LITTLE TREE’S REACTIONS AGAINST COLONIAL
EDUCATION AS SEEN IN FORREST CARTER’S
THE EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE
A THESIS
Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Patricia Henny Pratiwi
Student Number: 061214047
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
i
LITTLE TREE’S REACTIONS AGAINST COLONIAL
EDUCATION AS SEEN IN FORREST CARTER’S
THE EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE
A THESIS
Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Patricia Henny Pratiwi
Student Number: 061214047
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
iv
ORANG TERPELAJAR HARUS ADIL SEJAK DI DALAM PIKIRAN. (Pramoedya Ananta Toer)
"If ye don't know the past, then ye will not have a future. If ye don't know where your people have been, then ye won't know where your people are going."
(Forrest Carter in The Education of Little Tree)
Grandma said I had done right, for when you come on something
that is good, first thing to do is share it with whoever you can find;
that way, the good spreads out to where no telling it will go.
Which is right.
(Forrest Carter in The Education of Little Tree)It is the responsibility of intellectuals to tell the truth
and expose lies.
(Noam Choamsky)
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This thesis is dedicated to:
my life, Cherokee,
especially all subalterns around the world.
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Siyo..., (Cherokee-hello)
My best gratitude goes to my parents and my grandparents (especially
to Kakung and Timbah-ku) who always support and finance my study and my daily needs. I thank them for sacrificing everything to complete my study. I thank
my brother for his dagelan and our “quarrels” in every single time at home. I
thank Pinokio, Blacky, Bambang, and Pulung for their love, faithfulness, and
amusement.
It is a pride for me having a great person in this department, Dr. Antonius
Herujiyanto, M.A., as my lecturer and advisor. I thank him for all the time,
thoughts, advices, attention, patience, and support given to me. I thank him also
for sharing about life, katresnanism theory, and ideas coming in our minds which
are actually difficult to be practiced in the real world.
My appreciations go to all my critical lecturers in PBI: Pak Markus, Bu
Mitta, and Pak Sasmoyo. I also thank all of PBI lecturers who have “taught”
and “guided” me in this study program, and the administration staffs. Then, I
thank Pak Banyudewa for supporting me and sharing more about philosophy.
I give thanks my friends in communities and organizations I grew up my
knowledge and soft skill. I get more than what I need there. Joining those make
me alive and see the world from other sides. I thank Canista Community for
teaching me how beautiful to dedicate my life in education. I thank Orong-Orong
ix
PMI Unit VI Universitas Sanata Dharma for building my humanity sense and
flying me into the higher level. I also deeply thank PMI Kota Yogyakarta for the
opportunity given to me to sharpen my knowledge and skills. It is also introducing
me to Indonesian and international volunteers under International Redcross.
I thank all my friends who learn together, help, and accompany me during
studying in Sanata Dharma University and finishing this thesis. I thank Fafa and
Wahmuji for supporting me in passing my fragile situation. I thank Ahmed for
all moments happened and his nice smile. He is the most anarchic person I have
ever met. I thank also my classmates, especially Tika and Neisya, and all my
friends in PBI. I thank Mas Wisnu “Mata Rantai” for lending me additional
facility in finishing my thesis. I thank Tempo Magazine Agency and Costumers
for giving me additional pocket money and more experiences about people and
business.
Honestly, I thank my Onichan for everything he gave to me: a life, knowledge, insights, happiness, sadness, love, quarrels, and the biggest suffering.
I thank him because he has brought me into the wild and the “secret garden”, the
real life. Then, I just want to say, “All is well, Onichan.”
Last but not least, I thank all friends and people who also help and support
me but have not been mentioned yet here.
Wado utsati... (Cherokee-thank you so much)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGES ... ii
MOTTO ... iv
DEDICATION PAGE... v
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... vi
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI... vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS... x
ABSTRACT ... xiii
ABSTRAK... xv
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION... 1
1.1. Background of the Study... 1
1.2. Objectives of the Study ... 3
1.3. Problem Formulation ... 3
1.4. Benefit of the Study ... ... 4
1.5. Definition of Terms... . 4
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ... 6
2.1. Review of Related Theories ... 6
xi
2.1.2. Postcolonial ... 8
2.1.3. Form of Colonialism ... 10
2.1.4. Colonialist Representation and Stereotyping of Colonized ... 14
2.1.5. Abrogation ... 15
2.2. Review of Related Studies ... 16
2.3. Theoretical Framework ... 16
2.4. Contexts of the Novel ... 17
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ... 19
3.1. Object of the Study ... 19
3.2. Approach of the Study ... 20
3.3. Method of the Study... 20
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ... 22
4.1.The Portrayal of Little Tree Seen in the Novel... 22
4.1.1. Physical Appearances of Little Tree ... 22
4.1.2. Personalities of Little Tree... 23
4.2.The Characteristics of Cherokee Education and Colonial Education as Seen in the Novel... 29
4.2.1. The Characteristics of Cherokee Education... 29
4.2.2. The Characteristics of Colonial Education ... 36
4.3.Little Tree’s Reactions against Colonial Education ... 37
xii
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION, SUGGESTIONS,
AND RECOMMENDATIONS ... 47
5.1. Conclusions ... 47
5.2. Suggestions for Future Researchers ... 49
5.3. Recommendations for Using the Novel as Teaching Material and Resource ... ... 50
REFERENCES ... 51
APPENDICES Appendix 1 : Summary of the Novel ... 53
Appendix 2 : Short Biography of Forrest Carter... 55
Appendix 3 : Lesson Plan for Teaching Prose I... 56
xiii ABSTRACT
Pratiwi, Patricia Henny. 2011. Little Tree’s Reactions against Colonial Education as seen in Forrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University.
This study discusses Forrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree. The novel tells about Little Tree and his education process. He is an orphan boy. After his parents died, Little Tree lives with his grandparents. He is educated in Indian way. His grandparents teach him about Indian life. He enjoys the process of his learning. The conflict appears when the law states that he has to being put into orphanage, where white people keep young Indian who does not have parents. He is educated as white in the orphanage. This situation creates some reactions of Little Tree against colonial education.
The objective of this study is to examine one’s reactions against colonial education seen in Little Tree, the main character in Forrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree. There are three problems to answer in this study. First, “How is Little Tree, the main character in Forest Carter’s Education of Little Tree, depicted in the novel?” Second, “What are the characteristics of Cherokee education and colonial education seen in the novel?” Third, ”How does Little Tree react to the colonial education?”
This study is library research. The primary data is the object of this study that is Forrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree. The secondary data in this study are textbooks, journals, essays, and articles related to the study. This study uses postcolonial approach. The theories implement in this study are character and characterization, and postcolonial theory.
Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that: First, Little Tree, the main character in Forrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree is an orphan. He is mixed-blood between Cherokee and white. He is a kind, brave, smart, and sensitive person. He is also diligent, responsible, and reliable. He is determined in learning, strong, and resolute.
Second, the characteristics of Cherokee education depicted in the novel are united with nature, learning by doing, never scolding, learning from history, sharing goodness, and the way in giving a gift. Colonial education is different from the Cherokee education. The students have to be very discipline and polite. They have to obey all of the rules. The students will get cruel physical punishment when they break the rules. They also are not allowed speak up if they are not being asked by the teachers and the Reverend. What happened in the orphanage is a personality killing toward Indian children.
xiv
of view. Finally, Little Tree escapes from the orphanage and come home with Granpa to the mountain. He lives there as Cherokee.
Little Tree represents his generation and also the colonized people. He is the battle between White and Cherokee hegemony of ideology. He experiences both Cherokee education and colonial education. This situation creates awareness of the representation of their identity from White and also from their point of view. The reactions of Little Tree against colonial education seen in the novel, then, describe the resistance of the colonized people in finding a voice and identity by reclaim their own past. Little Tree is the representative of the colonized people who are fighting against and rejecting the colonizer. In postcolonial terms, this reaction is called abrogation.
xv ABSTRAK
Pratiwi, Patricia Henny. 2011. Little Tree’s Reactions against Colonial Education in Forrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Studi ini membahas novel Forrest Carter yang berjudul The Education of Little Tree. Novel ini menceritakan tentang Little Tree, seorang anak yatim piatu, laki-laki, yang tinggal bersama kakek dan neneknya setelah kematian orang tuanya. Dia dididik secara Indian. Kakeknya mengajarkan bagaimana cara hidup Indian. Dia menikmati proses pelajarannya itu. Tetapi permasalahan muncul ketika hukum menyatakan bahwa dia harus tinggal di panti asuhan, tempat dimana kulit putih memelihara anak-anak Indian yang tidak punya orang tua. Di sana Little Tree dididik secara kulit putih. Keadaan ini menimbulkan reaksi-reaksi Little Tree terhadap pendidikan kolonial tersebut.
Tujuan dari studi ini adalah untuk menemukan makna dari reaksi-reaksi yang dilakukan oleh Little Tree Terdapat tiga pertanyaan yang ingin dijawab dalam studi ini. Pertama, “Bagaimana tokoh utama digambarkan dalam novel Forrest Carter yang berjudul The Education of Little Tree?” Kedua, “Apa ciri-ciri pendidikan Cherokee dan pendidikan kolonial digambarkan dalam novel?” Ketiga, “Bagaimana reaksi Little Tree terhadap pendidikan kolonial?”
Studi ini adalah studi pustaka. Data primer yang digunakan adalah novel Forrest Carter yang berjudul The Education of Little Tree. Data sekunder yang digunakan dalam studi ini adalah buku-buku, jurnal, essai, dan artikel-artikel yang berhubungan dengan studi ini. Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan paska-kolonial. Teori- teori yang dipakai dalam studi ini adalah teori tokoh, penokohan, dan paska-kolonial.
Berdasarkan hasil analisa, dapat disimpulkan bahwa: Pertama, Little Tree, tokoh utama dalam novel, adalah seorang anak yatim piatu keturunan Indian dan dan kulit putih. Dia baik hati, berani, pintar, dan sensitif. dia juga bertanggung jawab, dapat dipercaya, tekun dalam belajar, kuat, dan tegar.
Kedua, ciri- ciri pendidikan Cherokee yang digambarkan dalam novel adalah kemenyatuan dengan alam, pembelajaran yang mandiri, tidak pernah memarahi, belajar dari sejarah, berbagi kebaikan, dan cara memberikan hadiah. Pendidikan kolonial berbeda dengan itu semua. Para siswa harus disiplin, mematuhi semua peraturan, dan sopan. mereka akan mendapat hukuman fisik yang kejam bila melanggarnya. mereka juga tidak boleh bicara guru dan pendeta tidak bertanya. Apa yang terjadi di sana seperti pembunuhan karakter bagi anak-anak Indian.
xvi
Little Tree adalah diri yang mewakili generasinya dan juga orang-orang terjajah. Dia adalah medan pertempuran antara hegemoni ideologi Cherokee dan kulit putih. Dia mengalami pendidikan kedua-duanya. Situasi ini menciptakan kesadaran akan pencitraan identitas baik dari sudut pandang Cherokee ataupun kulit putih. Reaksi-reaksi yang dilakukan oleh Little Tree dalam novel ini menggambarkan pertahanan diri orang-orang terjajah dalam menemukan kembali suara dan identitas mereka dengan cara menguak sejarah mereka sendiri. Little Tree adalah perwakilan dari orang-orang terjajah yang melawan penjajah. dalam istilah paska kolonial, reaksi ini disebut abrogasi.
1 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of background of the study, objective of the study,
problem formulation, benefit of the study, and definition of terms. This
organization will help the readers follow the researcher’s idea easier.
1.1.Background of the Study
Post-colonialism is a discourse to see current issues in colonized nation to
show their national identity and rebel against the colonizer’s representation on
colonial subject. In this era, post-colonialism discourse is wide needed to inspect
the reality constructed by colonizer in which the power is still left the culture
domination to the native’s culture.
In this sense, colonialism is not limited in taking over lands, but also
reforming community and culture there. Colonizer changes and empowers the
communities already there. Colonizer does not only colonize the physic but also
the mental of indigenous. One of the ways to colonize the indigenous’ mental is
through education.
Education, which is important for human, determines a nation in the
future. An appropriate education will help a nation shows their national identity.
However, the colonizer always creates hegemony. They claim that their concept
For Gramsci, hegemony is the dominance of one group or class in society,
achieved not through force but rather the consent of the other groups. Consent is
achieved through the dominant group associating itself with moral and intellectual
leadership in a society. In classical Gramscian terms, the state dominates through
force (having the monopoly on legitimatized violence) while hegemony is
achieved through institutions that we would associate with “civil society”.
(http://www.postcolonialweb.org/poldiscourse/chatterjee/holden14.html). One of
the effective institutions to achieve hegemony is education.
There are some reasons for the researcher to conduct this study. First, the
researcher is deeply interested in literature because through literature the
researcher can get pleasure, knowledge, wide insight, and critical insight. The
researcher can also express ideas through literary works. Second, the researcher is
interested in postcolonial discourse. It increases awareness of colonial
representation and our identity from our point of view.
The literary work used in this study is Forest Carter’s Education of Little
Tree. This novel was written in 1976. The setting of the novel is Tennessee,
Appalachian in 1930s. The researcher chose this novel because this novel is very
interesting to be read and to be analyzed. The researcher is impressed by the story
in the novel, including Cherokee education and Little Tree’s reactions against
colonial education. This novel has a spirit and inspiration toward the readers,
which is postcolonial, the spirit fights against colonialism.
Since the researcher wants to be a teacher, education also becomes one of
education. Teachers can adopt the system of Cherokee education including the
characteristics, the teaching method, the contents, and the learning process seen in
the novel.
This study aims to find out the reactions of the main character in the novel,
as the indigenous, against white educational system as colonizer. This aim is
achieved by analyzing the novel.
In order to do so, there are theories and approach used in this study. The
first is theory of the intrinsic elements of fiction; character and characterization.
The second theory is postcolonial theory. This theory includes the understanding
of post-colonialism, colonialism, and the reactions of the colonized against
colonizer that is called abrogation. The approach used in this study is postcolonial
approach.
1.2.Objective of the Study
The objective of this study is to examine one’s reactions against colonial
education seen in Little Tree, the main character in Forrest Carter’s The Education
of Little Tree.
1.3.Problem Formulation
There are three problems formulated in order to achieve the objective of
this study.
1.3.1. How is Little Tree, the main character in Forest Carter’s The Education of
1.3.2. What are the characteristics of Cherokee education and colonial education
seen in the novel?
1.3.3. How does Little Tree react against the colonial education?
1.4.Benefit of the Study
There are some benefits of this study. First, this study will give a reference
or a point of view for readers in reading Forrest Carter’s The Education of Little
Tree. Second, the researcher hopes that this study is able to create the readers’
awareness of colonial representation and colonized resistance against the
representation. This study will be useful also in teaching English in school and
university. Teachers and lecturers can use this novel as teaching English material
and resources in their classes.
1.5.Definition of Terms
1.5.1. Colonial Education
Colonial education is the education practiced by colonizer in their
colonial lands to indoctrinate the colonized, to colonize the colonized
nation mentally.
1.5.2. Little Tree
Little Tree is the main character in Forrest Carter’s The Education
of Little Tree. He is a mixed-blood between Cherokee and White.
Cherokee is American indigenous lived in the southern
forced the Cherokee Nation to surrender its homeland and relocate west of
the Mississippi. Today they live in eastern Oklahoma with only a small
remnant remaining in the mountains of western North Carolina (Perdue,
2008: xiii).
1.5.3. Reaction
It means a response to something, an act, an influence. (Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 1995:966)
According to Concise Oxford English Dictionary, reactions mean
“a person’s ability to respond physically and mentally to external stimuli.”
In this study, reaction also refers to Little Tree’s words, attitudes,
belief, thought, and point of view dealing with his reactions and rejection
6 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of four parts. They are review of related theories,
review of related study, theoretical framework, and contexts of the novel. Those
parts help the readers see the theories used in this study and how the theories are
used to achieve the aim of this study.
2.1. Review of Related Theories
This part provides the theories used in this study. There are two theories
used to answer the problems formulated in this study. The first theory is character
and characterization. The second theory is theories related to postcolonial
discourse.
2.1.1. Character and Characterization
Abram’s Glossary of Literary Term defines characters as ”the persons
represented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as
being endowed with particular moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities by
inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying it —the
dialogue— and from what they do—the action” (Abrams, 1981: 20).
A character can be known through characterization, the way author defines
the characters. There are four different ways to convey the character and a
characterization according to Robert and Jacobs in An Introduction to Reading
the author expresses their thoughts), (2) what characters do, (3) what other
characters say about them, and (4) what the author says about them, speaking as
story teller or observer (Baldick, 1991).
According to Murphy (1972:161-172), there are nine ways in which an
author attempts to make his characters understandable to, and come alive for, his
readers.
a. Personal description
The author can describe a person’s appearance and clothes.
b. Character as seen by another
Instead of describing a character directly the author can describe him through
the eyes and opinions of another. The reader gets, as it were, a reflected image.
c. Speech
The author can give us an insight into the character of one of the persons in the
book through what that person says. Whenever a person speaks, whenever he is
in conversation with another, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he is
giving us some clue to his character.
d. Past life
By letting the reader learn something about a person’s past life the author can
give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. This can
be done by direct comment by the author, through the person’s thoughts,
e. Conversation of others
The author can also give us clues to a person’s character through the
conversations of other people and the things they say about him. People talk
about other people and the things they say often give us a clue to the character
of the person spoken about.
f. Reactions
The author can also give us a clue to a person’s character by letting us know
how that person reacts to various situations and events.
g. Direct comment
The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly.
h. Thoughts
The author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. In
this respect he is able to do what we cannot do in real life. He can tell us what
different people are thinking. In the novel we can accept this. The reader then
is in a privileged position; he has, as it were, a secret listening device plugged
in to the inmost thoughts of a person in a novel.
i. Mannerisms
The author can describe a person’s mannerisms, habits or idiosyncrasies which
may also tell us something about his character.
2.1.2. Postcolonial
There is no fixed definition of postcolonial discourse. The term “post”
However, the effects of colonialism are still apparent in the construction of the
present-day societies. Although a nation has been independent, the effect of
colonialism still appears in their nation, such as culture domination, apparatuses,
and educational system.
Postcolonial addresses all aspects of the colonial process from the beginning of colonial until after-independence, all the process that testify the fact that post-colonialism is a continuing process of resistance and reconstructions. The studies in it are based in “historical fact” of European colonialism and its diverse effects (Ashcroft, 2002: 2).
Additional, Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin (1989: 2) use
the term ‘post-colonial’ to cover all the culture affected by the imperial process
from the moment of colonization to the present day.
Since colonialism is not only limited in taking land, but also culture
domination, there are many issues happened under colonialism that uncovered by
postcolonial discourse. In other words, postcolonial becomes a discourse used by
the colonized to see the issues in their reacting against colonialism.
It is clear that postcolonial is not simply defined as a condition after
independence of a nation. It deals with many issues as seen in the quotation
bellow:
Postcolonial deals with some important issues: migration, slavery, suppression, representation, difference, race, gender, place, and response to the influential master discourses of imperial Europe such as history, philosophy, linguistics, and the fundamental experiences causing the appearance of these writings. These vast issues, they continued, are not ‘essentially’ post-colonial, but together they create complex fabric of the field (Ashcroft, 2002: 2).
Ania Loomba (2000:17-20) refers postcolonial to specific group of
activist who fought against colonial rule, and their successors who now engage
with its continuing legacy, challenged and revised domination definition of race,
culture, language, and class in the process of making their voice heard.
Postcolonial is the struggle of colonized nation to liberate their nation.
Awareness of the colonized about colonizer’s representation is coming in their
mind during this continuing process. Then, they reclaim their past and identity
from their point of view. They will react against colonialism.
According to Peter Barry (2002: 194), characteristically, postcolonial
writers evoke or create a pre-colonial version of their own nation, rejecting the
modern and the contemporary, which is tainted with the colonial status of their
countries. In his book Beginning Theory, he formulated some characteristics of
postcolonial criticism. First, it is an awareness of representations of the
non-European as exotic or immoral ‘Other’. The second area of concern in
postcolonial criticism is language. Some postcolonial writers have concluded that
the colonizers’ language is permanently tainted, and that to write in it involves a
crucial acquiescence in colonial structures. The third characteristic is the emphasis
on identity as doubled, or hybrid, or unstable. Then, the last is the stress on
‘cross-cultural’ interactions (Barry, 2002: 194-196).
2.1.3. Forms of Colonialism
Ania Loomba (2000: 2) defined colonialism is the process of ‘forming a
community’ in the new land necessarily meant unforming or re-forming the
including trade, plunder, negotiation, warfare, genocide, enslavement and
rebellions. Colonizer does not only take the land but also empowers and builds a
new culture community domination in their colonial land.
Boehmer gives similar definition about colonialism. According to
Boehmer (1995: 2), colonialism involves of imperial power, and is manifested in
settlement, of territory, the exploitation or development of resources, and the
attempt to govern the indigenous inhabitant of occupied lands.
Stephen Slemon, in his essay The Scramble for Post-colonialism published
in Postcolonial studies Readers, defines the concept of colonialism as an
ideological and discursive formation with the way in which colonialism is viewed
as an apparatus for constituting subject positions through the field of
representation. The description of colonialism’s multiple strategies for regulating
Europe’s others can be expressed by the following diagram:
Institutional Regulators
(Colonialist educational apparatuses)
C
B
A F
Colonizer Colonized
D
E
The general understanding that is colonialism works on a left-to-right
order of domination, with line ‘A’ is representing various theories of how
colonialism oppresses through direct political and economic control. Line ‘BC’
and ‘DE’ are representing differing concept of the ideological regulation of
colonial subjects, of subordination through the manufacture of consent. Line ‘F’
representing colonialist power is seen to operate through a complex relationship
between the apparatus (Ashcroft, 2002: 46).
From the diagram above, colonialism runs in some ways. The first one is
called ‘brute force’ or ‘direct political’ of colonialist oppression. The physical
colonialism is usually done when the colonizer doing expands of their territory.
The other form of colonialism is by indoctrinating their ideology to the colonized.
It is done softly through the constitutive power of state apparatuses like education
and academic field. The other colonialist ways are reproducing ideology through
the strategic deployment of semiotic field of representations, such as literary
works, advertising, sculpture, travelogues, exploration document, maps. Those
ways are unified by colonizer to colonize the others. Those constitutive powers
are called hegemony.
Colonizer uses hegemony to create unconsciousness of the colonized
about the colonialism. in this case, the colonized will have willingness to be
empowered by the colonizer.
Gramsci formulated the concept of hegemony. Hegemony is power
achieved through a combination of coercion and consent. He argued that the
creating subjects who ‘willingly’ submit to being ruled. In other words, hegemony
is achieved not only by direct manipulation or indoctrination, but by playing upon
the common sense of people, or lived system of meanings and values (Loomba,
2000: 29). In Postcolonial Studies Reader, Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin wrote
that:
Education is perhaps the most insidious and in some ways the most cryptic of colonialist survivals, older systems now passing, sometimes imperceptibly, into neo-colonialist configuration. Education, whether state or missionary, primary or secondary (and later tertiary) was a massive cannon in the artillery of empire. The domination by consent is achieved through what is taught to the colonized, how it is taught, and the subsequent emplacement of the educated subject as a part of the continuing imperial apparatus- a knowledge of English Literature, for instance, was required for entry into the civil service and the legal professions. Education is thus a conquest of another kind of territory-it is the foundation of colonialist power and consolidates this power through legal and administrative apparatuses. Education can be a technology of colonialist subjectification. It strongly reinforced such textual representation (Aschroft, 2002: 425).
In colonialism, education becomes an effective media for colonizer to
achieve hegemony. It is a soft way to indoctrinate the mental and ideology of
colonized nation. Moreover, in White point of view, educate the colonized is
civilizing the colonized. They create a concept in natives’ mental that White’s
concept of education is good. Through education, colonizer constructs the
colonized mind to think and act as White. Indirectly, Whites creates culture
domination in their colonial subject because colonized nation will be inferior and
2.1.4. Colonialist Representation and Stereotyping of the Colonized
The colonized is represented in such way by colonizer through its
manipulated knowledge which can not be taken for granted as the truth. It is
mainly caused by the unbalance power relationship between colonizers and
colonized, especially in the moment of ‘old’ colonialism expanded by the
colonizer, which is dominated and determined by the colonizer (Said, 1979: 40).
In Colonialism/Post-colonialism, Ania Loomba pointed out that:
The colonial stereotyping description of the indigenous people is constructed by the projector that the ‘New World Natives’ are birthed by the European encounter with them, accordingly a discourse of primitivism surrounds them. They are constructed as savage, barbaric or degenerate, and regarded as barbarous infidels (Loomba, 2000: 108).
Loomba (2000: 47) also asserts Edward Said’s thesis in Orientalism about
the European self conception as: colonized people are irrational. Europeans are
rational: if the former are barbaric, sensual, and lazy, Europe is civilization itself,
with its sexual appetites under control and its dominant ethic that of hard work.
Elleke Boehmer in Colonial&Postcolonial Literature tells the colonial
projection of the indigenous peoples as innately degenerated, degraded, barbarian,
and natural (Boehmer, 1995: 21). Boehmer formulates that this stereotype
reproduction has always come with the superiority of an expanding Europe, and to
distinguish its hegemony, whereas colonized peoples were represented as lesser:
less human, less civilized, and child or savage, Wildman, animal, or headless
mass. It is caused by unbalance power relationship between Eroupean as colonizer
and the colonized (Boehmer, 1995: 79). European evaluative stereotyping of this
From the representation above, there are dichotomist representation
between White and Other created by White. We can see that White as colonizer
represent other as savage, infidel, bad, and uncivilized. Meanwhile, White
represents themselves as civilized and the best one. Then, the aim of their
colonialism is to civilize Other that they considered as uncivilized.
2.1.5. Abrogation
One of reactions of colonized nation against colonialism is called
abrogation. It is defined in Postcolonial Studies: The Key Concepts that:
Abrogation refers to the rejection by post-colonial writers of a normative concept of ‘correct’ or ‘standard’ English used by certain classes or groups, and of the corresponding concepts of inferior ‘dialects’ or ‘marginal variants’ (Ashcroft, 2000: 3).
Abrogation is used to describe the rejection of a standard language in the
writing of post-colonial literatures. It can be used to describe a great range of
cultural and political activities in form of film, theatre, the writing of history,
political organization, modes of thought and argument in rejecting colonialism.
In The Empire Writes Back, abrogation is a refusal of categories of the
imperial culture, its aesthetic, its illusory standard of normative or “correct”
usage, and its assumption of a traditional and fixed meaning “inscribed” in the
words (Ashcroft, 1989: 38). In other words, abrogation simply can be defined as
2.2.Review of Related Study
The previous study on Forest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree was
conducted by Mark McGurl on an essay entitled Learning from Little Tree: The
Political Education of the Counterculture, published in The Yale Journal of
Criticism. Mark wrote this essay to set the readers understanding how the figure
of native American came to function in the 1960s as a symbolic vehicle, or
personification, of the increasing complexity of the questions upon which they
hinged, and to draw attention to the importance of one social institution in
particular, the school, in producing the historical conditions of their seeming
unresovability (McGurl, 2006). This study tells the readers how the colonial
politician ruled the Cherokee’s educational system. He argues that education
might be traded for three terms, with activism, culture, and politics of colonialist
representations.
The difference between this study and McGurl’s study is the focus of the
study. McGurl focuses on the how the education of colonial function as political
culture. Meanwhile, the researcher focuses on the main character’s reactions
against the colonial education.
2.3.Theoretical Framework
This part explains the contribution of related theories in solving the
problems formulated in chapter I. It is the guideline for the researcher to find out
The theory of character and characterization are significant to analyze how
the main character in Forrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree depicted. It is
used to answer the first problem formulation.
The understanding of postcolonial theory is required to find out the
answers of the second and the third problem formulation. It is used to understand
one’s reactions against colonial seen in Little Tree, the main character of Forrest
Carter’s The Education of Little Tree.
2.4.Contexts of the Novel
Forrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree was published in 1976. The
setting of this novel is Tennessee, Appalachian in 1930s.
Gelbrich (1999: 1) writes that European immigrants to Colonial America
brought with them their culture, traditions and philosophy about education. Much
of the formal educational system in the United States is rooted in the European or
Western belief system. The English were the predominant settlers in the New
World and as a result education in colonial America was patterned on the English
model. they changed and dominated the culture of native American.
Religion played an important rule in developing an educational system in
the United States. The Puritans, a strict fundamentalist Protestant sect who
immigrated to the New World for religious freedom beginning in 1609, believed
that education was necessary in order to read the Bible to receive salvation. This
was in line with the beliefs of the Protestant Reformers. Their schools made no
children to endure the hardships of a life in the New World through religious
devotion (Gelbrich, 1999: 1).
Randy Chafy, in Exploring the Intellectual Foundation of Technology
Education, as McCloud quote in his article, wrote that since the colonial era,
Western institutionalized education during the colonial era was used increasingly
for civilization building, private enterprise and personal wealth. During the early
middle ages education was used for advancing spiritual well being; church or state
sponsored occupations and morally proper forms of knowledge. In other words
Western comes to American to civilize the native of American. They bring also
Christiam missionary in order to do so (McCloud, 2009: 1).
In the novel, Forrest Carter describes the orphanage as White education
system. The aim of this education is to civilize Indian young generation. White
indoctrinated their mind through the educational system they practiced in their
colonial subject. We will find that religion had also big power in their civilization.
White considers Indian as savage, so they educate Indian children in White to be
19 CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter consists of three parts. Those parts are object of the study,
approach of the study, and method of the study.
3.1.Object of the Study
The object of this study is The Education of Little Tree, a novel written by
Forest Carter. The novel tells about Little Tree, a half Indian child, and his
education process. The setting of the novel is Tennessee, Appalachian in 1930s.
His grandmother is Cherokee Indian who married with a man from
assimilation between Red Wing, Indian Cherokee, with white people. Then, Little
Tree’s father married with a white people. After the death of his parents, Little
Tree lived with his Cherokee grandparents. He was educated in Indian way. His
grandparents taught him about Indian life. He enjoyed the educational process
very much. Yet, the conflict appeared when the law stated that he had to be put
into an orphanage, where white people kept young Indian who did not have
parents. It was one of white ways to indoctrinate Indian generation.
Little Tree was put in the orphanage. He was educated as White there. The
system and the method were so different with the education he got from Granpa.
The system was full with discipline, politeness, and physical punishments for
children. Finally, Little Tree run away from the orphanage and lived with his
3.2.Approach of the Study
Postcolonial criticism is used as approach in this study. According to Ania
Loomba in Colonialism/Post-colonialism, postcolonial addresses all aspects of the
colonial process from the beginning of colonial until after-independence, all the
process that testify the fact that postcolonialism is a continuing process of
resistance and reconstruction (Loomba, 2000: 2).
This approach is contextual to analyze the novel, since there is unbalance
power relationship between Cherokee and White. In the novel, Cherokee is the
colonized, while White is the colonizer.
This approach is implemented to reveal the postcolonial issues in the
novel. It focuses to find out the reactions of the main character in the novel
against colonial education.
3.3.Method of the Study
This study is library research. The primary data is the object of this study
that is Forrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree. The secondary data in this
study are textbooks, journals, essays, and articles related to the study.
There are four steps to conduct this study. The first step is reading and
re-reading the novel. Having read the novel for several times, the researcher finally
would be able to find out the point of the novel and understand it deeper.
The second step is collecting all of textbooks, journal, essays, articles, and
such as going to the library, searching in internet, and discussing with some of
friends.
The third step is implementing the theories to analyze the novel. The
analysis in this study includes the intrinsic element of literature; character and
characterization, and also in the reactions of the main character against colonial
education in the novel.
The last step, the researcher is figuring out the conclusion of the study and
provided suggestion for the future researchers and recommendation for using this
22
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter answers the problems formulated in the first chapter. There are four
elaborations in this analysis to answer them: the portrayal of Little Tree as seen in
the novel; the characteristics of Cherokee education and the characteristics of
colonial education as seen in the novel; Little Tree’s reactions against colonial
education; and the meaning of Little Tree’s reactions against colonial education.
4.1. The Portrayal of Little Tree Seen in the Novel
Little Tree is the main character in Forrest Carter’s The Education of Little
Tree. Based on character and characterization theories discussed in chapter II, the
characteristics of Little Tree can be known from what he did, what he spoke, what
he thought, and what the other characters said and thought about him. It is
significant to analyze his characteristics, including his physical appearances and
personalities to know the meaning of Little Tree’s reactions against colonial
education in Forrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree.
4.1.1. Physical Appearances of Little Tree
Little Tree is an orphan boy whose age is five years old. Little Tree is a
mixed-blood child. His father is a Cherokee, while his mother is a White. His
father had already passed away when he was four years old. After his mother
the mountain with his grandparents who are Cherokees. This quotation describes
the beginning information about the physical appearance of Little Tree: “MA
LASTED a year after Pa was gone. That’s how I came to live with Granpa and
Granma when I was five years old” (p.01).
4.1.2. Personalities of Little Tree
There are some personalities of Little Tree depicted in the novel. The
researcher divides those personalities into six categories.
4.1.2.1. Kind and Brave
The personalities of Little Tree are described in this following song. This
is a nature song that sung by Granma as a welcome song for his coming to the
forest where his grandparents live in. For Cherokee, nature is a part of their life so
that they can communicate one to the other. Bellow is the quotation of the song
lyrics:
“They now have sensed him coming The forest and wood-wind
Father Mountain makes him welcome with his song The have no fear of Little Tree
They know his heart is kindness
And they sing, ’Little Tree is not alone’.
Even silly little Lay-nah
With her babbling, talking waters
Is dancing through the mountains with her cheer ‘Oh listen to my singing,
Of a brother come amongst us
Little Tree is our brother, and Little Tree is here.’
Awi usdi the little deer And Min-e-lee the quail-hen
And kindness is his strength
And Little Tree will never be alone.’ “(p.05)
From the song, Little Tree is described as a kind and brave child. Little
Tree is very welcome to the forest because he is a pleasant boy so that nature likes
him. Even, the nature calls Little Tree as their brother. As soon as time goes by,
Little Tree becomes more and more familiar with nature. He can listen to the song
of nature. He is able to understand that nature has no fear of him. He is also able
to see that the wind is dancing cheerfully for him. His being a part of nature
makes him happy. He is never lonely anymore.
This following quotation describes more that Little Tree is being a part of
nature. Little Tree declares himself using Indian way of naming, Little Tree, not
as a White. ”I knew I was Little Tree, and I was happy that they loved me and
wanted me. And so I slept, and I did not cry” (p.05).
Little Tree is described as a brave child from his attitude when he should
meet Reverend in the orphanage for the first time. He does not have any fear in
himself to face a new person who takes his life away from Cherokee. Even, Little
Tree does not cry. He always argues what the Reverend said when it is not in his
truth. For instance, when the Reverend told him that white people do not admit the
marriage of his parents, he explains Cherokee’s point of view about his parents’
marriage bravely. The quotation bellow shows the situation:
4.1.2.2. Sensitive
Little Tree is a sensitive person. He is able to feel nature and other’s
feeling. Although in the beginning Little Tree has been educated as a White, then,
he is educated as Cherokee by his grandparents. He can feel nature as what his
grandma said. He feels how Mon-o-lah, the land in the mountain, is coming to and
greeting him through his moccasins. Cherokee treats nature as a part of their life,
their family. This quotation shows the situation:
I could feel something more, as Granma said I would. Mon-o-lah, the earth mother, came to me through my moccasins. I could feel her push and swell here, and sway and give there...and the roots that veined her body as the life of the water-blood, deep inside her. She was warm and springy and bounced me on her breast, as Granma said she would. (p.07)
As a human, Little Tree is a sensitive person. He has a deep sympathy to
others. As stated in the quotation bellow, he can feel what Granpa feels. He feels
as sorrow as Granpa who is sadden by Granma reading about white politics and
whiskey policy.
It hit Granpa deep. He stopped his rocker but he didn’t say anything, just stared into the fire with a lost look in his eyes. Granma felt sorry about it for after the reading she patted Granpa on his shoulder and slipped her arm around his waist as they went off to bed. I felt might near as bad about it as Granpa. (p.17)
His sensitivity also appears when he and Granpa walk in the morning and
saw a quail hit by hawk. He is very shocked seeing this event. Granpa see that
Little Tree looked sad. From this event, readers can also see that beside showing
his sensitivity, Little Tree has ability to endure his sorrow.
mountain and over the rim.
I didn’t cry, but I know I looked sad, because Granpa said,”Don’t feel sad, Little Tree. It is The Way. (p.09)
4.1.2.3. Responsible and Reliable
The other description about the personalities of Little Tree can be seen in
these quotations:
Granpa was already listening. All the sounds was the same. The birds had not flown away. Granpa said,”Ye taken up your sack and head back down the trail. Iff’n ye see somebody, step of the trail til they pass. I’ll take time to clean up and hide the still and go down t’other mountain side. I’ll meet ye at the cabin.”
...
Granpa said that he couldn’t have done any better his-self, and him going on seventy odd years. He said that I was likely coming on to be the finest whiskey-maker in the mountains. (p.71-75)
From those quotations, Little Tree is described as a responsible and
reliable boy in accomplishing duties given to him. Cherokee is well-known as
good whiskey maker. But, the American government, who are white people,
banns and not legalizes the whiskey making done by Cherokee. It is one of White
politics. They always arrest Cherokees who makes whiskey.
Little Tree’s grandfather is a good whiskey marker. He makes whiskey
secretly in the forest. One day, he invited Little Tree to learn how to make good
and tasted whiskey. Unfortunately, there were cops who were patrolling around
the forest when they were working in the whiskey area. Granpa asked Little Tree
to run away and bring some bottles of their whiskey. Meanwhile, grandpa settled
the area to cover his business.
save the whiskey. In his mind, saving the whiskey was saving his grandpa and
Cherokee. He thought how to avoid the cops’ hunting. He was holding his suck
tightly.
He was very tired. Finally, he found a place to hide himself. Because of
his being exhausted, he slept in his hiding place too long. Until his grandparents
founded him, he was still holding the suck tightly. His grandparents were so proud
of him because Little Tree was responsible and reliable boy.
This experience shows more that Little Tree is united with nature. He is a
new comer, but he is able to understand and master the new and strange
environment for him. He is a truly Cherokee.
4.1.2.4. Diligent
Little Tree is a diligent child. He wakes up early in the morning. He has
been ready to do his activities when the morning is still dark. Forrest Carter wrote:
This morning I slipped the moccasins on last, after I had jumped into my overalls and buttoned my jacket. It was dark and cold-too early even for the morning whisper wind to stir the trees. (p.06)
His first morning in the forest but his being tired because he had a long journey in
the previous night was not a plea for him to wake up late.
4.1.2.5. Determined and Smart
Little Tree is determined to learn hard, and he, therefore, can master what
his Granpa taught him soon. Granpa teaches him one of the ways of Cherokee that
create a harmony of life. For example, what Little Tree saw in the morning, a
hawk preyed a slow quail. As the hawk did, Cherokee is also taking the worse one
in hunting and letting the better one to survive their good species.
I walked around them, flopping on the ground. I squatted and studied them, and walked around them again. I had to be careful. I got down on my hands and knees and crawled among them, until I had pulled out the three smallest I could find. (p.11)
His ability to master what his grandpa taught marks his shift from boy
educated as white into boy educated as Cherokee. Thus, he is Cherokee since he
affirms Cherokee’s way of life.
4.1.2.6. Strong and Resolute
Little Tree is strong and resolute person. He gets so many physical
punishments in the orphanage. He never cries when the Reverend or the teachers
hit him, stuck him, quarantine him with out any food, and give him other physical
punishment. Little Tree always tries to endure the punishment by what his
grandparents have taught him.
He cut loose with the big stick acrost my back. The first time it hurt; but I didn’t cry. Granma had learnt me. Oncet when I stumped off my toenail... she learnt me how the Indian bears pain. He lets his body mind go to sleep, and with his spirit mind, he moves out of his body and sees the pain-instead of feeling the pain. (p.192)
Little Tree is strong in sense of having emotional qualities to deal with
stress, pressure, and fear. He is able to withstand pain he got from the punishment.
In other side, he keeps his unwavering heart in practicing Cherokee way to endure
4.2.The Characteristics of Cherokee Education and Colonial Education Seen
in the Novel
There are some characteristics of Cherokee education and colonial
education seen in the novel. Cherokee education is different from colonial
education. Both of them are experienced by Little Tree. Those experiences create
Little Tree’s reactions against colonial education. Then, by understanding those
two differences will help readers to see how those education determine Little
Tree’s reactions against colonial education.
4.2.1.The Characteristics of Cherokee Education Seen in the Novel
Cherokee education can be seen from the way Granpa and Granma teach
Little Tree about Cherokee’s life. It can be seen from the learning process of Little
Tree in the mountain. The characteristics of Cherokee education seen in the novel
can be classified into:
4.2.1.1. United to Nature
Little Tree learns to be mature through his grandparents’ way of teaching.
There, in the forest, he is not longer learning inside the wall of school as in the
formal education. Living with his grandparents, he has what the modern system
called home schooling, yet with the knowledge and the culture to be Cherokee.
Cherokee is nature, and nature is Cherokee. They can not be separated. As
a consequence, Cherokee understand how to live with nature. They understand
that they have to take only what they need from nature to keep nature long lasting.
deer will grow stronger and always give ye meat. Pa-koh, the panther, knows and so must ye.”(p.09)
The other part in the novel showing about the unity of Cherokee and the
nature can be found in this following quotation:
At the farms I asked for work, if they would not let me keep Blue Boy and Little Red then I would move on Granpa said a feller owed that much to his hounds. Which is right. (p. 215)
Little Tree will leave his work when the employer does not allow him to
keep Blue Boy and Little Red, his hounds. He always remembers what his
grandpa had advised him. Granpa told him that human owed much from animal.
In this sense, Granpa teaches Little Tree to thank his hounds that had helped him
much. Therefore, Little Tree will take care of them, and not utilize them for his
interest only.
Cherokee has a belief in Dog Star. It is the most shining star that helps
them to send the news of their condition to other family member or other
Cherokee whom they love when they are being separated. No matter how far the
distance between them, they still keep communicating each other. The Dog Star
will deliver their messages, so that they know each other. Granma tells this to
Little Tree before he is put into the orphanage. She asks Little Tree to see the Dog
Star when he feels lonely. She asks him to share what he felt because they will
always see the Dog Star from the hollow.
Kneeling there on the porch, Granma said,” Do ye recollect the Dog Star, Little Tree? The one we look at in the dusk of evening?” I said I did. And Granma said,” Wherever ye are-no matter where- in the dusk of evening, ye look at the Dog Star. Me and Granpa will be looking too. We will remember.” I told her I would remember too. (p.179)
Willow John about his condition in the orphanage when he is punished by
Reverend unfairly.
Cherokee has sense of spiritual dimension. They have two minds in their
body. The first mind is needed for physical living. It covers the basic need of
human such as eating, getting shelter, and mating. The other mind is the spirit
mind which has nothing to do with those activities. They use this spirit mind in
understanding and loving other and nature. They can also be used to move out
their body mind. This spirit mind will live endless and they believe that when
somebody died, he leaves the body mind and goes by his spirit mind. Then, it will
be united with their passed ancestors.
Little Tree is also being taught about the personal thing of a Cherokee.
Every Cherokee has a secret place. A secret place is a place where one can enjoy
himself without other person, to be alone instead of lonely. It is a place where
sometimes he needs to go. It seems like a private place for him when he needs a
place for himself. Cherokee can feel the spirit of nature and their being a part of it
in their secret place. Granma tells him that the spirit mind works when he is in his
secret place.
Granma said all Cherokees had a secret place. She told me she had one and Granpa had one. She said she had never asked, but she believed Granpa’s was on top of mountain, on the high trail. She said she reckined most everybody had a secret place, but she couldn’t be certain, as she had never made inquiries of it. Granma said it was necessary. Which made me feel right good about having one. (p.59)
The other evidence showing that Cherokee is united to nature is their way in
children by name of plants, animals, and other part of nature. For example, the
name of Granma is Bonny Bee. The name of Little Tree shows also the united
between Cherokee and nature. The other example is Willow John, Little Tree’s
uncle. The other name found in the novel that show the way of Indian giving
name is Pine Billy, Granpa’s friend. Willow and Pine are name of trees.
4.2.1.2. Learning by Doing
Cherokee always leave their children to learn by doing. They let their
children do something by themselves first so that the children will get some points
of learning from what they have done.
One day, Little Tree went to the Church with Granma, Granpa, and
Willow John. He met a man who brought a calf in the church. He was interested
in the little calf. He asked the person whether he would sell it or not. The man
knew that Little Tree liked the calf much, so he told him that he wanted to sell it.
He offered it to Little Tree. Little Tree did not have enough money to pay it, but
the man sold it cheaply to him. With all his money, Little Tree bought the little
calf. Granpa and Granma saw what happened, but he kept silent.
Little Tree was so happy for buying the calf. He took it home. In the way
home, the calf walked slower. Then, it felt down and did not move anymore. The
calf died. Little Tree was surprised. Then Grandpa took his knife and cut the calf.
He took the calf’s heart and showed it to Little Tree. He told him that calf he
bought was a sick calf. It was the reason of man in the church to sell it in very
While was eating, Granpa looked at me and said,”Ye see, Little Tree, ain’t no way of learning, except by letting ye do. Iff’n I stopped ye from buying the calf, ye’d have always thought ye’d ought to had it. Iff’n I’d told ye to buy it, ye’d blame me fer the calf dying. Ye’ll have to learn as ye go”. (p.87)
Actually, Granpa and Grandma know that the calf was sick. But they let
Little Tree buy it. They hope that Little Tree will get learning from this event.
They teach Little Tree to learn by experiencing something and make his own
decision. Moreover, by taking his own decision, Little Tree will learn to take the
consequences of what he does, so that he will not blame others for them.
4.2.1.3. Never Scolding
Cherokee never educates their next generation by scolding. They let their
children play and enjoy their learning from nature. Unlike modern European
culture, to be wet while playing was no matter for them.
This way represents their method of educating children. Cherokee’s
children learn mainly not from books and theory but from nature and forest. They
directly learn outside the wall of school. They experience what they learn. Their
school’s ceiling is sky and their teachers are nature.
I got pretty wet, splashing in the spring branch, but Granma never said anything. Cherokees never scolded their children for having anything to do with the wood. (p.57)
4.2.1.4. Learning from History
The other important thing to be learned by Cherokee young generation is
him about the Cherokee’s history. Knowing his ancestor’s history, Little Tree
learn the way Cherokee’s life; including their life style such as farming, hunting,
dancing, and the relationship between Cherokee and nature. From this learning,
Little Tree knows the history of Cherokee. He will have sense of belonging to
Cherokee. It helps him to grow up as a Cherokee.
However, Cherokee uses their version of history. It is different from White
version. In White’s history, students never learn about the suffering of natives
America and White’s colonialism because it is considered to be a civilizing
process of human race. Therefore, Cherokee, using oral tradition which got the
story teller and the listener closer, teach history through their own point of view.
Granma and Granpa wanted me to know of the past, for “If ye don’t know the past, then ye will not have a future. If ye don’t know where your people have been, then ye won’t know where your people are going.” And so they told me most of it. (p.40)
How the Cherokee had farmed the rich valleys and held their mating dances in the spring when life was planted in the ground; when the buck and doe, the cock and peahen exulted in the creation parts they played. How their harvest festivals were held in the villages as frost turned the pumpkins, reddened the persimmon and hardened the corn. How they prepared for the winter hunts and pledged themselves to The Way. (p.40)
What is the important thing of using their own perspective? Is it only
about a point of view which will result to a same answer? No, a different point of
view will result in a different attitude toward something. It is different if you see a
history from the point of view of victims and the point of view of the winner.
Thus, it is important thing for Cherokee using their own perspective. Using
Cherokee’s point of view in telling history is a form of resistance against white
4.2.1.5. Sharing Goodness
The other learning characteristic which Cherokee shared to their children
is sharing every single of goodness they get with other people. This is the way of
Cherokee. The goodness they get will be more useful and meaningful when they
share it with other people.
Grandma said I had done right, for when you come on something that is good, first thing to do is share it with whoever you can find; that way, the good spreads out to where no telling it will go. Which is right. (p.57)
Superficially, it seems quite universal and common that we should spread
goodness to all. However, in deeper layer we see collectivity spirit in this
spreading of goodness. This spirit stands up against individuality of modern age,
brought by capitalism system into American. Cherokee cares other. They are
communal community who live together in society.
4.2.1.6. The Way of Giving a Gift
Cherokee teach their children how the way of giving a gift to other. One of
the examples of this learning is when Willow John gives Little Tree a gift. Willow
John likes Little Tree. He gives him a knife. Little Tree finds it where he set. He is
surprised about it. Then, Granma tells him how the way of Cherokee in giving a
gift. Indian will not give a gift to someone directly. They lay their gifts in
somewhere to be found by the person. From the way, they teach sincerity in
giving something to other person. They do not hope any thanking from other
people. It also teaches that they have to make an effort to get something. They can
not get anything granted freely for them. This way shows Cherokee’s
Once, after we taken our seats, I found long knife laying where I set. It was as long as Granpa’s and had a deer skin sheath that was fringed. Granma said Willow John gave it to me. That is the way Indians give gifts. They do not present it unless they don’t mean it and are doing it for a reason. They leave it for you to find. You would not get the gift if you didn’t deserve it, and so it is foolish to thank somebody for something you deserve, or make a show of it. Which is reasonable. (p.148)
4.2.2. The Characteristics of Colonial Education Seen in the Novel
The characteristics of colonial educational system are represented by the
educational system in the orphanage. It is very different from Cherokee’s
educational system which Little Tree learns from his Cherokee grandparents.
He commenced again. “We have a school you can attend. You will be assigned small work details. Everybody here does some work; something you are probably not accustomed to. You must follow the rules. If you break them, you will he punished.” He coughed. ”We have no Indian here, half-breed or otherwise. Also, your mother and father were not married. You are the first, the only bastard we have ever accepted.” (p.185)
He said that I did not have to go to the church services and the evening chapels; as bastards, according to the Bible, could not be saved. He said I could go to listen in on it more or less, if I was quiet and set in the back and taken no part whatsoever. (p.185)
The main rule of the orphanage is that there is no Indian. All children are
educated as White because White considers Indian as savage and cannot be saved
by God. The following quotation is the statement of the Reverent showing that
consideration.
He said,” You are born of evil, so I know repentance is not in you; but praise God, you are going to be taught not in inflict your evil upon Christians. You can’t repent... but you shall cry out! (p.191)
All of children in the orphanage must be very discipline unless they will get
