A Sociological analysis grisham's a painted house

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A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN GRISHAM’S “A PAINTED HOUSE”

BUDI PRAYOGI 103026027617

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

JAKARTA SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

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A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN GRISHAM’S “A PAINTED HOUSE”

A Thesis

Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Strata Degree (S1)

BUDI PRAYOGI 103026027617

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

JAKARTA SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

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APPROVEMENT

A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN GRISHAM’S“A PAINTED HOUSE”

A Thesis

Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Strata 1 Degree (S1)

By

Budi Prayogi 103026027617

Approved by:

Muhammad Supardi Supervisor

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

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LEGALIZATION

The thesis entitled “A Sociological Analysis in Grisham’s A Painted House”has been defended by the Letters and Humanities Faculty’s Examination Committee on January 21, 2008. It has already been accepted as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Strata 1 Degree (S1) in English Letters Department.

Jakarta, January 2008

Budi Prayogi

Examination Committee

Chief Secretary

Dr. H. Muhammad Farkhan, M. Pd Drs. Asep Saefuddin, M. Pd

NIP. 150 299 480 NIP. 150 261 902

Members,

Examiner I Examiner II

Elve Oktaviani, M. Hum Inayatul Chusna, M. Hum

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text.

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ABSTRACT

Budi Prayogi, A Sociological Analysis in Grisham’s “A Painted House”. Thesis. Jakarta: Strata 1 Degree (S1), Jakarta Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, January 2008.

This research discusses John Grisham’s novel entitled “A Painted House”, focusing on analyzing the sociological aspects such as: social, culture and economy of rural Arkansas in the Grisham’s novel.

The objective of this research is to know the social life in rural Arkansas and its reflection in the USA of the twentieth century. This research uses qualitative method and followed by sociological analysis and mimetic theory by Hungarian philosopher, Georg Lukacs. The researcher uses himself to analyze the social life of rural Arkansas in the novel and find other resources to complete the research references. And the unit analysis of this research is the novel entitled“A Painted House”by John Grisham.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In the name of God, the Infinitely Good, the All-Merciful

First of all the writer would like to thank to Allah SWT, the Lord of the

universe, and who has created heavens and earth, and who has created mankind

and all that we perceive. Peace and blessing be upon to the prophet Muhammad

SAW, his fellows and followers.

Second, the writer would like to express his gratitude to Hj. Farida and H.

Arbani, thanks for the useful advice and the financial support, he also thanks to

his grandmother Marlis Nawawi for the prayer and hope. And the unforgettable

thanks to his beloved mom and dad; Yosi Maria and Dedy Suryono for all the

contribution that he needs until the end of his study in this university. The writer

thanks to his young sister and brother, Citra and Gilang who have supported him

in finishing this thesis.

Next, the writer would like to thank to his supervisor Mr. Supardi, S.S for

the great patient and contribution to finish this thesis, and for all his advices that

has been given to him. May Allah responses his deeds with thousands kindnesses.

Consequently, the writer also thanks to these following people:

1. Dr. H. Abdul Chair, MA, the Dean of Letters and Humanities Faculty

Jakarta Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University.

2. Dr. H. Muhammad Farkhan, M. Pd and Drs. Asep Saepudin, M. Pd, the

Chief and Secretary of English Letters Department.

3. Elve Oktaviani, M. Hum and Inayatul Chusna, M. Hum, the examiners of

his final examination.

4. All the lecturers of English Letters Department, who has taught and

educated him during he studies at the campus.

5. All the employers of UIN Jakarta Center Library, UIN Jakarta American

Corner Library, FAH UIN Library, FIB UI Library, Freedom Institute

Library, Senayan Depdiknas Library, who help him to get many

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6. All his friends at the campus; Agung, Fachri, Faisal, Imam and Dede

(Geng Kost-an). Rafi, Mate, Burhan, Roni, Husni, Acu, Azra (HMI Insan

Cita Assembly Hall), Endra (MIOS), Alloyz BP, Achep, Ulfa, Yuyun, and

Yuni. The “girls” who ever supported him; Diah, Widi, Abel, Siti, Fitria, Hannum, and Salamah. And for all the families, at Munjul; H. Kiswo and

Hj. Surtinah, at Tangerang; H. Ridun and Hj. Anwani, and Teh Lala. May

Allah blesses and gives the greatest award for them.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

G. Background of the Research

Since the beginning of time, men and women have been social creatures;

therefore, human beings are social animals who live together in groups. This

behavior is not usual from other animals, but what does distinguish man is the

physical endowment of a complex brain. This has allowed him to create a system

of symbols that is used by him to construct various social structures for the

purpose of survival.1 And human has a social heritage that becomes part of culture, which emerges from soul to embody in the way of life, such as art,

religion, literature and so forth.

The role of social heritage in human life seems to be important to the

progress of culture. Such as literature, that portrays human acts through a literary

work. In a society, literature is seemed be to a social symptom that demands the

author to record the society’s event on that time.2Through that event, it will be seen the correlation “take and give” between the society and author. So, the influence of literature in social world depends on the author, as long as the work

portrays the social condition and it is received well by the society.

1_{Clowers and Mori,}_{Understanding Sociology Through Fiction}_{, (New York:}

McGraw-Hill, 1977), p.1

2_{Jan van Luxemburg, et. al,}

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Dealing with the research, in 2001 an American author; John Grisham

released a novel entitled “A Painted House”. The story is inspired by his childhood in Arkansas; thus, it is Grisham's first major work outside the legal

thriller genre in which he established himself. Set in the late summer and early

autumn of 1952, its story is told through the eyes of seven-year-old Luke

Chandler, the youngest in a family of cotton farmers struggling to harvest their

crop and earn enough to settle their debts. An only child, Luke is introduced to

two migrant groups; the hill people and the Mexicans. His childhood is turned

upside down when they interact with the Chandler family.

The novel portrays the experiences that bring him from a world of

innocence into one of harsh reality.3 The story begins to unfold as Luke and his grandfather Eli Chandler (Pappy) search for migrant workers to help them with

the cotton picking. They initially consider themselves lucky to hire the Spruill, a

family of "hill people," and a few of the Mexicans who annually come to the area

looking for work.

Aside from working long hours under the hot sun in the fields, Luke's life

is fairly idyllic until he sees overly aggressive Hank Spruill; one of hill people

attacks three boys from the notorious Sisco family, who is beaten so severely and

dies from Hank’swounds. Hank arrogantly identifies Luke as a friendly witness who can expose his version of the event, and the fearful boy backs up his story,

although the adults in his life, including local sheriff Stick Powers, suspect he's

too frightened to admit the truth.

3_Anonymous

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When Cowboy, one of the Mexicans murders Hank and tosses his body

into the river, he threatens to kill Luke's mother if he tells anyone what he saw. In

the novel, Luke also learns that his admired Uncle Ricky, fighting in the Korean

War, who will come home at Christmas. His absence into the war and it is effect

on a rural Arkansas society, and may have fathered a child with a daughter of their

poverty-stricken sharecropping neighbors.

Grisham surrounds these dramatic moments with descriptive passages of

life in the rural South and the ordinary events that fill Luke's weekly routine. His

hard work in the fields is preceded by a hearty breakfast and at day's end he's

rewarded with an evening on the front porch, where the family gathers around the

radio to listen to Harry Caray announce the St. Louis Cardinals games. Luke is

saving his hard-earned money to buy a team baseball warm-up jacket he saw

advertised in the Sears, Roebuck catalog. Saturday afternoons are spent in town,

where the adults share idle gossip and serious concerns and the youngsters visit

the movie house, while Sunday morning is reserved for church. A visiting

carnival, the annual town picnic, and Luke's introduction to television- to see a

live broadcast of a World Series game - are additional bits of local color scattered

throughout the tale.

The novel's title refers to the Chandler house, which never has been

painted, a sign of their lower social status in the community. One day Luke

discovers someone furtively has been painting the weather-beaten clapboards

white, and eventually he continues the job with the approval of his parents and the

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purchase of paint. The house's gradual transformation symbolizes the changes in

the boy and his family as they prepare to enter a new phase in their lives. And as

young Luke watches the world around him, he unravels secrets that could shatter

lives and change his family and his town.

Grisham’s work is really sophisticated, because the setting is reasonably accurate, though historical accuracy should not be taken too seriously. One or two

of the characters may actually have lived and breathed on this earth, they are

known only through family lore, which in Grisham family is a most unreliable

source. Some of the events may indeed have taken place, though so many

different versions that known by himself.4

In this research, the writer intends to analyze social, culture and economy

of rural Arkansas society life that existsin Grisham’s“A Painted House”through sociological analysis and mimetic theory by a Hungarian theorist, Georg Lukacs.

Certainly, his opinion about“mirror” has been admitted in the literature world, and he is the one who longs for extending of the literature tradition from 19th century.5

Sociology analyzes human in society, through the process of

comprehension from society to individual. This analysis is to know the progress

of society, in which can be seen from particular aspects, such as social, culture

economy and so forth. Sociological analysis explores the relationships between

the writer and society. Sometimes it looks at the sociological status of the author

4_{John Grisham}_{, Excerpt: ‘A Painted House’,} _{Grisham Excerpt. Accessed on May 25,}

2007. http://archives.cnn.com/2001/books/beginnings/01/25/grisham.excerpt/index.html., p.7

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to evaluate how the profession of writer in the particular milieu affected in what

was written. Through this analysis, the writer expects that the research will be

successful and it is necessary for all the people who interested in sociological

analysis.

H. Focus of the Research

As explained above, the research focuses to analyze the extrinsic of the

novel such as social, culture and economy of rural Arkansas in Grisham’s “A Painted House”and its reflection in rural America of the twentieth century.

I. Questions of the Research

Based on background of the research, there are some questions to be

discussed:

1. How is the social life of rural Arkansas in the novel “A Painted House”?

2. How does the novel reflect the social condition of American life in the

twentieth century?

J. Objective of the Research

1. To know the social life of rural Arkansas in the novel “A Painted

House”.

2. To know the reflection of the social condition of America in the

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K. Significance of the Research

Through this research, the writer wants to share the widest perception of

human relation, and correlate the literary work to the progress of social, cultural,

and economic life. Moreover, it can give enlightenment to the other researchers in

exploring the social condition by using sociological analysis and mimetic theory.

L.Method of the Research

The method of this research involves some important aspects that

complete the research:

1. Research Methodology

The research uses qualitative method, which the writer disentangles the

novel facts, and then followed by sociological analysis and mimetic theory.

2. Research Instrument

In this research, the writer uses himself to study the text of the novel and

finds other resources to complete the research references.

3. Data Analysis

The collected data of the research is analyzed based on sociological

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4. Unit Analysis

The unit analysis of this research is a novel entitled“A Painted House”by American author; John Grisham, published in 2001.

5. Research Time and Place

The research is started on the 9thsemester of 2007-2008 academic year at English Letters Department of Jakarta Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic

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CHAPTER TWO

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Literature and Reflection of Life

Literature6 presents a life portrait and the essential part of social reality, which includes human interaction, society and events that happen in one

individual. Sometimes, it can be reflected in a community, in which describes a

particular culture. The role of literature in social world is to recreate some

relations, such as social, culture, economy and so forth; thus it reveals the conflict

and the strained situation among the communities.

A literary work is “a mirror” of human life; however, it portrays bad and good things of human. As quoted from the dictionary of literature terminology, “a literary work is a portrait of society life; moreover, it portrays the author’s personal life”.7A literary work is a possibility world that produced by an author. In producing the work he or she has to provide a worth and saleable work for the

society tastes, and the work will be success if it can reflect the time, so the society

will appreciate the work as long as it represents their social, cultural and economic

life.

6_{The term literally is}_{“acquaintance with letters”}_{as in the first sense given in the Oxford}

English Dictionary, from the Latin“littera”meaning“an individual written character (letter)”. The has generally come to identify a collection of texts of work of art, which in Western culture are mainly prose, both fiction and non-fiction, drama and poetry. Anonymous, Literature,

Literature. Accessed on April 11, 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature, p.1

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In any case, an author is also the member of society, which has to establish

a communication between the author and the reader. Through the communication,

the literary work can be distributed to the reader as the devotee of literature. In the

communication process, the author has been sending a message to the reader.8In this case, the literary work is described as the message and its content must be

recognized between them in order to be comprehended accurately.

Literary work is the representation of a world; consequently, the reader has

to embody itactively. As a result, the reader will find the author’s ideology within the work. Actually, the author has a particular language to inform the ideology to

the reader. So, the reader has to be smart in interpreting the author’s ideology. The literature is able to be informative and creative, it does not only offer the

information; yet, it is related to the esthetics experience, which includes into the

art and transformed through the language.

According to Swingewood, literature is not only created to overcome the

scientific object analysis; however, it also gets into the ground of social life to

reveal the way of human to recognize their society. Meanwhile, the other

sociologist; Hogart, said that “without the full literary witness, the student of

society will be blind to thefullness of a society life”.9

In this case, literature does not full express the life, because the author

occasionally does not make it on purpose; nevertheless, literature still describes

8_{Sapardi Joko Damono}_{, Kita dan Sastra Dunia,}_{Baca Artikel. Accessed on September}

20, 2007. http://www.mizan.com/portal/template/Baca Atikel/kodeart/222, p.4

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the invisible aspects of society life. However, literary work has an important duty

to be a pioneer that gives admission to occurred social symptoms in society life.

Literature is the social institution that uses language medium. Moreover, it

“provides life” and almost of the life consists of social reality; occasionally, it “imitates” the nature and world of human.10 One of literary work genre that portrays a society life is fiction. This genre dominates to perform the complete

narrative aspects and involves the society culture. The language that used in

fiction is easy and understandable; generally, it is also used by the society.11 Accordingly, it can be interpreted that fiction is fairly sociologic and represents

the society social, cultural and economic life.

B. Sociological Analysis

Sociology is an academic and applied discipline that studies society and

human social interaction. As an academic discipline, sociology is typically

considered a social science. The word of sociology was coined by French thinker

Auguste Comte in 1838 from Latin socius (companion, associate) and Greek

λóγος ,lógos (word). Comte hoped to unify all studies of humankind - including history, psychology and economics.12

10_{Wellek and Warren,}_{Teori Kesusastraan}_{, diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Indonesia}

oleh Melani Budianta, Ph. D, (Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 1995), p.109

11_{Nyoman Kutha Ratna. S. U,}_{Teori, Metode, dan Penelitian Sastra}_{, (Yogyakarta:}

Pustaka Pelajar, 2004), p.336

12_Anonymous,

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Sociologists hope it is not only to understand what held social groups

together, but also to develop responses to social disintegration and exploitation.

Meanwhile, Indonesian sociologists; Soemardjan and Soemardi (Yanto:1980)

define sociology:

“Sosiologi adalah ilmu yang mempelajari struktur, proses dan perubahan -perubahan sosial. Yang dimaksud struktur sosial, yaitu keseluruhan jalinan antara unsur-unsur sosial yang pokok, diantaranya kaidah-kaidah, lembaga-lembaga, kelompok-kelompok dan lapisan-lapisan sosial. Proses sosial adalah pengaruh timbal balik antar berbagai segi kehidupan, dan salah satu proses sosial yang bersifat tersendiri adalah perubahan-perubahan didalam struktur sosial.”13

Furthermore, sociology attempts to answer the questions about how

society exists, acts and survive.14 Accordingly, this science presents the description about the way of human to socialize and settled by particular society,

socialization mechanism and cultural learned process, in which allocated the

individuals at particular roles in social structure. Since its developing, this science

expands literary world that has brought by a Hungarian philosopher (1885-1971);

Georg Lukacs (Ritzer:2003), in his book “The Theory of the Novel” (1916), he gave new direction to the sociology of literature.15

He is one of the theorists of Sociology of Literature that uses “mirror” concept as the feature for a whole of the work. A literary work does not only

portray the phenomena of life, and closely it can be a photograph of“life process” in the world.

13_{Yanto Subianto S.,}_{Soal-Jawab Sosiologi}_{, (Bandung: Armico, 1980), p.1}

14_Faruk,_{Pengantar Sosiologi Sastra}_{, (Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar, 1994), p.1}

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Sociology of literature is the interdisciplinary of sociology and literary

studies. The object of this study rests on extrinsic elements that includes social

and cultural aspects, and completed by intrinsic elements such as plot, character

and characterization, setting, point of view and so on.16 In this case, sociology of literature is an approach that emerges from the author, the reader and the universal

orientation.

The field of sociology of literature is verily extent. This study is divided

this approach into three classifications. First, sociology of author, that discusses

about his social status, ideology, economy and so forth. Second, sociology of

literary work, that discusses about the implicit and explicit meaning of literary

work. And the third, sociology of literature that discusses about the reader and its

social influence to the society.17 And this explanation refers to the wide perspective of sociology of literature.

Sociology of literature is the informal and indefinite study that consists of

few empirical studies, which has only the equal and deals with the correlation

between literature and society. The study is a reflective research and dominated by

most researchers, who intend to observe the literature as a reflection of the

community.

Consequently, the perspective of sociology of literature must be concerned

as quoted; “literature is not only the effect of social causes but also the cause of

16_{Soehenda Iskar,}_{Sosiologi Sastra}_{, Khazanah. Accessed on May 25, 2007.}

http://www.pikiran-rakyat.com/cetak/2005/0305/05/khazanah/lainnya02.htm, p.6

17_{Gunoto Saparie,}

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social effect”. 18 This suggestion gives the detail that the sociology of literature research directs to aim of relationship between sociology and literature. And those

things will influence each other in every particular case that will be interested for

the researchers.

A real world is like a couple of the imaginative world. In the real world the

life is limited by some rules, which cannot be passed by human act and thought,

and the events that happen within are unrepeatable. Nevertheless, in fictional

world human can reach the wide space to imagine without a limitation and the

events can be occurred as long as the work read repeatedly, generally this concept

is called ‘mimetic theory’.19 A theorist of Sociology of Literature; Georg Lukacs (Endraswara:2003) disentangles this concept to characterize a whole literary

work:

“Mencerminkan berarti menyusun sebuah struktur mental. Sebuah karya sastra (novel) tidak hanya mencerminkan “realitas” melainkan lebih dari itu, juga memberikan “sebuah refleksi kepada kita yang lebih besar, lengkap, hidup dan lebih dinamik” yang mungkin melampaui pemahaman umum.”20

In Lukacs’s opinion (Selden:1991), “mirror” or “reflection” in a novel bring the reader along to a view, in which real and concrete. Therefore, the reader

has to realize that a literary work is not reality itself, but it is “the particular

18_{Suwardi Endraswara,}

Metodologi Penelitian Sastra, (Yogyakarta: Pustaka Widyatama, 2004), p.79

19_{Sapardi Joko Damono (2007),}_{Op. Cit}_{., p.2}

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shape that portrays the reality”, and this concept deconstructs naturalism or modernism in the same time.21

In this case, the theory is not only limited to the time and space, but it is

also related to the conduct of author to portray human life. Literature is a

necessary “mirror”, which does not only perform human life in real world, but also it performs the invisible thing within. Therefore, it is a“mirror”that emerges from world reality and enables to complete the lack of literary comprehension.

The “mirror” concept refers to various social changes in society. In the book “The Mirror and the Lamp” (1976); he stated that a literary work is the mirror of society life.22 Through this concept most of the researchers intend to find a real description while the work has been created by an author.

The effort to develop a scientific sociology has been primarily an effort to

make sociological work consistent with the canons of scientific method.

Sociological research ranges from the analysis of short contacts between

anonymous individuals on the street to the study of global social processes. The

field focuses on how and why people are organized in society, either as

individuals or as members of associations, groups, and institutions.

1. Social

Social refers to human society or its organization. Although the term is a

crucial category in social science and often used in public discourse, its meaning

21_{Raman Selden,}_{Panduan Pembaca Teori Sastra Masa Kini}_{, (Yogyakarta: Universitas}

Gadjah Mada, 1991), p.27

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is at times vague, suggesting that it is a fuzzy concept. An added difficulty is that

social attributes or relationships may not be directly observable and visible, and

must be inferred by abstract thought. Thus the sociologist C. Wright Mills used

the expression "the sociological imagination", which referred to the need to think

imaginatively beyond what an individual can empirically observe in order to grasp

the social domain in all its dimensions connecting, for example, "private troubles"

and "public issues". In one broad meaning, "social" refers only to society as "a

system of common life", but in another sense it contrasts specifically with

"individual" and individualist theories of society. This is reflected for instance in

the different perspectives of liberalism and socialism on society and public

affairs.23

Society is a united people that have a goal to live together, which needs

safety and justice guarantee in order to encourage each others. A society is a

grouping of individuals which is characterized by common interests and may have

distinctive culture and institutions. Members of a society may be from different

ethnic groups. Society emerges through social interaction held by individuals that

comes form different social background. Those individuals shape society that

taken from each families group. The relationship among them emerges attitudes

and norms that identify them as social and productive creatures.

The English word "society" emerged in the 15th century and is derived from the French société. The French word, in turn, had its origin in the Latin

societas, a "friendly association with others," from socius meaning "companion,

23_Anonymous,

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associate, and comrade or business partner." The Latin word was derived from the

Greek socus locus, meaning locally social, and implied a social contract between

members of the community.24

According to Linton (1984:118), society is any groups of people who

lived and work together longs enough to get them and to think of themselves as

social unit with well defined limits.25 And human society shares many characteristics with societies of those other species which are social, such as

permanent organization within a common territory, collective self-sufficiency, and

common as well as specialized interests.26

2. Culture

The classic definition of culture was given by Tylor: “Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and

any other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society”, and Kluckhohn has defined culture very simply as“the total life way of a people”.27Culture is the intellect activity to create an easy way in undergoing the life. However, culture is

not limited to refine behavior but includes the total way of life of a group of

people. Thus, culture is the symptoms of human being that is created by them to

24_Anonymous,

Society, Wiki. Accessed on November 10, 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society. p.1

25_{Bainar, et al.,}_{Ilmu Sosial, Budaya dan Kealaman Dasar}_{, (Jakarta: Jenki Satria, 2006),}

p.67

26_{Arnold W. Green,}_{Sociology, An Analysis of Life in Modern Society, 5}th

Edition,(New York: McGraw Hill, 1968), p.55

27_{Jerry D. Rose,}

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settle their sphere. In other opinion, culture is the expression of soul that is

embodied in the way of life, such as thinking, relationship, married, family,

religion, entertainment, art, philosophy, literature and so forth.28 Accordingly, Indonesian sociologist; Soemardjan attempts to define the meaning of culture:

“Kebudayaan adalah hasil karya, rasa dan cipta manusia dalam masyarakat. Karya adalah hasil usaha manusia dalam bentuk yang terwujud dan kongkrit dengan cara penggunaanya, seperti halnya teknologi yang termasuk kebudayaan kebendaan“material culture”. Rasa meliputi jiwa manusia, mewujudkan segala kaidah-kaidah dan nilai-nilai kemasyarakatan dalam arti yang luas, di dalamnya terdapat agama, ideologi, kesenian dan lain-lain. Adapun unsur-unsur tersebut merupakan ekspresi dari jiwa manusia yang hidup sebagai anggota masyarakat, dan pembagian unsur rasa ini termasuk ke dalam kebudayaan “immaterial culture”. Terakhir adalah unsur cipta merupakan berfikir orang-orang yang hidup bermasyarakat dan salah satunya menghasilkan filsafat serta ilmu pengetahuan baik yang bersifat murni maupun terapan yang nantinya diterapkan dalam kehidupan bermasyrakat.”29

Consequently, Roucek and Warren define this term in their book

“Sociology An Introduction”, culture is the way of living to meet its fundamental need for survival, perpetuation of the species, and the ordering of social

experience.30 Culture is transmitted by means of language, arbitrary symbols spoken or written, and an ability which sharply distinguishes man from all

species. Because of language man for the most part reacts not to objects and

organisms but to symbolized nations about them.

28_{Ria Hikmiati Drajat,}

Tanya-Jawab Psikologi Sosial, (Bandung: Armico, 1980), p.83

29_{Yanto Subianto S. (1980),}_{Op. Cit.}_{, p.41}

30_{Roucek and Warren,}

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Culture and language are inseparable, because how men view their world

and adapt to it is largely the result of the structure of a particular language. That

structure even limits and directs the ways culture can develop, as well as erects

barriers between peoples.31 As a result, human has a social heritage that becomes

part of culture, whereas human’s learned attitude to realize on their united values and gives a way to live.

3. Economy

An economy is the system of human activities related to the production,

distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services of a country or

other area; thus, economy refers also to the measure of how a country or region is

progressing in terms of product. The word "economy" can be traced back to the

Greek word oikonomos, "one who manages a household", derived from oikos,

"house", andnemein, "to manage." Fromoikonomoswas derivedoikonom, which

had not only the sense "management of a household or family" but also senses

such as "thrift", "direction", "administration", "arrangement", and "public revenue

of a state".32

The first recorded sense of the word "economy", found in a work possibly

composed in 1440, is "the management of economic affairs", in this case, of a

monastery. Economy is later recorded in other senses shared by oikonomi in

Greek, including "thrift" and "administration". What is probably the most

31_{Arnold W. Green (1968),}_{Op. Cit.}_{, p.99}

32_Anonymous,

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frequently used current sense, "the economic system of a country or an area",

seems not to have developed until the 19thor 20thcentury.

Regardless of the structure the main function of the economic system that

of distributing wealth within a society is accomplished. An attribute of economics

is that there are various forms, and perhaps the most widely praised and criticized

from capitalism. According to Adam Smith, and early of capitalism33, it is the best of all possible economic systems because it allows the society and the individual

to achieve the maximum or the minimum amount wealth, the only limitations

being the society or individual’s talents and abilities. Smith also argues that capitalism is good for the individual because it permits the greatest amount of

freedom for the individual.34

33_Capitalism_{is a concept of motion that expresses the dynamic of the modern economy:}

its tendency of unlimited growth, rapid, increase, and incessant mobility and its society-shaping drive of melting all that is solid into the air. George Ritzer (2003),Op. Cit., , p.76

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CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH FINDINGS

A. Data Description

In this chapter the writer attempts to describe the facts in the novel, which

are formed into some lists that consist of the extrinsic aspects, such as social

problems, cultural life, and economic systems of rural Arkansas society that

containedin Grisham’s“A Painted House”.

1. The List of Rural Arkansas Social Problems in Grisham’s “A Painted House”.

No. Social Problems

Corpus Chapter/

Page 1. Poverty “The only farmers who made money were

those who owned their land. The renters, like us, tired to break even. The sharecroppers had it the worst and were doomed to eternal poverty.”

“The Latchers were sharecroppers who lived no more than a mile from our house, but they might as well have been in another county. They run-down shack was in a bend of the river, with elms and willows touching the roof and cotton growing almost to the front porch. There was no grass around the house, just a ring of dirt where a horde of little Latchers played.”

“They farmed thirty acres and split the crop with the owner of the land. Half of a little left nothing, and the Latchers were dirty-poor. They had no electricity, no car and truck.”

C.3/ P.25

C.10/ P.121

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2.

3.

Labor

Social Status

“Even the poorest of the sharecroppers managed to grow tomatoes and cucumbers. Every farm family had a few chickens laying eggs.”

“The hill people and the Mexican arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952.”

“Pappy, my grandfather, was worried about the price for labor when we went searching for the hill people. They were paid for every hundreds pounds of cotton they picked.

“The hill people had been migrating from the Ozarks for decades to pick cotton. Many of them owned their own homes and land, and quite often they had nicer vehicles than the farmers who hired them for the harvest. They worked very hard, saved their money, and appeared to be as poor as we were.”

“By 1950 the migration had slowed. The postwar boom had finally trickled down to Arkansas, at least to some portions of state, and the younger hill people didn’t need the extra money as badly as their parents. They simply stayed at home. Picking cotton was not something anyone would volunteer to do. The farmers faced a labor shortage that gradually grew worse; then somebody discovered the Mexicans.”

“The subject of day laborers came up. These were locals who went from farm to farm looking for the best deal. Most were town people we knew.”

“And their house was painted, the first one on the highway into town. White was the color, with gray trim around the edges and corners. The porch and front steps were dark green.”

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“With time and weather the boards had faded into a pale brown, pretty much the same color as other farmhouses around Black Oak. Paint was unnecessary. The boards were kept clean and in good repair, and besides, paint cost money.”

“Paint” was a sensitive word around the Chandler farm.”

“There was a clear social order with the sharecroppers at the bottom and the merchants at the top, and every one was expected to know his place. But folks got along.” Idem C.6/ P.77 C.23/ P.296

2. The List of Rural Arkansas Cultural Lifein Grisham’s“A Painted House”.

No. Cultures Corpus Chapter

/ Page 1.

2.

Farming

Sport

“They were farmers, hardworking men who embraced pessimism only when discussing the weather and the crops.”

“For a second, I stoodthere the semidarkness of an already hot September morning, staring down a very long, straight row of cotton, a row that had somehow been assigned to me. I’ll never get to the end of it, and I was suddenly tired.”

“The week began in the semidarkness of Monday morning. We met at the trailer for the ride into the fields, a ride that grew shorter each day as picking slowly moved away from the river back toward the house.”

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3. Worship

“Wary of the front yard, I headed for the back. Near the silo, where the Spruills were supposed to be camping, there was no grassy area where baseball could be played. It wasn’t as long and wide as my field in the front, but it was open enough and ran to the edge of the cotton. I tossed pop flies as high as I could, and I stopped only after I’d caught ten in row.”

“Most things were sinful in rural Arkansas, especially if you were a Baptist. And a great part of our Sunday worship ritual was to be preached at the Reverend Akers, a loud and angry man who spent too much of his time conjuring up news sins.”

“As general rule, the merchants and schoolteachers worshiped there. The Methodist thought they were slightly superior, but as Baptist, we knew we had the inside track to God.”

“The line between Baptist and Methodist was never straight and true. Their worship was slightly different, with the ritual of sprinkling little babies being their most flagrant deviation from the Scriptures, as we saw things. And they didn’t meet often, which, of course, meant that they were not as serious about their faith. Nobody met as much as us Baptist. We took great pried in constant worship.”

“We rarely missed a Sunday worship, but the threat of rain occasionally kept us at home. We hadn’t missed a service in months, andso when Gran suggested we eat late breakfast and listen to the radio we quickly agreed.”

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3. The List of Rural Arkansas Economic Systems in Grisham’s “A Painted House”.

No. Systems of Economy Corpus Chapter / Page 1. 2. Crop-lien Share-cropping

“Pappy and my fatherhad borrowed fourteen thousand dollars in March from the owner of gin. That was their crop loan, and the money was spent on seed, fertilizer, labor, and other expenses.”

“But, like most farmers, Pappy and my father carried debt from the previous year. They owed the owner of the gin two thousand dollars fro 1951, which had seen an average crop. They also owed money to the John Deere dealer in Jonesboro for parts, to Lance Brothers for fuel, to the Co-op for seed and supplies, and to Pop and Pearl Watson for groceries.”

“Pappy and Gran had been renting the land since before the Great Depression, which arrived early and stayed late in Arkansas. After thirty years of backbreaking labor, they managed to purchase from Mr. Vogel the house and three acres around it.”

“The only farmers who made money were those who owned their land. The renters, like us, tired to break even. The sharecroppers had it the worst and were doomed to eternal poverty.”

“The Latchers were sharecroppers who lived no more than a mile from our house, but they might as well have been in another county.

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B. Data Analysis

The data that has been described above will be analyzed by using

sociological analysis and mimetic theory by a Hungarian philosopher, Georg

Lukacs (1885-1971). InLucaks’s theory (Endraswara:2003), a literary work does not only portray the phenomena of life, and closely it can be a photograph of“life process” in the world. And here these the explanations about social life in Grisham’s“A Painted House”and its reflection in rural America of the twentieth century:

1. The Social Problems of Rural Arkansasin Grisham’s“A Painted House”_. In Grisham’s “A Painted House” there are social problems such as poverty, labor and social status, which are phenomenal in rural Arkansas. The

term of social problem has been defined by Soekanto (1993): “suatu keadaan di

mana cita-cita warga masyarakat, tidak terpenuhi karena keadaan sosial dalam

masyarakat.”35 Therefore, the society has to find the right solution to overcome the social problems and create the life harmony as good as possible.

In the novel,Luke’s family rent a field from the owner of the land. They had been trying to own the land, though they had to work hard and helped by the

labors. Mostly the farmers became sharecropper, who had not own the land and

split their cash crops to the owner of land as an agreement. And it needed many

years to own the land.

35_{Soerjono Soekanto,}

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Renting a field was the effort of the farmers to survive in rural area. As the

renter of land,Luke’s family worked in the field almost every day and they were helped by the hill people and the Mexicans, who worked as the labors. Thus,

Luke’s family got the income form the crop which was harvested in every year. So, they could hire the labors and pay the bills.

“The only farmers who made money were those who owned their land. The renters, like us, tired to break even. The sharecroppers had it the worst and were doomed to eternal poverty.”(Grisham, 2001:25)

“The Latchers were sharecroppers who lived no more than a mile from our house, but they might as well have been in another county. They run-down shack was in a bend of the river, with elms and willows touching the roof and cotton growing almost to the front porch. There was no grass around the house, just a ring of dirt where a horde of little Latchers played.”(Grisham, 2001:121)

Luke’s family life in rural Arkansaswas fairly normal; however, he had a sharecropper neighbor that lived a mile from his house; they were the Latchers.

Their life was so apprehensive, there was no grass in front of the house, no garden

to be growth and their house was not painted. Sometimes they separated form the

other farmers and wasted time with their family.

The condition of Latcher’s familydescribes the American life in rural area of the twentieth century. The people worked hard for many days to get enough

income and survive in rural area. The agriculture systems are the choice for them

to fulfill their need, and of course for paying their bills to the owner of gin.

Actually, these systems were applied as a post Civil War development, and it

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However, it was different fromLuke’s family; Pappy was able to hire the migrants to pick the cotton in the field. The hill people and the Mexicans annually

migrated to Black Oak to search for jobs. They would be hired by the farmers to

help them for picking the cotton in the field. Definitely, they worked so hard to

earn the money and pretended to be poor people.

“The hill people had been migrating from the Ozarks for decades to pick cotton. Many of them owned their own homes and land, and quite often they had nicer vehicles than the farmers who hired them for the harvest. They worked very hard, saved their money, and appeared to be as poor as we were.”(Grisham, 2001:15)

In America, the hill people has migrated from the Ozarks region of

Arkansas; it is located in the extreme northern and western portions of the state.

This area is marked by flat-topped mountains, or plateaus, which have been

eroded over millions of years. Because of the diversity of the Arkansas landscape,

the state has long been fragmented, or divided. For instance, the hill people of the

Ozarks and Ouachitas are much different than the farmers of the Delta.36

Previously, the producing of cotton in rural Arkansas was not satisfied for

the farmers; because in 1950 the migration of the hill people had slowed.

However, the effect of postwar brought them over to seek for the jobs in rural

Arkansas as the labors. Accordingly, the parts of hill people brought their family

along to be hired by the farmers to pick cotton in the field.

“By 1950 the migration had slowed. The postwar boom had finally trickled down to Arkansas, at least to some portions of state, and the

36_Anonymous,

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younger hill people didn’t need the extra money as badly as their parents. They simply stayed at home. Picking cotton was not something anyone would volunteer to do. The farmers faced a labor shortage that gradually grew worse; then somebody discovered the Mexicans.” (Grisham, 2001:16)

The migrations of the hill people and the Mexicans gave a change for

social life in rural Arkansas, where the newcomers could spread the culture out or

involved the people’s culture. However, they hadto follow the people activities as immigrants in rural area. And this case would be existed as long as they stayed

with the farmers and worked hard in the field.

Historically, the labors came to America for years ago. The people used

their energy to work at the certain places, such as industry or rural area. In the

rural South of America, the labors were employed to help the farmers work at

agriculture area. They signed the contract of employment and begin to work with

the farmers as good as possible.

Occasionally, the labors were treated unnaturally. When the Mexicans

came to the town, the board carried them away by the worn out truck like

assemble of the cattle, they worked like dog, and owned a little time to rest.

“Those poor Mexicans. Haul ’em like cattle, work ’em like dogs, and their one day of rest was taken away while the owner hid in church.”(Grisham, 2001:161)

However, Luke’s family treated them as human, because as Baptist he must love each other without seeing the employment. Although he could

experience his church doctrine; but he was not comfort with his unpainted house.

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which Luke’shouse indicated his social status was lower than other farmers. Luke’s house was built before World War I, when the indoor plumbing and electricity was not supplied yet. The front of his house was made from the

clapboards and Luke’s family had been living there for many years. There were many Luke’s unforgettable memories with his family. Unfortunately, the house was not painted yet, and it became a problem for his family.

“Our house had been built before the First War, back when indoor plumbing and electricity were unheard of. Its interior was one-by-six clapboards made from oak, probably cut from the land we now farmed. With time and weather the boards had faded into a pale brown, pretty much the same color as other farmhouses around Black Oak. Paint was unnecessary. The boards were kept clean and in good repair, and besides, paint cost money.”(Grisham, 2001:76)

The paint was being a problem for Luke’s house. As a result, his family argued that paint was unnecessary. However, the “paint” wasa sensitive word for the Chandlers. Until he found someone had been painting his house quietly, that

was Trot Spruill; the cripple son of the hill people that worked at his field. Of

course, it was a Trot’s initiative to paint Luke’s house, after his oldest brother; Hank Spruill pointed towardLuke’s unpainted house.

The social status in rural America occurred while the people had

something different from the others. This issue was verily sensitive in the

twentieth century, especially for the migrants who came to America. In this

decade, there were two people who stayed in this country; the Black and White

America. Although the Black people came from another country, however they

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By 1950 the failed crops in Arkansas, on that time; the flood destroyed the

farmer’s cropsin the field. Therefore, the hill people and the Mexicans decided to leave the farm even they got a little money from the farmers. In spite of that, Luke

continued Trot’s work, before he went to Chicago with his parents to work at Buick factory. He sacrificed his dream, to own a new Cardinals jacket; he loved to

paint his house and madehis family’ssocial status stable like other farmers. Even he spent his money to buy some paints and he did it by helping the Mexicans

before their leaving.

From the description above, the social problems in rural Arkansas are

really dominant and apprehensive. The poverty has knocked the farmers down;

parts of them have to be the sharecroppers, and they split the cash crop to the

owner of land. This reality must be experienced by the Latcher family, who lives

with the poor condition; and decides to separate from other farmers.

The poverty that occurred in rural America has knocked the farmers down.

They decide to get credit from the owner of gin and become the sharecroppers.

And the farm is the effort of people in rural area. It is the way to get income and

survive with disability. Therefore, they work hard every day and will not stop in

searching for need.

The presence of the hill people and the Mexican, who come to the town to

seek for the job erupts the exploitation of labor’s power in rural Arkansas. Sometimes, the farmers treat them unnaturally, and the labors must work hard in

the field almost every day like the slave. However, it is a way to survive and

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The arrival of migrants in the twentieth century to rural America will bring

the changes to that area. They live in rural area for many years and work as the

labors of the farmer. Actually, it is not the right job for them; but they can be

sharecropper, although their life is not lucky like the other farmers who have an

acre of land.

The painted house becomes a measure for their social status. It is revealed

when Hank Spruill, one of the hill people’s son points toward Luke’shouse. He realizes that his family’s social status is lower than the other farmers. So, he moves to buy a can of paint and begins to continue Trot’s work, who has painted his house quietly, and make Luke’s social status is stable.

The social status which exists in rural America occurs between the White

and the Black people in the twentieth century. There is a distance between them,

and the right of Black people is little bit disturbed. However, this is a serious

problem which has to be solved at that time. And it can be overcome if the White

people respect them as human beings that live at the same area.

2. The Cultural Life of Rural Arkansasin Grisham’s“A Painted House”_. The term of culture has been already explained previously; it is“the total

life way of a people”, in which doing their activities together. As for 1940 there were nine cities with 10,000 or more residents and nearly 78 in 100 Arkansas

were still classed as rural.37

37_Anonymous,

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In rural Arkansas, almost of the people were cotton farmers, who worked

hard though the weather bad for the crops of this year.

“They were farmers, hardworking men who embraced pessimism only when discussing the weather and the crops.”(Grisham, 2001:1)

“My father had been reading the almanac and offered the opinion that the weather would cooperate throughout the month of September. But mid-October looked ominous. Bad weather was on the way.” (Grisham, 2001:41)

In Grisham’s novel, Pappy and Dad were the cotton farmers; they lived in rural Arkansas with the family. However, they worried about the weather of the

month; occasionally, it would be bad and became a problem for the crops.

However, they were always ready to get risk of failed crops of this year. As the

young boy in the family, Luke helped them to pick cotton in the field, and earned

enough money to settle their debts.

In America, the vast majority of rural counties depended on farming as

their primary source of income. The farmers produced the cotton in every year

and it was able to give contribution for the country. And this even occurred in

rural America of the twentieth century. On that time, the farmers made the country

better than last year.

Almost of rural Arkansas society were devotees of the sport, baseball.

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Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won 10World Series, the most of any National League team, and second only to the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball, who have 26.

The Cardinals were founded in the American Associationin 1882 as the St. Louis Brown Stockings, taking the name from an earlier National League team. They joined the National League in 1892 and have been known as the Cardinals since 1900. The Cardinals began play in the currentBusch Stadium in 2006, becoming the first team since 1923 to win the World Series in their first

season in a new ballpark. The Cardinals have a strong rivalry with the Chicago Cubsthat began in 1885.38

While the America was involved in the Korean War and the Cold War in

1950s, the people were kept entertained through sports. The sports provided a

release from the problems of the world, where the fans could forget about their

life problems and celebrated in the accomplishment of talented athletes. Thus,

they struggle todefend the nation’s honor, especially in the sports.

Baseball39 was a huge sport in the fifties. Many sports had not developed yet and were not broadcasted yet as much as baseball. At the moment, there were

38_Anonymous,_{St. Louis Cardinals}_{, Wiki. Accessed on November 22, 2007}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Louis_Cardinals, p.1

39 _{Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The}

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three events in baseball, which was captured the attention of spectators nationwide

such as Bobbie Thomson’s home run, Willie May’s “catch”, and Don Larson’s perfect game.40 Thus in the 50’s, baseball was important enough that it could be compared to a famous moment in American of the twentieth century.

The society of rural Arkansas dominated to believe in Christians, and there

were Baptist and Methodist Christians. Luke’s family was Baptist; they used to worship in the church on Sunday or Sabbath, where the people had to leave their

work in the field to worship, included their labors. It was a routine ritual of rural

Arkansas society to clean their sins after a week working in the field.

The Baptist church was located in Black Oak; they usually came to the

town on Sunday morning after having breakfast. Consequently, in the church they

would hear the long preaching of the Brother (Reverend). The worship of Baptist

and Methodist were slightly different. The Baptist did not see the person

backgrounds, as long as he or she could be consistent to worship regularly. The

Methodists thought that they were slightly superior to the Baptists, and it was the

distinction between them.

“Most things were sinful in rural Arkansas, especially if you were a Baptist. And a great part of our Sunday worship ritual was to be preached at the Reverend Akers, a loud and angry man who spent too much of his time conjuring up news sins.”(Grisham, 2001:98)

“The line between Baptist and Methodist was never straight and true. Their worship was slightly different, with the ritual of sprinkling little babies being their most flagrant deviation from the Scriptures, as we saw things. And they didn’t meet often, which, of course, meant that they were

40_Anonymous,

Sports, Dalton. Accessed on January 26, 2008

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not as serious about their faith. Nobody met as much as us Baptist. We took great pried in constant worship.”(Grisham, 2001:296)

The doctrinetaught them to follow his God’s way to life. As the Baptist they must have good moral and should not underestimate the others, because all

human beings were God’s creature that must be gloried. There was no perfect human in the world, but they were recommended to respect each other without

seeing the status.

As elaborated above, there are many activities and habits that have been

done by the society. The rural sphere indicates their culture will be not lost for

many times. Their occupations as the farmers bring them along to experience the

life in simplicity. They also predict the weather for the crop of this year, in order

to avoid the attack of flood.

In the twentieth century, the farmers of rural America worked hard in the

field for increasing their income. Sometimes, the weather did not cooperate with

them and they must get risk in failed crops. The farmers should be ready about

these troubles, because they should predict the weather before starting to plant.

And this way wasuseful to overcome the farmer’s problems.

Beside their activity as farmers, baseball was a favorite sport for the

people, and this sport was played in their leisure time. Baseball became a famous

sport in America. While the country involved in the wars, the people kept on

[image:47.612.114.512.200.514.2]

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The high fidelity in worship was characterized by the society. Most of

them had been following to the doctrine of Baptist Christian. In the worship, they

never saw the people’s background. As told in the story, they allowed the Mexicans to follow the church event. Thus, it was a distinction between the

Baptist and the Methodist, which applied the rule of church.

The Baptist Christian entered to the rural America before the twentieth

century. This belief was admitted by the people and became a major religion in

rural area. In the South of America, there were many Baptist churches that built to

fulfill the people’s need in worshiping. They believed that Baptist Christian was the right belief and it taught the good doctrines.

However, they live in a rural area, in which experience this life together.

So, they are united in one event, which is held by these believers to create a

harmony in the religion. The reverend taught them that life is so short and the

people will always have the problems. So, they must think about the sins that

increase in every day and should decrease the bad deeds without veil.

3. The Economic Systems of Rural Arkansas in Grisham’s “A Painted House”.

The rural simplicity of Arkansas farms has ended. As elsewhere in the

nation, there was a notable decrease in the farm population and number of farms

after World War II. The farms in the state have become increasingly mechanized

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on a single crop such cotton.41 In Grisham’s “A Painted House”, the rural Arkansas produced Stoneville cotton. In the same time, the cotton was already to

be harvested; so the farmers intended to find the hill people and the Mexicans for

helping them to pick cotton in the field.

In America cotton was a necessary product of farming to increase the

country’s income. This product was distributed to other places of whole states to fulfillthe people’s need. In 1950, the result of this product was able to cost the farmer’s necessity in producing the best cotton and it was used by all people or industries in the US.

Sometimes the production of cotton could not be predictable in the market.

When the price was high, automatically the farmers would struggle to produce it

better and distributed to other states. Nonetheless, the weather destroyed their

hope for many months and willy-nilly they must pay the labors early. After

picking and gaining the cotton was carried to Co-op in Black Oak to be processed.

“When the rains flooded the land and wiped out the crops, the prices went up because the traders in Memphis couldn’t get enough cotton. But the farmers, of course, had nothing to sell. And when the rains cooperated and the crops were huge, the price went down because the traders in Memphis had too much cotton. The poor people who labored in the fields didn’t make enough to pay their crop loan.”(Grisham, 2001:78)

Luke’s family cost the farm autonomously. For the first cotton planting, Pappy and Dad borrowed the money from the owner of gin. They hoped the crops

of this year would be satisfied and they could settle the debts. However, the

farmers must be ready to take any possibilities that occurred in the field, both

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tornado and flood. So far, Luke’s family and the labors picked the cotton without worrying. And they attempted to settle the debts that carried from the previous

year.

“But, like most farmers, Pappy and my father carried debt from the previous year. They owed the owner of the gin two thousand dollars fro 1951, which had seen an average crop. They also owed money to the John Deere dealer in Jonesboro for parts, to Lance Brothers for fuel, to the Co-op for seed and supplies, and to PCo-op and Pearl Watson for groceries.” (Grisham, 2001:15)

“Pappy and my father had borrowed fourteen thousand dollars in March from the owner of gin. That was their crop loan, and the money was spent on seed, fertilizer, labor, and other expenses.”(Grisham, 2001:14)

Crop-lien was a system that applied in rural America around twentieth

century. This system was widely used in this country after the Civil War in the South. It was a way of farmers to get credit for costing the farm in rural area, and the farmers were given the tools of farm by the owner of gin; while the crop was

coming they should pay the bills. It was different with the sharecropping; a farmer

would farm someone else's land and gave a portion of his crops to the land owner.

Sharecropping had a long history, and there were a wide range of different

situations and types of agreements that had encompassed the system.42

After the American Civil War many planters had ample land but little

money for wages. At the same time most of the former slaves were uneducated

and impoverished. The solution was the sharecropping system, which continued

42_Anonymous,

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the workers in the routine of cotton cultivation under rigid supervision. Economic

features of the system were gradually extended to poor white farmers.

Although, Luke’s family lived with crop-lien system in rural Arkansas; however, Pappy and Gran had owned the land for planting cotton. They had been

renting it from the owner in Jonesboro around thirty years.

“Pappy and Gran had been renting the land since before the Great Depression, which arrived early and stayed late in Arkansas. After thirty years of backbreaking labor, they managed to purchase from Mr. Vogel the house and three acres around it.�