A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Attainment of a Sarjana Sastra Degree in English Language and Literature
by
GALANT NANTA ADHITYA 10211141010
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY
iv Nama : Galant Nanta Adhitya
NIM : 10211141010
Program Studi : Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris
Fakultas : Bahasa dan Seni Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta
Judul Skrpsi : THE REVELATION OF AUTHORIAL IDEOLOGY THROUGH THE CLASS STRUCTURE AND CLASS CONFLICT REPRESENTED IN KEVIN KWAN’S CRAZY RICH ASIANS
Menyatakan bahwa skripsi ini adalah hasil karya sendiri dan sepanjang pengetahuan saya tidak berisi materi yang ditulis oleh orang lain sebagai persyaratan penyelesaian studi di UNY atau perguruan tinggi lain kecuali pada bagian-bagian tertentu yang saya ambil sebagai acuan dengan mengikuti tata cara etika penulisan karya ilmiah yang lazim.
Apabila terbukti pernyataan ini tidak benar, hal ini sepenuhnya menjadi tanggung jawab saya.
Yogyakarta, 7 Desember 2015 Penulis,
v
vi
vii
1. My encouragingly resourceful advisors, Drs. Sugi Iswalono, M.A. and Nandy Intan Kurnia, S.S., M.Hum.
2. My untiringly outstanding lecturers in English Language and Literature Program. 3. My hearteningly inspiring mentor Laurence Joseph Splitter, BA(Hons Monash).,
BPhil DPhil(Oxon).
4. My awesome classmates, Nurul Istikomah, Juani Vinafari, Fifin Solicha, Siska Adonia, Lupita Mayangsari, Tria Arista, Diah Kurnia, Dita Pravita, etc.
5. My childhood best friends, Ventura, Ira Rachma and Putri Lestari.
6. My amazing best friends, Rasmadanti Drajat, Gity Mandini, Azizah Suli, Richa Clara, Raihan Bani, and Dian Astuti.
7. My wonderful neighbors, Thomas Aquino, Krissa Paramastri, Muhammad Riyanda, Amandus Bangkit and Rachmanda Putra.
Yogyakarta, 7 December 2015
viii
RATIFICATION SHEET ... iii
PERNYATAAN ... iv
DEDICATIONS ... v
MOTTO ... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii
LIST OF FIGURE ... xi
LIST OF TABLES ... xii
LIST OF APPENDICES ... xiii
ABSTRACT ... xiv
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ... 1
A. Research Background ... 1
B. Research Focus ... 5
C. Research Formulations ... 7
D. Research Objectives ... 7
E. Research Significance ... 7
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW ... 9
A. Theoretical Review ... 9
1. Karl Marx and Marxism ... 9
a. Base and Superstructure ... 12
b. Marxist Definition of Ideology ... 13
2. Marxist Literary Theory ... 15
a. Terry Eagleton’s Marxist Literary Theory ... 17
ix
C. Previous Researches ... 30
D. Conceptual Framework ... 32
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD ... 34
A. Research Design ... 34
B. Data and Source of Data ... 35
C. Research Instruments ... 36
D. Data Collecting Technique ... 36
E. Data Trustworthiness ... 37
F. Data Analysis Technique ... 38
CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ... 40
A. The Class Structure and Class Conflict reflected in Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians ... 40
1. The Youngs vs. The Chus ... 43
2. The Leongs vs. The Teos ... 57
B. Discussions on Kwan’s Authorial Ideology ... 70
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS ... 74
References ... 76
xi
xii
xiii
Galant Nanta Adhitya 10211141010
ABSTRACT
This research aims to investigate the authorial ideology revealed in Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians through the class structure and class conflict reflected in the novel. To achieve the answers of the research objectives, the researcher employed
Terry Eagleton’s Marxist literary theory on Authorial Ideology (AuI).
This research applied descriptive qualitative method using content analysis technique. The main source of this research is a novel entitled Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, published in 2013 by Allen & Unwin. The data were some expressions used to convey the class structure and class conflict reflected in the novel in order to reveal the authorial ideology. The researcher acted as the primary instrument, whilst the data sheets functioned as the secondary instrument. The data were analyzed through six steps: identifying and organizing the data, reading and re-reading the data, categorizing the data, sorting the data into category based on the analytical construct, interrelating the data with the theory to get the findings, and interpreting the meaning of the findings. The data trustworthiness was obtained by conducting triangulationwith intra-rater method and peer debriefing technique.
After a careful analysis, the researcher is able to answer the research objectives. The findings are related to the class structure and class conflict reflected in the novel. There are two class structures, consisted of (1) the Youngs and Chus, and (2) the Leongs and Teos, in which the Youngs and Leongs represented the bourgeoisie, whereas the Chus and Teos act as the proletariats. The class conflicts involving each of the class structures are intra-class conflicts from the side of the bourgeoisie. Both class conflicts are triggered by differences on ideological perspective. The outcome of these conflicts shows the socioeconomic improvement of the proletariat characters. It can be concluded that Kwan exalts the bourgeoisie, which indicates his Authorial Ideology (AuI) of capitalism.
1
In the eighteenth century, English bourgeoisie used literary works to introduce and to enforce the values of capitalism to the proletariats. It can be seen from the themes that were affected by social pressures, and the characters that were portrayed in pursuit of individual interests, i.e. money and power (Watt in Eagleton, 1976b: 12). In that case, literature disguises the capitalist ideology in the most natural ways. The ideology that is delivered through literary works not only to govern people’s opinion and judgment, but also to function as a tool in strengthening the system of society which has been led to believe.
Hence, the term ‘ideology’ has become an important vocabulary to understand in the field of social science. As a starting point, it can be said that ideology is a series of beliefs or values that form the perspective of seeing the world that a particular group of people hold true at a period of time (Hornby, 1995: 589). Ideology is not only ideas or mental products in the brains of intellectuals, but also practical activities in everyday life. It frames people’s
standpoint, guides their thinking and regulates their actions. Therefore, the chance of ideology to make rules of conducts and moral behaviour is open.
economic infrastructure where the relations between the bourgeoisie who possess the means of production and the proletariats who possess the labor-power rely. From these relations arise the superstructure that contains certain customs of social consciousness or ideology.
Ideology contributes to the legitimation of a given social order in ways that conceal the benefits to the interests of the bourgeoisie (Eagleton, 1976b: 3). The bourgeoisie take advantages of the system of laws, religions, politics and arts to bring their ideology to society. Therefore, those institutions have the ability to control and to exploit people by altering their consciousness. They can also counter other ideologies exist in another society. Meanwhile, the proletariats also have their own ideology. They feel oppressed so that they need to free themselves, or at least share their feelings about it (Eagleton, 1976b: v).
One work of arts, as well as a branch of knowledge, that portrays the phenomena happening in society is literature. It reproduces human life and experience. In addition, it signifies the feeling of living in a specific situation at certain period of time (Althusser in Eagleton, 1976b: 9). Therefore, literature can be seen as a valuable and powerful device to spread ideas to society because it has an ideological dimension (Selden and Widdowson, 1993: 71). It represents ideologies through imaginary worlds with social, cultural, historical, political and economic references.
some works that are written from particular ideological perspectives. The ideology that authors manifest in their works is called authorial ideology (Eagleton, 1976a: 54). The authorial ideology is related with the authors’
situations of the time and place in which literary works are written.
In relation to the authors’ ideology, every published literary work has two
main effects on its readers. The readers are either curious or furious about its authorial ideology. They are furious if the authors blatantly reinforce their ideology in their works. On the other hand, the readers are curious if the authorial ideology is discreetly depicted. For instances, J. K. Rowling manifests her progressive, liberal ideology in the Harry Potter series by showing characters with sympathetic behaviors (Samson, 2010: 25). As in Animal Farm, George Orwell, who is a socialist, attempts to attack totalitarianism by using animal characters as symbols of social castes in Russia (Bachler, 2003: par.4-15).
In both novels, the characters, settings and storyline are presented in a particular way to manifest the authorial ideology. The authors use the characters, tell the story and describe the setting to deliver their opinions about what is happening in the world around them. The characters are placed in society that structurally divides them into two opposing classes, and set their interactions to become class conflicts. This way, the authors are able to shape the outcome of their work and influence the readers in a given society. Another author who intends to achieve the same purpose is Kevin Kwan with Crazy Rich Asians.
Although Crazy Rich Asian is Kwan’s debut fiction, the novel has become a
2013: par.25). The novel is a funny, escapist trifle about three intermarried, superrich Singaporean Chinese families of the Youngs, Leongs and Chengs with their intrigues and extravagant lives. The descriptions of fame, fortune, fashion, and fusion surround their lives take big portions of the novel. Hundreds of pages are filled with endless spectacle of prosperity, describing houses, clothes, jewelries, arts and events. Almost no character appears without an exclamation of the brand names they possess.
Among this profligate society, there are two characters that do not come from similar background: Rachel Chu and Michael Teo. Rachel is Nick’s girlfriend and Michael is Astrid’s husband, both are the scions of the Youngs and Leongs, respectively. The story follows Nicholas Young taking Rachel Chu to Singapore to attend Colin Khoo and Araminta Lee’s wedding. Rachel finds herself in the
middle of Singaporean elites like Nick’s mother Eleanor Young and grandmother
Shang Su Yi. At the same time, Astrid is being suspicious of Michael cheating behind her back. In fact, Michael feels rather intimidated by his wife’s wealth that it affects their marriage.
the novel, he takes advantages of literature to spread the truths about the Singaporean Chinese as well as their lives and society based on his own experience who were born and bred in Singapore.
In addition, the fact that Kwan himself is a product of an established Singaporean family suggests that the novel is an insider look on the vastly profligate lives of the Chinese that most people can only catch a glimpse of. Most importantly, the novel is worth analyzing because it elegantly conceals his authorial ideology. A problem arises because not all the readers aware of any significance to the authorial ideology. Therefore, such voyeuristic qualities in novels, like Crazy Rich Asians, do not mean that they can be taken merely for amusement.
B. Research Focus
In this research, the researcher analyzes ideology embedded in literary works. The analysis points out the ideology that the author intends throughout the work. This case is found in Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians by telling a story about the filthy
wealthy Singaporean Chinese complete with their over-the-top lifestyles in a fascinating society from his point of view as a Chinese. He draws the novel with deep exploration on society, culture, history, politics and economy. The storyline depicts especially Nick and Rachel’s relationship as well as Astrid and Michael’s
marriage.
culture, race, class, and power. For Marxist theorists, a literary work is the expression of an ideology that naturally does not appear on the surface, but can be felt within its gaps, absences and silences (Macherey, 1978: 87). They pay close attention to literary forms, styles and symbols, and grasp them as the representations of a particular ideology. To emphasize Kwan’s ideology concealed in the novel, the researcher specifically uses Terry Eagleton’s concept in Criticism and Ideology: a Study in Marxist Literary Theory, in which he develops “Categories for a Materialist Criticism” (1976a: 44). These categories are General Mode of Production (GMP), General Ideology (GI), Literary Mode of Production (LMP), Authorial Ideology (AuI), Aesthetic Ideology (AI) and, taken as the object, Text.
However, the researcher only discusses the constituent of authorial ideology (AuI) in analyzing the data because the main focus of the research is the author’s
ideology. Eagleton (1976a: 58) suggests that authorial ideology is the outcome of the method to implant the author’s personal accounts. Accordingly, the knowledge of Kwan’s background is essential to the research. The information about the way he was raised and which schools he attended is valuable during the analysis process. The more information the researcher gets, the more the researcher understands his way of thinking.
Furthermore, the researcher relates the intrinsic element of the novel to the extrinsic elements from which the novel develops. The characters, setting and plot are analyzed based on the theory as well as the social and the author’s personal
Singaporean society and the class conflict between the two socioeconomic classes. The researcher analyzes main characters, i.e. Nicholas Young, Rachel Chu, Astrid Leong, Michael Teo, and supporting characters, i.e., Eleanor Young, Shang Su Yi, Colin Khoo, Francesca Shaw, Harry Leong and Charlie Wu, because they are intertwined with the plot and clearly positioned in the social setting. Other characters are omitted due to their lack of involvement in the class conflict that happens. Nevertheless, they might be mentioned alongside those characters being analyzed.
C. Research Formulations
According to the research focus above, the problem of this research is formulated into: How does the class structure and the class conflict represented in Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians reveal Kwan’s authorial ideology?
D. Research Objectives
According to the research formulation above, the objective of this research is to determine the class structure and to scrutinize the class conflict represented in Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians,in order to reveal Kwan’s authorial ideology.
E. Research Significance
1. Academically
a. This research reveals some important points on class structure and class conflict in the effort of revealing the authorial ideology. Thus, the finding
generated from this research will give supportive information to students of literature, primary to those who employ Marxist literary theory on their researches.
b. The finding will be a stepping-stone for other researchers on the relationship between literature and the author, primary to those who analyze the authorial ideology to conduct further research.
2. Practically
9
aim of this research is to reveal the authorial ideology by analyzing class structure
and class conflicts represented in the novel. In acquiring the answers, the
researcher employs Marxist literary theory discussed in Eagleton’s Criticism and
Ideology: a Study in Marxist Literary Theory (1976). The researcher also uses
background information of the novel and its author to help during the analysis
process.
This chapter is divided into five sub-chapters. The first sub-chapter is the
theoretical review of Marxist literary theory, which focuses on Eagleton’s
Authorial Ideology. The second sub-chapter is the social backgrounds and
information, which consists of Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians, his biography, the
social background of the Singaporean Chinese, Mainland Chinese and American
Chinese. The third sub-chapter is the review of previous research findings. The
fourth sub-chapter is the conceptual framework, which shows the mind-map of
how this research is conducted.
A. Theoretical Review 1. Karl Marx and Marxism
Karl Heinrich Marx, a German philosopher and revolutionary socialist, was
born in Prussia on May 5, 1818. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of
suppressed by the government. One-year later, Marx was exiled from Germany
due to radical activities in 1849 and moved to Paris, where he met his
collaborator, Friedrich Engels. Few months later, Marx was expelled form France,
and he fled to Belgium before he spent the rest of his life in London. In works like
The German Ideology and The Communist Manifesto written with Engels, Marx
originated the philosophy that now refers to as Marxism.
Marx develops Marxism as a criticism towards the Industrial Revolution,
which is the transition from hand-production methods to new
manufacturing-machine processes occurred in the period from the 18th to the 19th century. Starting
in England and Western European countries, the impact of this change was
enormous that it increased the average income and improved the living standard.
However, numbers of employment were decreased, resulting majority of the
people lost their jobs. Marx believes that the Industrial Revolution leads into the
rise of capitalism.
Bottomore (1991: 71-74) defines the word ‘capital’ as wealth, assets or
investments possessed by individuals. Meanwhile, the suffix ‘-ism’ means a
system of principles. Therefore, a capitalist society is characterized by the
economic-based value in which the means of production are controlled by private
ownerships. The determination for personal affluence causes competitions
amongst capital owners. Free competitions will simultaneously lead to rapid
growths of technology and the needs of those in society. Thus, the basic idea of
capitalism is materialism, which means that the socioeconomic conditions affect
According to Marx (1845: 80), people are classified into class structure,
which consist of two economically defined classes: bourgeoisie and proletariats.
Bourgeois class refers to those who own the capitals. Meanwhile, the workers
who own only their labor belong to proletariat class. Tyson (2006: 54) states
further that socioeconomic differences put an even bigger gap in class structure
than religious, racial or ethnical dissimilarities. It is worth knowing the term
‘socioeconomic’ is used to signify the class that is in possession of the economic
power holds higher social position as well,
In a capitalist society, the bourgeoisie exploits the proletariats for their
advantages. This condition is called class conflict, which refers to the problems
due to the impact and role of economy. Explained by Isaac et al. (2008: 2-3), there
are two types of class conflict. The first is interclass conflict, in which the clashes
involve two different socioeconomic classes, i.e. the bourgeoisie and proletariats.
The second is intra-class conflict, which suggests to the tension inside one
particular class, i.e. different opinions among fractions of the proletariats.
Inevitably, the proletariats will develop class-consciousness, and then struggle to
free themselves from the oppressions and interferences of the bourgeoisie (Tyson,
2006: 54).
In addition, these social and political interactions between individuals from
different socioeconomic classes can be examined through Marxism. Eagleton
(1976b: v) defines Marxism as a theoretical analysis of people’s lives and their
societies. Its sole purposes is to explain how the society goes through a certain
changes and material alterations that take place in the society (Selden and
Widdowson, 1993: 99). Marxism is also a theory of revolution because it
scrutinizes the social conditions in order to transform them. It is stated by Hallas
(2011: par.10-11) that:
Marxism is about freedom ... and it is about how these circumstances can be changed and how working men and women can create a truly free society in which all contribute according to their ability and receive according to their needs-a society free from exploitation, free from oppression, free from racism, from unemployment, from war, from poverty and inequality.
Marxism favors the development towards a classless society without
discrimination or domination. Equal roles and positions in social relation of
production are the goal of Marxism.
a. Base and Superstructure
The social relation of production in a society is composed of the structure
namely base and superstructure (Marx, 1859: vi). In addition, Eagleton (1976b: 3)
elaborates further the building-like metaphor stating that the base or infrastructure
is the economic structure of society, which arises from the relation between the
means of production owned by the bourgeoisie and the productive forces of the
proletariats. Within this economic structure, a form of state is built which
functions to maintain the power structure in the society. The state constructs
definite forms of social consciousness widely known as superstructure. These
forms are manifested within all aspects of society, stretching from the state to the
The relation between the base and the superstructure in the power structure
of a society is not strictly causal. Just as the base strongly determines the
superstructure, the superstructure also heavily influences the base (Williams,
1977: 75). The base includes the mode of production, employer-employee work
relations, technical labor conditions and property relations. The superstructure of
the society consists of cultural products, i.e. politics, laws, religions, ethics and
arts that, intentionally or not, carry with them a set of beliefs called ideology
(Eagleton, 1976b: 3).
b. Marxist Definition of Ideology
The term ideology is the main constituent in all Marxist thoughts and
analysis. The conventional reference of ideology brings to mind words that end in
“-isms”, like feudalism, communism, fascism, liberalism and socialism.
Nonetheless, ideology is one concept in social science that is difficult to be
understood. It can be approached from various angels with diverse senses of
meaning and function (Larrain, 1979: 1). Moreover, ideology is also employed
broadly in day-to-day routine activities with infinite definitions and connotation
(Gramsci, 1971: 328).
Furthermore, in Ideology: An Introduction, ideology is defined as a set of
ideas, beliefs and valuespeople in a particular society adopt at a specific period of
time (Eagleton, 1991: 28). Ideology has a quality to provide orientations for
actions in which the ways individuals behave and interact in society are governed
broader sense, it ties people to their own social class, so they give contributions to
society.
By representing the relation of the social class, ideology has important parts
in blurring the real conditions and interactions between the bourgeoisie and the
proletariats (Larrain: 1979: 47). It gives the proletariats distorted perception of
their society and its situations. The frames of seeing the world that ideology
provides are limited in order to prevent the proletariats from a true knowledge of
how society works as a unity. It helps the bourgeoisie to ensure that the
proletariats feel like they share mutual beliefs and values under one roof of the
same ideology (Eagleton, 1991: 30).
In this sense, ideology acts as a false consciousness (Engels, 1893: 4). It
designates to the situation where the ideology set by the bourgeoisie as a tool to
legitimate their own interests and achieve their ultimate goals. Moreover, to
maintain their domination over the proletariats, the bourgeoisie covertly manifest
their ideology to society in the forms of superstructure, such politics, laws, ethics
and religions. For instance is the use of religions as a medium of ideologies. The
religious figures give dogmas told as creations of divine reasons, and for those
who embrace, they are unquestioned guides to God alone (Selden and
Widdowson, 1993: 71).
On the other hand, such systems are lack the foundations of justice and
equality, and the proletariats are aware of this condition. Therefore, the
proletariats also create their own ideology. Because of the dominance of the
the medium of arts. They share their feelings and opinions about the oppression
that they have received like the exploitation of their labor and low salary through
music, movie and literature.
2. Marxist Literary Theory
Literature, in its broadest sense, refers to all kinds of printed, written
language device vary from scientific to technical works. However, it is commonly
used for creative and imaginative works, such as prose, poetry and plays. In
Literary Theory: An Introduction, Eagleton (1983: 11-13) asserts that literature is
unstable, not due to subjective value-judgments, but because there is a linkage
between the values that underlies the judgments and ideology. Thus, literature has
an ideological dimension, which is even stronger than politics, laws and religions,
that it can shape people’s consciousness (Selden and Widdowson, 1993: 71). It is
because literature has the ability to bring a complex series of ideas and explains
them to people who otherwise might not be able to understand them.
Furthermore, people in possession of power, whose intention is to influence
others, use literature to spread the principles of their ideology. Conquest (2000:
101-111) gives Communist propaganda as an obvious example. In the 20th
century, the Soviet Union applied an extremely strict censorship toward the
literary works. They built Glavlit, a censorship department, to ensure that every
published work was in accordance with the desired ideology. Authors were
repressed to produce only novels that glorified the government. In this case,
On the other hand, as stated by Lukács (1963: 18), literature must reflect
authors’ view of the world. He sees literature as the expressions of the authors’
feelings so that it is produced based on the situations at their times. They
reproduce the social, cultural, historical, political and economic materials because
they have their own intentions. Through their literary works, the authors show
their observation of the world around them, and their intentions are driven by their
ideologies. However, the way the authors draw their ideologies in the intrinsic
elements of literature – like theme, tone, characters, characterizations, setting, plot
and point of view – can either support or challenge the dominant ideology.
Therefore, their works need to be analyzed scientifically. One of which is by
employing Marxism.
Marxism is not merely a theory of political economy, but can be extended for an analysis of literary works, called Marxist literary theory. The theory views literature as the products of social forces. Eagleton (1976b: v) in Marxist and
Literary Criticism states that literature can be properly analyzed within the
framework of historical materials. To understand the historical materials, Marxist
literary analysts pay close attention to the economic conditions in which literary
works are produced. The superstructure of a society rests upon its economic base,
and the relation of both constructs the literature of that age (Newton, 1997: 158).
The economic developments, historical changes and social conflicts in society are apparent in literature (Selden & Widdowson, 1993: 99). Basic purpose of the theory is to understand the nature and the working of all societies and human
Most importantly, Eagleton (1976b: v) affirms that Marxist literary theory is a
theoretical analysis with ideology as its central instrument. Literature has a
specific ideological dimension because it can bring a complex series of ideas and
explains them to people who otherwise might not be able to understand them
(Fischer, 1969: 272). Marxist literary analysts have to disclose the truths of
ideology that literature emphasizes within the representation of social, cultural,
historical, and political and economic materials. Since the existence of ideology in
literature is not apparent, literary forms, styles and symbols need to be interpreted
in order to reveal it (Althusser, 1971: 74).
Furthermore, in Marxist literary analysis, the authors’ social background and
condition are noteworthy. It is significant to understand their intentions of writing
certain works. The ways the authors construct the literary elements in their works
are influenced by their own ideological intentions. Their intentions are poured into
both the intrinsic and extrinsic elements, such as the types of characters that will
be developed, the storyline that will be drawn as well as the social and moral
impacts expected from the works. One Marxist literary theorist who develops the
relation between literature and the authors’ ideological intention is Terry
Eagleton.
a. Terry Eagleton’s Marxist Literary Theory
Eagleton is an important figure in literary studies because he has made
remarkable contributions in enriching Marxist literary theory from the 1970s to
to distance Marxist literary theory from sociology of literature. He (1976b: 2)
states that:
Marxist criticism is not merely a ‘sociology of literature,' concerned with how novels get published and whether they mention the working class. Its aim is to explain the literary work more fully; and this means a sensitive attention to its forms, styles, and meanings. But it also means grasping those forms, styles, and meanings as the products of a particular history.
Unlike sociologists of literature who examine only the intrinsic and extrinsic
elements of literature, Marxist literary theorists also scrutinize the ways and the
reasons those literary elements written in literary works. This way, that the forms,
styles and meanings of the elements are contextualized as social, cultural,
historical, political and economic materials. Moreover, both explicit values and
implicit assumptions on those materials are important for the analysis of Marxist
literary theory.
Marxist literary analysts shall not concern in showing all explicit parts of the
work together, or in harmonizing and smoothing over any apparent contradictions.
They have to show literary works as they cannot know themselves (Eagleton,
1976a: 43). Similar to psychoanalysts, the task of Marxist literary analysts is to
reach unconsciousness in the works; what is unspoken and inevitably repressed.
To do so, the ideology embedded in the works has to be exposed. Taking account
on Macherey’s work, Eagleton (1976b: 16) acclaims the importance to reveal the
implicit gasps, absences and silences in order to articulate the ideology.
Otherwise, it will not be a complete Marxist literary analysis.
To be more detailed, Eagleton deepens William’s theory of materialist
embedded ideology in literary works, Eagleton (1976a: 44) in Criticism and
Ideology: a Study in Marxist Literary Theory develops a schematic form namely
“Categories for a Materialist Criticism” consisted of:
1) General Mode of Production (GMP) refers to the social formation where the
historical construction and social relation of material production unite together
(Eagleton, 1976a: 45). A social formation can be composed by more than one
GPMs. One of these GMPs is more dominant than the others. In this sense,
that GMP is used by Eagleton to denote the dominant mode of production.
2) Literary Mode of Production (LMP) is a substructure of GMP conceived as
the social formation where the historical construction and social relation of
literary production unite together (Eagleton, 1976a: 45). There are several
distinctive LMPs in a society, which one of them is more dominant than the
rests. An LMP consists of the process of production, distribution, exchange
and consumption (Eagleton, 1976a: 47). The forces of the LMP are
constructed by the linkage of the authors, editors and publishers to the
materials and instruments of the LMP. Thus, the relation between a literary
work and its LMP is both extrinsically and intrinsically.
3) General Ideology (GI) is the most powerful ideological formation formed by
an interrelated set of values and beliefs that is manifested in material existence
and correlated with the construction of material production (Eagleton, 1976a:
54). The empirical relations of humans and their social situations are reflected
reality influence the social relations. A GI, which is determined by the LMP,
has components of linguistic or language, politics and cultures.
4) Authorial Ideology (AuI) is the result of the way authors’ attempt to attach
their biography into their literary works (Eagleton, 1976a: 58). An AuI is
affected by the authors’ background, such as origin, gender, social class,
spirituality and education. The establishment process of the AuI is not to be
separated from the GI because the establishment process of both is
reproductive and contradictive (Eagleton, 1976a: 59). Thus, it is possible for
an AuI to be or not to be in line with the dominant ideology in the material
existences, which the authors surround themselves with. In addition, the AuI is
not to be confused with the ideology of literary works as the latter refers to the
result of the GI processed using an aesthetic technique.
5) Aesthetics Ideology (AI) is an internal complex structure of the function,
meaning and value of the aesthetic in a social construction (Eagleton, 1976a:
60). It is a specific area of GI, aside from other areas, such as ethics and
religions.
6) Text, in this sense, refers to literary texts. It is a series of certain events and
experiences that is served in written forms (Eagleton, 1976a: 63).
Since the text is a production of ideology, thus treated as the object of the
theory. Only the other five constituents are considered the major layers of
ideology in Eagleton’s method. He also provides examples to explain these
constituents and discuss the relations between them. However, due to the focus of
elaborates the Authorial Ideology (AuI), in order to find the author’s ideology
concealed in the novel being analyzed.
b. Authorial Ideology (AuI)
The major strength of Eagleton’s approach is his insistence on the relation of
literary works and the authors’ ideologies. Influenced by Althusser’s work, he
(1976a: 60) insists that it is important to center the analysis of the literary works
on the individual subjects who produce them. In reverse, the personal accounts of
those individual subjects are liquidated into literary works. Authors are not the
creators of material existence, such as society, culture, history, politics and
economy (Eagleton, 1976b: 32). For him, they are the producers of literary works
that are ultimately determined by those given material existences. Each of them
has their own unique techniques in transforming the given materials into the
literary works. The authors have the luxury to transform those materials based on
their views of the world, or ideologies.
Eagleton (1976a: 58) names the ideology that is in accordance with the
authors’ biography, background and over-intended standpoint as ‘Authorial
Ideology’ (AuI). It is influenced by the authors’ social position, gender, race,
origin, citizenship and religion as well as their specific intentions in writing
particular literary works. This ideology is the authors’ intentions that have arisen
even before the creative and imaginative writing process begins (Emenyonu, 2004
384). However, great authors do not simply evoke the ideology they intend in a
does not mean that it is undiscoverable. Its invisibility exerts it greater influences
upon a society and the people live in it.
Hence, it is fundamental to relate the intrinsic element of a literary work to
the extrinsic elements from which its author originates. Stated by Kurniawan
(2012: 49), characters, settings and plot need to be analyzed in order to achieve a
wholesome Marxist analysis. The characters are classified as collective
individuals in context of class structure divided into socioeconomic classes. The
class structure is then analyzed in motion with its relations to the situation within
the social, cultural, historical, political and economic settings portrayed in the
work. From these relations, the interactions among the characters can be observed
to seek their destiny, which at some points will rouse class conflict. As the
storyline rolls, one of the given socioeconomic classes succeeds to struggle, thus
the outcome of that conflict indicates social standing of the author.
Accordingly, the AuI is implied by the socioeconomic class made won in the
conflict (Kurniawan, 2012: 51). However, Marxist analysts need to take a closer
look to how the representatives of that class strive from struggles before jumping
into any conclusion. At some cases, the authors put a twist on the ending, which
might seem to go into one way, but actually lead to another direction. It is aimed
to make the ideology they reinforce appear even more natural. In addition, the
authors’ way of thinking is necessary to be acknowledged in order to discover the
AuI. Their biography and background, like how their childhood was, how they
were brought up, how the writing process of the literary works was and how the
B. Crazy Rich Asians
In Western societies, literary works about Chinese people usually raise the
theme of their dynasty or their struggling experiences as immigrants living
overseas. Nevertheless in July 2013, Kevin Kwan publishes an entirely different
kind of story about the Chinese entitled Crazy Rich Asians. The novel revolves
around three old-moneyed clans of Singaporean Chinese. The Young, Leong and
Cheng families are filthy-wealthy, thereby regarded as Singaporean aristocrats.
The novel deliciously rouses on the excesses of their everyday lives, as well as
their jealousies, feuds, schemes and sabotages.
The storyline follows the youths in the families, Nicholas Young and Astrid
Leong. Nick invites his girlfriend, Rachel Chu, to spend a summer holiday in
Singapore since he is going to be the best-man at his best-friend’s wedding.
Rachel, who originated from a modest background in Mainland China, is an
American Chinese professor who teaches in New York University. She has no
idea of how ‘hot’ this summer will be because it turns out that Nick comes from
one of the wealthiest families in Asia. Her naiveté brings the readers into the
excessive world that used to only exist on fantasy.
Before they even land at the Changi airport, gossips and rumors about Rachel
have already spread. The biased assumptions shape a bad pre-judgment for
Eleanor Young, Nick’s calculating mother, and Shang Su Yi, Nick’s influential
grandmother. They usually are not close, but to break Nick and Rachel’s
relationship they conspire together. It is because as the heir apparent to the
There are also other competitive attempts both from the girls and their mothers
who want their daughters to be the next Mrs. Young.
At the same time, his cousin Astrid is having suspicions about her husband
Michael Teo having an affair with another woman. Michael is a tech-specialist
who comes from a less fortunate background, which makes him feel rather
intimidated by his wife’s family. Moreover, the entire Leong family treats him not
as their equal. Astrid’s father, Harry, considers Michael as a security guard to
escort and protect his daughter, plus her brothers and their wives regard him as a
repair guy to solve their technical problems. These mistreatments provoke the
reaction of insecurity in Michael, to the extent that it tears their marriage apart.
Additionally, the novel gains worldwide success because it instantly becomes
a bestseller in many countries since its first release in June 2013 with 75,000 first
prints (Lui, 2013: par.25). Praises come from influential magazines, like Vogue,
Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair. Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Anna Wintour
and Bryan Boy declare the novel as the ‘must-read’. The novel has been reprinted
several times, and in May 2014 the book is exclusively revealed in paperback
version. The fact that its international publisher, Doubleday, decides to run Crazy
Rich Asians and pulls big promotions for it proves that Kwan succeeds to change
media attitudes towards the Chinese.
1. A Brief Biography of Kevin Kwan
Kevin Kwan himself is a member of an established Singaporean Chinese
his childhood there with big extended family members, including a bunch of
cousins (Ayudya, 2013: par.2). His grandfather was a renowned doctor who had
an arranged marriage to his grandmother. Like other boys from rich families, he
went to the spoiled Anglo Chinese School. When he was 12 years old, his family
moved to Houston, Texas, the United States. Moving to suburbia was quite
shocking for him who used to be a big city boy because Singapore in mid 1980s
was far more modern and sophisticated than Houston (Wong, 2013: par.16).
At the age of 16, he graduated from Clear Lake High School. Afterwards, he
applied to the University of Houston-Clear Lake majoring in media studies and
creative writing. Turning 21 years old, he attended Parsons School of Design in
New York for a degree in fashion photography. He used to work for Marta
Steward Living and Interview magazines (Galehouse, 2013: par.9). Since then, he
had done lots of other works, like designing an umbrella for Tibor Salman at
M&Co and helping TED to launch their website.
Now, he has been living in Manhattan, New York City for 19 years. He is the
author of a photograph collection I Was Cuba: Treasure from the Ramiro
Fernandez (2007), co-author of a non-fiction book Luck: The Essential Guide
(2008), and a contributing writer to SOMA magazine. Besides writing, he is also a
sought-after creative consultant for clients such as The New York Times and
Rockwell group. Some of his works are Oprah Winfrey’s and Elizabeth Taylor’s
books, and the biography of Ulysses S. Grant.
Since he was a kid, he has been a keen observer of the Chinese elites. He
Christensen, 2013: par.2-3). He utilizes his big and wealthy, intermarried family
as an example to draw the lineage of the family tree in the beginning of the novel.
Furthermore, his interest in fashion grows because during his childhood he was
surrounded by family who were solemnly conscious of what they put on their
body. He tells that his grandparents were immensely fashionable. Her
grandmother used to order shoes from Paris in the 1930s, and his mother’s clothes
were especially custom-made and shipped to Singapore for her (in Christensen,
2013: par.12).
After living in the United States, he regularly visits Southeast Asia to see his
old friends and family. During these trips, he observes deeper the lifestyles of the
Chinese elites. He reproduces his observation into Crazy Rich Asians. As this
novel is a fictional work, the Chinese upper class family members he encounters
are dramatized and sensationalized into fictional characters. Kwan (in Chung,
2013: par.5) admits that his characters are the mixtures of people he knows, like
some of his cousins, distance relatives and old friends. Therefore, it makes them
more real.
Throughout the novel, his personal experiences are also inserted. For
example, Kwan (in Christensen, 2013: par.8) has attended many weddings as
lavish as Colin and Araminta’s, even some that are more abundant than theirs.
There are lots of details that he has to tone down because the reality is much more
excessive and outrageous. He simplifies lots of elements in the novel so the
readers can relate to story and its characters. As for being a creative consultant,
readers find various references of paintings, architecture and dishware in the
novel.
Moreover, living in the United States for more that two decades has exposed
him to the American way of thinking. This change of society and environment has
brought him new perspectives in seeing the world. He is driven by the spirit of
individualism and American success myths, i.e. rags to riches, zero to hero and
self-made men, that all people, regardless of their background, have the same
opportunity to succeed. He realizes that in Asia people still have conservative
point-of-view, where someone can only go not too far from the condition they
were born and bred with. However, the Capitalism in the United States, with the
attitude of American Dream, allow people to go as far as they want to if they work
hard.
2. Singaporean Chinese, Mainland Chinese and American Chinese
People of Chinese origin or ethnicity constitute the biggest population in the
entire world. As such, the Chinese are often mistaken that they are all citizens of
the People’s Republic of China. In fact, explained by Wang (1998: 1), there are
two kinds of Chinese. The first is the Mainlanders. These are the Chinese
originated and widespread in their ancestral continent; exclude Hong Kong,
Macau and Taiwan. The second is the Overseas Chinese. It refers to the ones who
have left Mainland China long before the Communists invaded, and resided in
Asia-Pacific countries, such as North America and Southeast Asia, but
The terms ‘Chinese Singaporeans’ and ‘Singaporean Chinese’ are used
interchangeable, and they serve the same function to explain the citizens or
residents of Singapore whom are of Chinese ancestry. Because the education
system in Singapore use English, most Chinese Singaporeans do not speak proper
Mandarin. Although they are influenced by Western cultures, the Singaporean
Chinese still uphold the values of Confucianism, i.e. care for families and respect
for elders. Their traditions also include the perpetuation toward male dominations,
which mark Chinese culture to be patriarchal (Windows on Asia, 2014: par.1).
Furthermore, the Singaporean Chinese tend to distant themselves from the
Mainlanders. Singapore is a capitalist state, whereas China is a communist
country (Ian, 2014: par.9). Additionally, in the past, the Mainlanders immigrated
to Singapore, called ‘coolies’, were employed by the wealthy Chinese
Singaporeans for hard work but with little money (Thulaja, 1998: par.1).
Nowadays, they blame the Mainlanders for raising real-estate prices, cumulating
high-end goods and clogging streets with European sport cars. The Chinese
Singaporeans call to themselves as ‘Old Money’, and they call the Mainlanders
‘New Money’.
The Chinese Singaporeans pursue the namely 5Cs – cash, car, condo, credit
card and country club (Mydans, 1996: 6-7.). As the majority, the Chinese
Singaporeans are well represented in all sectors of life, including in politics and
economy. They are controlling the commerce, as well as running the government.
Thus, they enjoy systematic, institutional and racial privileges, as opposed to the
similar to White privileges in the Western Countries, i.e. Australia, Western
Europe and the United States.
On the contrary, the Chinese ethnic, minorities in the United States, have
faced discriminations in forms of racial violence, legislative discernment and
opportunity limitation, i.e. extralegal persecution and anti-Chinese sentiment
(National Park Service, 2004: par.4). Discriminations are created to validate the
structure of power relations in society in favor of the group at the higher status
and to keep the lower group to their negligible social position (Jones, 1972: 4).
Nowadays, the discriminations might not be as vulgar as they were in the past.
However, discriminations still happen in daily interactions, which take forms in
purposely-bad treatments from the superior group to the inferior group (Dovidio,
et al., 2010: 8).
Migrating for search of labors in 1820, the Chinese have proven to be hard,
diligent workers. The Chinese have grown throughout history, and made
contributions in American culture. Despite many Chinese Americans are no
longer live in Chinatown, they are always proud of their cultural ancestry, such as
teaching children Mandarin or Cantonese, decorating houses according to feng
shui and throwing Chinese festivals. Nowadays, most of the American Chinese
have advanced educational levels, so they work as white-collar professionals with
high salaries and live in racially mixed neighborhoods (Omaye, 2013: par.18).
These advancements bring with them the ‘model minority’ archetype. This change
of perception spreads racial prejudice like jealousy and hatred towards the
Furthermore, the Chinese, regardless where they settle, are culturally and
historically influenced by Confucianism. It is a system of socioeconomic, political
philosophical and ethical beliefs. Confucianism is also often considered as a set of
religion, ideology or teaching principles. The core of Confucianism is humanism,
with strong concerns on the maintenance of family and social harmony, i.e. filial
piety. The secular emphasis of Confucianism lies on the faith that human beings
are profoundly kind-hearted, ‘teachable, improvable, and perfectible through
personal and communal endeavor’ (Fingarette, 1972: 463-477). The influence of
Confucianism is deep-rooted in Chinese society that it is assimilated with modern
values, as it can be seen in education, economic and religious sectors. Confucian
churches are examples of the assimilation between Confucianism and religion
found in Singapore.
C. Previous Researches
The researcher cannot find any research on Crazy Rich Asians yet. However,
the same theory to analyze ideology has been applied to some researches. One of
them is entitled “Mark Twain’s Racial Ideologies and His Portrayal of the
Chinese” by Hsin-yun Ou (2010). Ou analyses the way Twain portrays Chinese in
several works of his, i.e. short stories “Disgraceful Percussion of a Boy”, “John
Chinaman on New York”, “Goldsmith’s Friend Abroad Again”, novel Roughing
It, and play Ah Sin.
Ou discovers that there is a connection between Twain’s portrayals of
studies Twain’s biography, journals, letters, life records as well as other relevant
documents. Twain depicts Chinese in a more sympathetic way than what is
majorly depicted in the popular media. In such manner, he intends his
humanitarian sentiments, tolerance and sense of moral righteousness for minority.
Moreover, he ideally views the United States as a symbol of social justice and
liberalism.
Yuli Arti Rahmawaningsih conducts a dissertation entitled “Struktur Ideologi
dalam Antologi Puisi “Al-Qasā’Id As-Syāsiyyah” karya Nizār Qabbāniy: Kajian
Materialisme Eagleton” (2013). Rahmawaningsih uses Eagleton’s “Categories for
a Materialist Criticism” to analyze the ideological structures of the anthological
poem. She mainly focuses on the ideological aspects articulated during the writing
process. The findings suggest that the “Al-Qasā’Id As-Syāsiyyah” anthology
constitutes political gigantism embracing authoritarianism, which dominates
Syrian forces and relation of production. The public confronts against the ruling
power to earn their citizenship rights, namely civil right (the right to be free),
political right (the right to choose) and economic rights (the right to enjoy
prosperity). Hence, the freedom that poem seeks gives influences to the aesthetic
ideology (AI) in its free form, that in return affects the authorial ideology (AuI).
In addition, this research is distinctive from the previous ones. Firstly, Ou’s
topic is similar to this research. However, the object being analyzed is different.
She uses Twain’s novel, play, short stories and journals. She also only analyzes
one character on each of his works. Conversely, this research analyses Kwan’s
Rahmawaningsih’s research and this research employ the same theory, she uses
all the five major constituents of the theory; while this research only uses the
Authorial Ideology.
D. Conceptual Framework
Literature is a valuable and powerful device for the bourgeoisie to reinforce
their ideology on society. Every author has their own intentions in writing certain
works, which are driven by their own ideological concerns. Hence, it is important
to expose the authorial ideology concealed behind the works. Literary analysis
concerning ideology is the field of Marxism, and particularly Terry Eagleton’s
Authorial Ideology (AuI) is focused on the linkage between literary works and the
authors’ ideological intention concealed in them.
Based on the theoretical basis above, this research analyzes Kwan’s Crazy
Rich Asians, which conceivably reinforce its author’s ideology to the readers.
Therefore, the researcher employs Terry Eagleton’s Marxist literary theory on
Authorial Ideology (AuI) to dig deeper on the author’s ideological intentions
behind the novel. The theory is able to answer the research question mentioned in
the previous chapter, which is to determine the class structure and scrutinize class
conflicts among the Singaporean Chinese as reflected in the novel. The result of
this analysis will allow the researcher to reveal the authorial ideology embodied in
the novel. To ease in understanding the research, the researcher provides the
Figure 1.The Framework of Thinking the Research Singaporean Society
Bourgeios Class Proletariat Class
Class Conflict Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians
AI AuI
LMP GMP
Terry Eagleton’s
Categories for a Materialist Criticism Ideology
Marxist Literary Theory
Literature Marxism
GI
34
A. Research Design
This research applied descriptive qualitative method. A qualitative research is
designed to focus on natural phenomena without interferences of experimental
settings or unnatural treatments. It attempts to examine those phenomena
experienced by people and to describe the subjective meanings behind. A
descriptive qualitative research is a research procedure resulting descriptive data
in the form of words or pictures, in contrast to the quantitative research, which
data are in the form of numbers and statistics (Bogdan and Binklen, 1982: 28).
Thus, the textual description of the data helps the readers to understand the
complexity of the research.
In analyzing the data, this research employed a content analysis technique.
According to Krippendorff (2004: 18-19) content analysis is a method in
qualitative research used to analyze data in form of text. In the largest sense, text
can be varied from artworks, pictures, maps, songs, signs and symbols. Every text
produced is bound to have subjective, sentimental meanings both for its author
and its readers that need to be interpreted. Thus, the researcher aimed this research
to reveal the authorial ideology concealed in the novel. The researcher collected
any data related to the information about the author as well as the social
background. This information was used to help the researcher analyze the research
B. Data and Source of Data
Given (2008: 85) defines data as a compilation of information that will be
analyzed in a research. The data of a qualitative research are mainly in the form of
nonnumeric data taken from various sources. Therefore, the data type of this
research were in form of language features, such as words, phrase, clauses and
sentences expressed in the main source of this research, which was Crazy Rich
Asians.
The novel was written by Kevin Kwan in 2013 and was first published in July
2013. The researcher used the hardcover edition from Allen & Unwin publisher in
Australia. The novel was composed of 403 pages and 3 parts with 56 subparts. In
addition, the data collected were related to the authorial ideology concealed in the
novel.
The supporting references and information were used to analyze the data. The
supporting data of this research were from books, magazines and websites on the
internet. To help understanding Kwan’s work, the researcher used articles of his
interviews with magazines like Vanity Fair, the Strait Times, Asia Society, Asian
Fortune and Banana Writer.
To analyze the novel, the researcher used Marxist literary theory specifying
on Eagleton’s approach on Authorial Ideology in his book entitled Criticism and
Ideology: A Study in Marxist Literary Theory (1976). It is also supported by his
other books, such as Marxism and Literary Criticism (1976), Literary Theory: An
C. Research Instrument
Research instrument is defined as an equipment that is applied in a certain
work, study or research for a scientific purpose (Hornby, 1995: 619). A protocol
or an instrument might be used to collect the data. However, as stated by Lincoln
and Guba (in Vanderstoep and Johnston, 2009: 188), the human instrument plays
an important part in a qualitative research. It is because they are shaped by
experience, and are actually the ones who gather the information.
Therefore, the researcher worked as a human instrument. He planned the
research, collected the data, analyzed and interpreted them, and also made
conclusion and reported the result. Moreover, data sheets were additional
instruments that were employed in this research. Data sheets were functioned to
arrange the data systematically.
D. Data Collecting Technique
There were four steps in the process of collecting data: reading, note taking,
interpreting and categorizing. Firstly, the researcher read Kwan’s Crazy Rich
Asians carefully, and repeated it extensively until he understood it
comprehensively. Secondly, the researcher took notes and highlighted the
contents of the novel that could be used as data. These first two steps were the
most important ways in the data collecting technique. Thirdly, the researcher
looked at the data carefully to be interpreted. Finally, the researcher categorized
the data into a particular form of data sheet, and highlighted the part of the
the process of the data collection, the researcher used the data sheet to easily see
the progress of the research. The form of data sheet is presented in the figure
[image:50.595.117.514.249.475.2]below.
Table 1. The Example of the Data for The Class Structure and Class Conflict represented in Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians
No. Quotation Page Category Sub
Category Explanation
1. “The Youngs are descended, I believe, from a long line of royal court physicians, going all the way back to the Tang dynasty. James Young––Sir James Young, actually––was the first Western-educated neurologist in Singapore, trained at Oxford.”
…
“So if James Young never made money, how did––“ Wye Mun began.
“You didn’t listen, Wye Mun! I said
that James Young wasn’t interested in making money, but I never said he didn’t have any.The Youngs had money, generations of money. …”
232-233 The Youngs vs. The Chus Class Structure
It can be seen that the Youngs is a long-pedigreed family, who are considered as an old money because their prosperity have been inherited from many generations before them.
E. Data Trustworthiness
According to Given (2008: 859), there are several ways to gain
trustworthiness in a qualitative research. One of them is by checking the validity
and reliability of the data. Thus, the researcher employed a technique called
‘triangulation’ to prove the data trustworthiness. This technique, used to establish
validity and reliability of the data in this research, is essential in a qualitative
research since the chances of bias in the data collection and interpretation are
This research achieved reliability by using intra-rater technique through the
following steps. First, the researcher evaluated the data of this research with the
theoretical concept presented in the figure of conceptual framework. Second, the
researcher reads and re-reads the data until he was certain that the data had valid
interpretation with the reference presented in the conceptual framework. The
purpose of doing this technique was to keep the consistency of the data.
The validity of this research was checked by employing peer-debriefing
technique (Creswell, 2009: 192). It means during the process of collecting the
data, the researcher asked two of his friends who are literature students to review
the data of this research and give their inputs. To achieve validity of the data, the
discussion with reviewers was also conducted, so that the interpretations could be
in line. Besides, the researcher also consulted the data to his first and second
thesis advisors who are competent in analyzing literary works. Those processes
were done through the whole data.
F. Data Analysis Technique
The essential part of a qualitative research is the data analysis because the
researcher does not only collects the data but also relates them to the theory
(Given, 2008: 186). In this research, the researcher used Creswell’s six steps of
data analysis (2009: 185). He organized and prepared the data, read the whole
data, categorized the data into several categories and sub categories, gave a
description, interrelated the description, and interpreted the meaning of the
1. Identifying the data from the novel by making some notes and highlights,
according to the theme: class structure and class conflict reflected in the novel
that reveal the authorial ideology;
2. Reading and re-reading the whole data, and also arranging the data into the
data tables;
3. Categorizing the data in the data tables into some categories based on the
research objectives, which are the class structure and class conflict reflected in
the novel in order reveal the authorial ideology;
4. Sorting the data by selecting the relevant data and excluding the irrelevant data.
The selected relevant data were interpreted and organized according to its
thematic meaning;
5. Making the interrelation between the description of the data and the theory to
get the findings, which are the class structure and class conflict reflected in
Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians in order to reveal Kwan’s authorial ideology;
6. Making an interpretation of the findings based on the understanding about the
40
Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians by employing Eagleton’s Marxist literary theory which focuses on Authorial Ideology (AuI). Therefore, this chapter elaborates the findings and the discussion about the meanings of the collected data. The analysis of this chapter is based on the theoretical reviews and social background on the chapter two. The researcher dedicates this chapter to determine the class structure and to scrutinize the class conflicts reflected in the novel. In addition, a sub-chapter for the discussion of the authorial ideology Kwan reinforces throughout the novel is provided. The comprehensive explanation can be seen in the narration below.
A. The Class Structure and Class Conflict represented in Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians
Looking at the setting of time and place, it can be identified that the social setting of the novel is an urban Chinese society. The majority of Singapore’s citizens are descendants of Overseas Chinese that bring with them a strong influence of Chinese cultures and traditions, especially from the southern China. In the novel, it is marked by: (1) the tradition of intermarried families living interdependently with extended members; (2) the verbal use of Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien; and (3) the perpetuation of Confucianism, i.e. filial piety, self-depreciate modesty and humanist ethic. Meanwhile, the characteristics of an urban society found in the novel are: (1) density of settlement; (2) multiracial and multicultural population; (3) individualist characters; (4) sophisticated and globalized lifestyles; (5) standardization of behaviors; and (6) rapid change of technology and trend. The combination of Eastern values and Western viewpoints make Singapore an urbanized environment; yet it still retains its own heritages and beliefs.
As a matter of fact, Singapore has more millionaires per capita than any other country (Leyl, 2014: par.10).
The reliance of its economy on buy-and-sell activities marks Singapore as a capitalist country. However, the state undertakes the control towards the means of production, such as government-owned housing corporation and state-owned business enterprises. Therefore, Singapore is considered as a state-capitalist country. Capitalism puts a wide wealth gap in Singaporean society with unequal power and authority, which determines the economic relations among its citizens. Those, who are close to the government, are in favor because the political decisions function in supporting their hierarchy of positions. Nowadays, major companies are owned by individual and institutional shareholders. Using realist form of literature, these realities are reproduced throughout novel.
Seen from the identification toward the social setting of Singapore as a capitalist Chinese society, the class structure is classified according to differences in socioeconomic condition. The Chinese characters in the novel can be divided into bourgeoisie and proletariats. The bourgeois class is represented by the members of two wealthy Chinese families, the Youngs and the Leongs. On the other hand, the representations of the proletariat class are the Chus and the Teos, who are outsiders to the Singaporean elites. Apparently, the socioeconomic distinctions between the bourgeoisie and the proletariats demonstrate the wealth gap in Singaporean society.
conflicts in society, and then generate class struggles for the sake of economic power. In addition, the storyline that rolls is consciously determined by Kwan’s ideological intention. The socioeconomic class that struggles from the conflicts indicates which side of class he stands. Therefore, his authorial ideology can be discovered. To ease in presenting the findings, analysis of the class structure is broken down into two sections based on the conflicts that happen to the Chinese characters. The first is between the Young and the Chu families, and the second is between the Leong and the Teo families.
1. The Youngs vs. The Chus
In this class structure, The Chus comes from the proletariat class, whereas the Young family belongs to the bourgeois class. The members of the Chu family analyzed in this section are Rachel and her mother Kerry, meanwhile Nicholas Yo
