Analysis of Social and Inner Conflicts of The Major Characters in Chitra Divakaruni's 'Queen of Dreams'.

(1)

Universitas Kristen Maranatha

ABSTRACT

Dalam tugas akhir ini, saya menganalisis sebuah novel karya penulis wanita India-Amerika Chitra Divakaruni yang berjudul Queen of Dreams. Aspek yang dibahas adalah konflik sosial dan konflik psikologis. Queen of Dreams menggambarkan konflik sosial dan psikologis yang dialami oleh dua perempuan, anak dan ibu, sebagai imigran India yang berada di Amerika. Tokoh utama dalam novel ini adalah Rakhi dan ibunya, Ny. Gupta.

Konflik dalam novel tersebut dipicu oleh adanya perbedaan nilai budaya antara imigran generasi tua dan generasi muda. Generasi imigran muda mengadopsi nilai-nilai budaya Barat, sementara generasi tua masih sangat dipengaruhi tradisi kebudayaan India dalam perkerjaannya sebagai pembaca mimpi. Oleh karena itu, dua kebudayaan yang saling bertentangan tersebut menyebabkan konflik sosial dan psikologis. Konflik sosial di dalam novel tersebut terjadi antara ibu dan anak; anak dan bapak; serta Rakhi dan warga Amerika.

(2)

(3)

APPENDICES

SUMMARY OF CHITRA DIVAKARUNI’S _{QUEEN OF DREAMS}

The Queen of Dreams is a story of the two narrators as Indian immigrants who live in America. The first narrator, Rakhi, is an Indian girl who was born and has

grown up in America. During her childhood, she lives in one culture, American culture. Although she adopts American culture, she is curious to know about Indian culture. She finds that the Indian culture is very mysterious and this makes her

curious. She wants to know about it but her mother does not want to tell about it. So she tries to create it from what she sees in her mother’s job.

The second narrator, Rakhi’s mother, Mrs. Gupta, is as dream teller. She was born in and married to Mr. Gupta in Calcutta, India. After that, they move to America. She still keeps her hereditary culture. Because of her profession, she

becomes secretive and she has to obey a dream teller’s rules. So that is why, she faces some social conflicts with her daughter. Rakhi does not understand why her mother is

(5)

26

become worse. But it is ironic because the conflicts are resolved when Rakhi finds

her mother’s jo urnals after her mother’s death.

Mrs. Gupta not only faces social conflicts, but also inner conflicts. As a

dream teller, she has to choose between her talent and her husband’s love. On e of the rules are she cannot have sex with her husband. When her husband knows that she is a dream teller, he can accept it. But it is ironic because her husband becomes

drunkard.

One day, Rakhi’s mother dies by car accident. Rakhi blames her father

because she thinks that her father is the cause of her mother’s death. But her father tries to explain that he is irresponsible. The relationship between father and daughter becomes close after Rakhi believes her father’s story before the accident.

Rakhi not only faces social conflict with her father but also with American citizens. It happens because terrorist planes hit the World Trade Center and the Americans think Rakhi, her family and her Indian friends are identical with terrorists.

This is because they physically share the same characteristics of the terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center in New York.

Rakhi ‘s life is better because all the conflicts can be resolved and thanks to her mother’s journals so she can understand her mother’s past life and India.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR

(6)

27

she left Calcutta and came to the United States. She continued her education in the

field of English Language, receiving a master’s degree from Wright States University in Dayton, Ohio and a Ph. D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

For several years Chitra Divakaruni has been interested in women’s problems and has worked with Afgani women refugees and women suffering from families’ attack and shelters. Since 1991, she has been President of MAITRI, an organization

for South Asian women’s service in the San Fransisco area.

She writes several books of poetry. She produces a few works, including :

Dark Like The River (1987), The Reason For Nasturtiums (1990), Black Candle (1991), Arranged Marriage (!995), The Mistress of Spices (1997), Leaving Yuba City (1997), Sister of My Heart (1999), The Unknown Errors of Our Lives (2001), The

Vine of Desire (2002), and Nella: Victory Song (2002).

In 2000, Chitra Divakaruni became one of the judges for the prestigious National Book Award. Chitra Divakaruni receives a lot of awards, for example: The

American Book Award in 1996 for Arranged Marriage, The Best Books of 1997 from Los Angeles Times for The Mistress of Spices, and The Best American Short

(7)

Universitas Kristen Maranatha 1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

From the three literary genres, I decided to choose novel because it is easier to analyse and to read. Novel consists of events that occur in the world; that is why, it is more lifelike than drama or poetry. According to Harry Shaw in his Dictionary of Literary Terms ‘Novel is a lengthy fictitious prose narrative portraying character and

presenting an organized series of events and settings. Every novel is an account of life; every novel involves conflict, characters, action, setting, plot and themes’ (Shaw, 1927: 257).

(8)

immigrants living in America. Furthermore, the settings of all her novels are in the Bay Area of California, and her focus is on the lives of Indian women struggling with cultural shackles (http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/0385506821.asp//). I am also of the opinion that as a woman author, Divakaruni shows about women’s struggle as immigrants and this makes me interested in reading her novels.

The reasons I chose Queen of Dreams for my thesis is because the story mentioned is about conflicts of the Indian immigrants in America. The social conflicts occur between mother and daughter; father and daughter; and daughter and the society. Moreover, the inner conflict occurs between mother and herself. The daughter finds a barrier in her relationship with her mother. It is basically due to the fact that she adopts American cultures, while her mother still keeps her hereditary culture as a dream teller. Because of her mother’s job, her mother becomes secretive. I found that there is a praise for Queen of Dreams. ‘This story of an emotionally distant between mother and a daughter trying to find themselves transcend cultural boundaries. Queen of Dreams combines the elements that Chitra Divakaruni is known for, the Indian American experience. She effectively takes the reader into an immigrant culture but she also shows the common ground that lies in a world that some would find foreign’ (Denver Post) (http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/books/queen_of_dreams//).

(9)

(http://www.myschoolonline.com/page/0,1871,52991-134712-Universitas Kristen Maranatha 3

5614417,00.html//). The major characters in Queen of Dreams have a close relationship with each other and they have important roles which cause conflicts to occur.

I chose conflicts in Chitra Divakaruni’s Queens of Dreams because I can find that there are a lot of conflicts to be analysed. From the conflicts, I might know about Indian immigrants’ f eeling. Social and inner conflicts are the most prominent aspects in the novel which show the condition of the Indian immigrants who live in America. The definition of conflict, according to Harry Shaw in his Dictionary of Literary Terms, is: ‘The opposition of persons or forces upon which the action depends in

drama and fiction.’ (Shaw, 1972: 91) There are three types of conflicts. They are physical, social, and internal conflicts. Physical conflict is a struggle between man and the physical world. Furthermore, Shaw divides the social conflict into two types: the first one is a struggle between man and man, and the second one is a protagonist against society. The last type is internal or psychological conflict, which is a struggle between desires within a person. (Shaw, 1972: 92) I will focus my analysis on the social and inner conflicts because they are the most prominent aspects in the novel which show the condition of the Indian immigrants who live in America.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

(10)

1. What kind of conflicts happen to the major characters in Divakaruni’s Queen of Dreams?

2. What is the cause of the conflicts? 3. How are the conflicts resolved?

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

1. To show what kind of conflicts that happen to the major characters in Divakaruni’s Queen of Dreams.

2. To analyse the causes of the conflicts. 3. To present how the conflicts are resolved.

METHOD OF RESEARCH

(11)

ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS

This thesis begins with the Preface. The Abstract contains the core of the thesis in Indonesian. It is followed by the Introduction in Chapter One, where I mention the background of the study, the statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, the method of research and the organization of the thesis. The analysis of social and inner conflicts of the major characters in Chitra Divakaruni’s Queen of Dreams is presented in Chapter Two. I draw the conclusion of the analysis in Chapter

(12)

CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

Having discussed the social and inner conflicts that are faced by the major

characters, Rakhi and her mother, Mrs. Gupta, in Chitra Divakaruni’s Queen of

Dreams, I am aware that conflicts always happen in people’s daily life. As long as people live, people will face a lot of conflicts. And among them are social and inner

conflicts. Life without conflicts is like cooking without salt.

In this chapter, I would like to draw a conclusion of what I have analysed.

Chitra Divakaruni’s Queen of Dreams is about Indian immigrants who live in

America. The novel reflects the tendency of American people of Indian descent,

especially the first generation, who adopt Western culture and do not know about

their root, Indian culture. However, the older generation who are conservative still

clings to their root, Indian culture. Consequently, their values lead the two

(13)

I notice that the immigrants who come to a new country should adopt new

values in order not to face the social conflicts like those who keep their root. If they

still cling to their root, they will face social conflicts against their younger generation.

It is like what Mrs. Gupta and her daughter face.

Mrs. Gupta’s profession as a dream teller is the cause of the conflicts. Yet, I

notice that a dream teller is not an easy job because there is a consequence that she

has to bear although this is hard for her. And I know not all people can get this talent

as a dream teller because this is a gift. They can learn how to be a dream teller.

Without a gift, they cannot be a true dream teller. And to be a dream teller is a curse

as well because they are not supposed to have a space of love in their heart.

The mother in Queen of Dreams, Mrs. Gupta, experiences the inner conflict as

she cannot choose between her talent and her family. To be a dream teller, she has to

obey the rules, such as not to have sex with her husband, not to be allowed to tell

anyone about her job, and to put other people’s affairs first before her personal

affairs. Yet, she is so confused that she lies to her husband about her profession when

she gets married. I notice that she wants to be a dream teller and a wife concurrently.

This is a hard choice for her. Lying to her husband for a long time, she wants to tell

him the truth. When she does so, he feels shocked. Knowing the consequences he will

bear of marrying a dream teller, he still loves his wife. I notice this is his sacrifice

because he knows that his wife cannot perform her duties as a wife, one of which is

sleeping together with her husband. And yet, in my opinion, these social and inner

(14)

dream teller meaning that she is not married or she is married but leaving her

profession.

Showing her commitment as a dream teller, Mrs. Gupta has to obey the rules.

She suffers from the bottom of her heart. She wants to share her feelings with her

family but she cannot. She knows that her family does not understand her because she

is secretive. Not wanting to break her commitment as a dream teller, she pours out her

feelings and thoughts in her journals. She knows that her family will find it one day

after her death. She does hope that they will understand her. I notice through the

journals, all the conflicts that Mrs. Gupta faces are resolved.

From this novel, I also notice that Citra Divakaruni wants the readers to view

those terrible days from the point of view of immigrants and Indian-American whose

only ‘crime’ is due to their physical differences. I know that thousands of American

people died in the black September, but surely they cannot judge all coloured people

are terrorists. All coloured people suffer also from this. Not all coloured people are

terrorists because they share the similar physical characteristics of those of the

terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center. Chitra Divakaruni wants people to

know how it feels to be racially prejudiced. She wants white people not to think that

(15)

23

BIBLIOGRAPHY

References :

Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York : McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1972.

Electronic Cites :

Desi Journal. Queen of Dreams. 29 June 2006

<http://desijournal.com/book.asp?articled=117> Divakaruni, Chitra. Queen of Dreams. 20 March 2006

<http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/books/queen_of dreams/>

Family Education Network, Inc. 2000-2003. Literature and the Language Arts: Hand book of Literature. 25 March 2006.

<http://www.myschoolonline.com/page/0,1871,52991-134712-5614417,00.html>

Farrell, Shaun. Queen of Dreams. 29 June 2006

<http://www.desijournals.com/book.asp?articled=117> Indian Child. Culture of India. 29 June 2006

(16)

24

Lotfen, Marie Hashima. Queen of Dreams. 1 March 2006

<http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/0385506821.asp> Lynchburg City School. East vs West. 29 June 2006

<http://www.lynchburg.org/curric/esl/eastwest.htm> VG. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. 1 April 2006

<http://www.voices.cla.umn.edu/vg/Bios/entries/divakaruni_chitra_banerjee.h tm>

Primary Text :