such as depression. This research therefore examined the children’s picture book, Balloons for Papa: A Story of Hope and Empathy, written by Elizabeth Gilbert Bedia and illustrated by Erika Meza, primarily aiming to reveal 1) how a child’s determination and depression are portrayed, and 2) the author’s ideology and critical position. A qualitative approach was taken to analyze the data. Hall’s representation theory, which focuses on the constructionist approach, was chosen to gain a better understanding of how the author's culture, situation, and society contributed to their creation of the book. Meanwhile, Barthes' semiotic approach was utilized as a tool to examine the illustrations. The findings underscored the empathetic qualities of Arthur, the main character of the story, which drive his relentless pursuit to restore his father's happiness. However, it is critically acknowledged that the representation of Papa may not offer a definitive portrayal of depression. Nevertheless, Bedia's narrative still aligns with the broader discourse on depression awareness and the resilience of a child's determination, contributing to a nuanced understanding of these complex themes within the context of the picture book. In addition to providing insight into the pivotal themes of hope, empathy, and mental well-being within the context of children's literature, this research unraveled the intricate interplay between hope and empathy, while also portraying a child's determination against the backdrop of depression
Configuring Discourses on Black Women’s Power in the Novels, Waiting to Exhale and The Color Purple
Full text linkThe discourses of the novels, Waiting to Exhale and The Color Purple, show the main characters exercising power in their social power relations, then gaining knowledge, and with knowledge, gaining power. In the former novel, the characters Robin and Bernadine gain knowledge through their relationship with Savannah and Gloria, while in the latter Celie gains knowledge through Nettie’s letters and her intensive acquaintance with Shug. This study thus aimed to analyze how Black women acquire power transformation, and what state of power Black women have before and after this transformation. Our findings showed, first, that they acquire support and help from close friends and families. Second, they gained knowledge and awareness about their positions and weaknesses. And third, they begin determining their wills, passions, and choices. Then, they transform their endurance into power over and power to change from being powerless and submissive into a powerful and self-determining personality. Using Foucault’s theory of power and Foucault’s discourse analysis method, the discourse shows that besides knowledge, self-determination and the supporting milieu are essential factors in gaining power transformation in power relations
Understanding Intersectionality through Tequila Leila’s Experience in 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World (2019)
Full text linkThe article aims to explore intersectionality and its societal impact on the characters as portrayed in Elif Shafak’s 10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World (2019). This issue was extensively discussed to comprehend the representation of gender inequality and patriarchy in the story. Although the text has been the subject of discussion among a limited number of scholars, the novelty of this study lies in its adoption of a theoretical perspective that has not been utilized previously, specifically Kimberly Crenshaw’s framework of intersectionality. Methodologically, this qualitative study identified and collected the primary data from the text by selecting direct and indirect quotations relevant to the issue discussed. This approach was complemented by secondary sources from previous and related studies which were drawn from books and journal articles. Having analyzed the text by applying Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, the authors found that Shafak represented gender inequality and patriarchy in Turkey as a hegemonic and systematic belief. The text also discovered that the perpetuation of the patriarchal system, rooted in the practices frequently justified by religious rhetoric, is effectively prolonged by the continued male dominance in shaping public policies. It also indicates that the main character, Tequila Leila, and the other characters in the story possess overlapping identities, leading to numerous unfortunate experiences. Tequila Leila’s oppressed experiences unveiled the structural and representational intersectionalities
Queens in Folklores as Representation of Indonesian Feminism
Full text linkThe view that the patriarchic system has dominated human life is untrue. Evidence has been found that, in the history of human civilization, women have been raised to the royal throne and ruled a kingdom. The existence of a queen has also been found in folklore in Indonesia. Using the qualitative research design with the perspectives of feminist literary criticism, the present study analyzes four folklore titles with a queen as the main character, such as: (1) The Legend of the Hermitage of Queen Kalinyamat, (2) Queen Kencanawungu, (3) Madam Undang Beautiful Queen from Kupang Island, and (4) The Legend of Princess Rengganis. Findings show no gender bias in the transfer of the royal inheritance or in choosing the successor of the royal throne in some kingdoms of regions in Indonesia. The crowning of a new ruler is more based on kinship and leadership qualities. This research also shows that before the emergence and development of feminism in the West, it has been existed in the archipelago, which can be called Indonesian feminism, i.e, feminism that gave women rights and voices not only in the domestic sphere but also in the public sphere, as a queen whose power was recognized.
Towards a Morphology of Critique: An Attempt to Classify Approaches to Literary Criticism
Full text linkThis study examines the possibility of classifying approaches to literary criticism so that each critical position can be mapped to other critical positions. This article is not an application of a literary criticism approach to reading a particular literary work but an attempt to map the relationships between approaches to literary criticism so that the issues raised here are theoretical and methodological rather than practical. This research offers another alternative: a comprehensive and valuable classification can be obtained by classifying the formal elements of reading practice rather than the theme. The method used here is a morphological study in the spirit of Vladimir Propp (2009) applied to the modality of reading to overcome the limitations of thematic classification offered by M.H. Abrams (1971), Northrop Frye (2007), Yoseph Yapi Taum (2017), and Vincent B. Leitch (Veeser, 2021). Through a formal study of reading modalities (coverage, access relation, and semantic modality), a classification of critical approaches is obtained, modelled in the axis of reading: the axis of depth, width, and distance by which the critics approach the literary phenomena. Based on that model, the entire approach to literary criticism can be classified into eight octants of the cube of reading: narrow–close–surface reading, narrow–close–deep reading, narrow–distant–deep reading, narrow–distant–surface reading, wide–close–surface reading, wide–close–deep reading, wide–distant–deep reading, and wide–distant–surface reading. Each approach is positioned relationally with other approaches in the cube of reading, so the space for dialogue and comparison is always wide open. By demonstrating the morphological relationships between critical approaches, this research opens new possibilities for interpreting each critical position as a liminal one so that each position is always related to and transformed into another
Sovereign Power and Nuda Vita in Ruta Sepetys’s I Must Betray You: Unveiling the Struggles of Romanian Civilians In 1989
Full text linkI Must Betray You (2022), a literary work by Ruta Sepetys, is a touching drawing of the painful experience suffered by Romanian civilians under Nicolae Ceauşescu’s regime in 1989. Through a rich tapestry of policies, regulations, and prohibitions, Ceauşescu bound Romanian life to nuda vita. This study aims to analyzes how Ruta Sepetys’ I Must Betray You illustrated the sovereign power that restrains Romanian civilians’ lives and how the civilians detached from nuda vita and the sovereign power. It employs a qualitative descriptive approach by drawing on the theoretical framework put forth by Giorgio Agamben. The framework encompasses crucial concepts such as sovereign power, the state of exception, and nuda vita. Notably, the sovereign power represents an authority to create laws but remains unbound. The state of exception refers to a blurred zone of “law and life”. Besides, nuda vita embodies the condition in which an individual’s life is vulnerable to death without being considered a sacrifice. The study reveals two primary findings. First, restrict any criticism directed at Ceauşescu, exiting Romania, gathering in groups of more than three individuals, engaging in conversations with foreigners, possessing typewriters, and many other prohibitions. The authorities also exercised rigid control over civilians’ basic needs, from access to electricity to food, and imposed strict laws. The sovereign power restrained Romanian civilians’ lives through various methods to instill fear, such as utilizing Phillips, i.e., tapping devices, widely spread within households. Second, the civilians’ revolts against the sovereign power and nuda vita were manifested through strategies like adopting a double-agent role, utilizing knowledge as propaganda, and building allies with soldiers. The novelty of this study proposes a path towards detachment from the sovereign power and nuda vita, particularly relevant to contemporary debates
Commodifying Java Coffee: An Analysis using Spivak’s Planetarity toward Dee’s Filosofi Kopi
Full text linkThis research aims to analyze how and why Java coffee depicted by Kopi Tiwus in Dee’s Filosofi Kopi is commodified after Dutch colonialism which is inseparable from Eurocentrism ended in 1945 when Indonesia gained its independence. After applying qualitative research method with a post-colonial approach which involves collecting data in the form of words and analyzing the data by using Spivak’s planetarity as a post-colonial theory, it is found that the coffee is commodified through interaction between global agents depicted by Ben and Jody as owners of a coffee shop in Jakarta, namely Filosofi Kopi, and planetary subjects depicted by a middle-aged man with a strong Javanese accent who makes Ben and Jody know the coffee and by Pak Seno who sells it in a rickety hut in a rural area which is not far from Klaten, Central Java. Through the interaction, knowledge of features of Java coffee which is produced in smallholder coffee plantations on Java Island, Indonesia suggesting the country to enlarge its coffee plantations and to provide information and assistance of coffee cultivation technology to raise competitiveness of its coffee in the world market can be exchanged. The features are well-grown in a fertile land, the highest quality type of coffee, and brewed in a simple way which lead Java coffee to become a commodity to generate capital which can be globalized as well as European coffee depicted by Ben’s Perfecto as Ben’s creation together with a variety of popular espresso drinks. Made with espresso method and machine found and developed by Europeans along with other coffee brewing equipment and tools being homogenized in numerous cafes around the world, including in Indonesia, European coffee can be juxtaposed with Java coffee which does not require use of the machine and thus regarded as a different one. Novelty of the research is commodifying Java coffee without alienation of labor as Spivak states that planetarity keeps homogenization and differentiation in alterity which makes planetarity “in excess” of globalization of capital
Hereditary Tradition: Analyzing Connections among Detective Depictions in Texts by Poe, Doyle, and King using Harold Bloom’s Revisionary Ratios Theory
Full text linkThere has been a longstanding debate about the origin of detective fiction, with most recognizing Poe as its pioneer. However, there remains a need to comprehensively analyze the literary influence that spans across generations in detective fiction. This research introduces a comprehensive analysis of the literary influence that spans across generations in detective fiction, shedding light on the intricate web of connections between Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Laurie R. King. Central to this investigation is the application of Harold Bloom’s theory of revisionary ratios, which serves as an invaluable analytical framework. Through the application of Harold Bloom’s theory of revisionary ratios, this research provides a comprehensive exploration of the enduring significance of intertextuality in shaping the detective fiction landscape. It underscores the intricate web of influences that connect Poe’s pioneering works with subsequent narratives by Conan Doyle and King. Having the enduring significance of intertextuality that shapes the detective fiction landscape, this study still offers a novel perspective on the genre’s dynamic evolution. The method involves a detailed review of revisionary ratio concepts and their implications for understanding complex literary works more thoroughly. The result reveals the enduring significance of revisionary ratios in understanding the complexities of literary works, with Edgar Allan Poe’s influence resonating in subsequent detective stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Laurie R. King