Introduction
Do you still remember who the longest ruler in Indonesia was? Have you ever
wondered what happened to our homeland for 3.5 centuries under the Dutch
colonialists? A long time ago, the nations of the world were attracted to dominate
Indonesia, especially the western nations. It is caused by the location of Indonesia
which is strategic and abundant in natural wealth. Among the Western nations that
come to Indonesia, the Netherlands, desired to control Indonesia. The experience
of the Dutch colonial era is shown in Dutch, American, even in Indonesian literary
works. The example of literary works which discuss the Dutch colonial era are
Multatuli (Max Havelaar), P.A. Daum (uit de suiker in de tabak/ dari Gula ke
Tembakau), Hella Haasse (Oeroeg and Sleuteoog), Louis Couperus (De Stille
Kracht/ DSK) or Mas Marcodikromo (Student Hijo), Abdul Moeis (Salah
Asoehan), Pramoedya Ananta Toer (Bumi Manusia), Lian Gouw (Only a Girl), dll
(Murwani 1).
Indonesian people cannot forget the Dutch Colonial Era, because the Dutch
seized property of the inhabitants; they also robbed Indonesians‘ self-esteem by
system applied throughout the population of the Dutch colonial era into three
racial categories; the first is the Europeans or Westerns who were on the top of the
stage, then the Foreign Orientals (Chinese, Indian, and Arab) were in the middle,
and the Inlanders (or natives) were on the lower end (186). Because of the
stratification system, it led all of the classes under the Dutch ruling class to feel
inferior.
Post-colonialism, which was founded by Edward Said, basically was against
the binary division or binary opposition: Orient and Occident. Those portrayals
are represented as the colonized and the colonizer. The Orient, which refers to
Eastern countries, is described in negative terms. The west has misrepresented the
Orient as inferior, marginalized, or ―other‖ to the West. But, behind the
marginalization, actually there is a complicated and seemingly contradictory
nature of the relationship between the colonized and the colonizers. It is shown in
Only a Girl, where the colonized (Chinese family) imitate the colonizers‘ culture
in terms of life style, culture, the way of thinking, etc. Besides that, although they
are colonized, by mimicking the colonizers‘, they also assume themselves as the
colonizers and apply a colonial gaze which is judging the eastern (natives) with
the term ―Post-colonial‖ and say Post-colonial is ―all the culture affected by the
imperial process from the moment of colonization to the present day‖ (qtd. in
Sawant 120). In other words, the cultures of the colonized people were affected by
the colonizer‘s culture, or the colonized even mimicked the colonizers since they
interacted with them for such a long time.
The story of Nanna‘s family, grabbed my interest. I like the background of
their lives as Chinese who try to ‗survive‘ in Indonesia. Reading through, I deeply
followed Nanna‘s family‘s attitudes and thoughts in their lives and struggles, and
it triggered me to think critically toward their reasons in doing mimicry. The
colonizer‘s stereotype makes Nanna‘s family bravely transform to the colonizers‘
‗tongue‘ and culture, a new world which is different from theirs. Realizing the
transformation of culture led to a mixed feeling which led me to use Homi K.
Bhabha‘s theory.
Using Homi K. Bhabha‘s Post-colonialism theory, I will examine how his idea
of mimicry and ambivalence is shown in Only a Girl. I choose this novel because
it is close to the Indonesian context, besides that the story also talks about the
inferior-Chinese family who adopts Dutch culture and act like they are superior
they were second class based on the Dutch class stratification; besides that the
Chinese family belongs to the Eastern ones in terms of location and the culture;
that‘s why the Chinese family in Only a Girl novel is inferior compared to the
Dutch who are on the first level, the superior.
In addition to Homi K. Bhabha, I also apply Antonio Gramsci‘s theory of
hegemony and racist theory by Bulhan, to explore the reason of why mimicry is
done by Nanna‘s family in terms of surviving in Indonesia in the Dutch Colonial
era. Since the Dutch came to Indonesia, they always tried to take over
Indonesians. One of their ways is spreading the belief that the East and the West
are two different things. The East is portrayed as uneducated, mystical, and
irrational, and the West is rational, moral, civilized. In addition, they make the
portrayals seem to be true and natural. Through those portrayals, the colonizer
wants to make the colonized to acknowledge their inferiority, so they are unable
to hold their culture and change it to the Dutch culture which they perceived as the
superior one.
The objective of this study is to analyze how and why Nanna‘s family, as the
imitate the culture of the Dutch colonizer. In addition, this study also proves that
Ambivalence does not always disturb postcolonial power. Significantly, the
finding of this study is to help readers, especially English Department students
who are concerned about literature, to gain a better understanding of how and why
mimicry and ambivalence happens. Thus, by understanding the actions, readers
are expected to understand that actually culture can also affect imperialism, as
what Bhabha says ―the cultures are not discrete phenomena, but always in contact
with one another‖ (Tibile 81). So, in the other words, the purity of culture is
something that cannot be maintained, because one culture has been influenced by
other cultures. In addition, if the certain culture tries to adopt and imitate the other
culture, there must be some factors behind it. Furthermore, since academic papers
about Post-colonialism in Only a Girl are extremely rare, even nonexistent, I
believe that this research is badly needed for those who are interested in the
similar theme. Although the word ‗post‘ in post-colonialism means after, but the
theory can be applied in this era and the era after us (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and
Theoretical Discussion
1. Post-colonialism
Post-colonialism belongs to a new literary theory; it began to recognize since
1990s (Brizee and Tompkins). Interestingly, it has become one of the most
expanding and challenging areas of literary and cultural studies today.
Post-colonialism happens when there is a clash between two cultures and it is
characterized by the issue of power and control. In this situation, the colonizers
apply as the Center and the colonized become marginalized. The theory of
Post-colonialism, which focuses on the marginalized and the issue of inequality, is one
of the well-known theories in literature. As an example, Westerners viewed the
Eastern as the ―Other‖ and put themselves as the center. That concept is based on
the term Orientalism. Orientalism created an image of the Orient as immoral,
backward, and irrational (Said 58). Actually, the Orient is a concept constructed
by the Westerners or Europeans. As Edward Said stated in his book, called
Orientalism, ―Orientalism is a way of coming to terms with the Orient that is
based on the Orient‘s special place in European Western experience‖ (Said 1).
Post-colonialism theory. Orientalism is very important and plays a crucial role in
the study and development of Postcolonial criticism and literature (Khan and
Khan 1). Orientalism is ―the term used by Edward Said for the assessment of the
attitudes and perspectives of the Western scholars, or Orientalists, to legitimize
colonial aggression by intellectually marginalized and dominated Eastern
peoples‖ (Khan and Khan 2).
2. Mimicry
However, the other well-known Post-colonial critic, Homi K. Bhabha, stated that
colonialism is not only seen as oppression, domination, and violence, but also
from varied cultural contact and interaction (Tibile 2). According to Sawant, from
the late 1970s, ―Post-colonialism also has been used by literary critics to discuss
the various cultural effects of colonization‖ (120). The concept of ―
Post-colonialism deals with the effects of colonization on cultures and societies‖
(Sawant 120). One of the effects is mimicry. In Of Mimicry and Man: The
Ambivalence of Colonial Discourse, Bhabha defines mimicry as ―a subject of
difference that is almost the same, but not quite‖ (86). The concept of mimicry
postcolonial critics; all of his ideas reflect how the colonized empower the
colonizer authority (Tibile 72). The basic meaning of the word ‗mimicry‘ is
imitation of one object to another. In addition, Bhabha says ―mimicry reveals
something in so far as it is distinct from what might be called an itself that is
behind. The effect of mimicry is camouflage…. It is not a question of
harmonizing with the background, but against a mottled background, of becoming
mottled— exactly like the technique of camouflage practiced in human warfare‖
(99). Bhabha‘s point is that mimicry produces something which is different with
its original form. Mimicry is a crucial term in Post-colonial theory, because the
relationship between the colonizer and the colonized leads to the ambivalent
relationship (Sawant 123), which means complex and two opposing drives or
feelings often exist in the relationship. So, although the word mimicry means
resemblance, but at the end it is far from the meaning itself.
Since we were dehumanized by the Europeans, the colonizers, but the idea
that foreign things are superior is still applied nowadays. It is contradictory with
the word ―post‖ in Post-colonialism, which means after (Sawant 120). But, in this
case the theory happens until now, in the ―future‖, in many ways and in many
Kumar 119). In other words, mimicry does not simply copy or imitate the object,
but it also has double vision which is having two goals (resemblance and
mockery), and the forked tongue which means what they say is different from
what is on their heads. According to Bhabha, mimicry is imitating language,
culture, manners and ideas in an exaggerative way (Tibile 87). It means that
mimicry is not the colonized‘s servage, since it creates repeated actions with
difference (Tibile 87). This mimicry is also ―a form of mockery as Bhabha‗s P
ost-colonial theory is a comic approach to ost-colonial discourse because it mocks and
undermines the ongoing pretensions of colonialism and empire‖ (Tibile 87). In
short, mimicry is one reaction toward stereotype of the Orient and the Occident.
3. Ambivalence
In addition to mimicry, there is also ambivalence which appears in the
novel. The term ‗ambivalence‘ first was developed in psychoanalysis to describe a
continual fluctuation between wanting one thing and wanting its opposite (Sawant
4). Ambivalence is sometimes called ―in-betweenness‖ where it is in a position
that is not 100% agreeing with one side or feeling entirely one way. It describes
between colonizers and colonized. Ambivalence sometimes is used synonymously
with hybridity. Ambivalence is a crucial concept in Post-colonial theory which
associated with cultural signs, colonial practices and the colonized cultures (Tibile
79).
Bhabha denies Fanon‗s idea which talks about the black who are asked to
be ‗white‘ is part of the colonial power and says that it can destroy colonial
hegemony. He even emphasizes that there are many indeterminacy in the
relationship of the colonizer and the colonized. So through hibridity, here the
colonized could speak and answer the question of Spivak which is “Can the
Subaltern Speak?” (Tibile 82). I think the word ‗indeterminacy‘ there means a
mixed feeling, so the colonized have feelings of both love and hate toward the
colonizers. Although the colonized try to be similar with the colonizer, but they
still keep their difference. So, sometimes the colonized feel in limbo.
4. Hegemony
The next theory is hegemony. The idea of hegemony is discussed by Anthonio
Gramsci who was an Italian (Green). Hegemony is not only related to economic
is like ―an internalized form of social control which makes certain views seem
'natural' or invisible so that they hardly seem like views at all, just 'the way things
are‖ (Barry 165). In other words, hegemony means that citizens believe that they
have freedom, their position in society and their state of life is where they are
supposed to be. But actually they do not realize that they are being controlled and
are bound by government‘s ideology and power. As a result, the colonized cannot
freely express their thoughts and life, and they are less likely to protest or fight
back.
Summary of Text
Only a Girl novel tells about the Ong family who lived in Bandung in the
colonial Dutch East Indies. Nana had two sons and two daughters named Chip,
Ting, Sue and Carolien. Prosperous is the right word to describe the family,
because the two sons had a high position in the government due to their late father
who also worked for the Dutch. And Sue, the older sister, was married at 16 but
made the oldest son, Chip, has an important role in determining the decision,
including determining a future husband for Carolien.
But Carolien was really stubborn; she preferred her boyfriend named Po Han.
Carolien‘s family disagreed with their relationship, because they thought Po Han
was only a salesman who did not have a steady job. Besides that, Ocho, Po Han‘s
grandmother also didn‘t like Carolien, because her strong Chinese culture made
her think that a woman should not work, but that she should stay at home and do
housework. Despite the disapproval of both families, Carolien and Po Han
remained married on Carolien‘s birthday and lived in Po Han‘s house. While they
were on their honeymoon, Ocho visited a dukun to prevent Carolien‘s pregnancy.
But it did not work out, and Carolien gave birth to baby girl named Jenny.
Carolien had a big dream for Jenny; she wanted Jenny to be a lawyer; that‘s why
Carolien always demanded Po Han to leave his job as a photographer because
their financial situation was getting worse. But Po Han didn‘t want to, then
Carolien divorced him and looked for a job to raise Jenny. One day, Po Han‘s
hard work paid off; he won the prize to go and study to Holland.
When the Japanese had an alliance with Germany, and the Japanese
Unfortunately, Chip also was proven to work for the Dutch and showed an
uncooperative attitude, so he died at the hands of the Japanese. But after the
American bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, their lives began to improve.
Jenny‘s school is reopened and she could back to school again.
For almost 10 years Carolien didn‘t meet Po Han, and then Po Han was
back from Holland. And Carolien asked Jenny to see her father and ask him for
school fees. And after that, Jenny‘s relationship with her father was getting closer
and better. But still, Ocho didn‘t like Jenny and told her that her parents got
divorced because of her and because her mother demanded too much to Po Han,
so Po Han could not be a great photographer. It made Po Han get mad and he told
Ocho to stay away from Jenny. But not long after that, Ocho died because she got
badly injured after falling off the porch.
When the Dutch formally recognized the sovereignty of Indonesia, the
Dutch system was gradually abolished, and the Ong family got other problems.
Jenny, for example, had difficulty when suddenly the school changed the language
of instruction into Bahasa Indonesia, whereas Dutch was the only language that
she knew. Then Els and Eddie decided to marry as a Dutch and Indo without the
changed. She became such a wild girl who kissed and made love with her
boyfriend. And misfortune increased again, with the death of Nanna.
Finally, Jenny got a scholarship to study abroad in America. There, she
was going to become a veterinarian. And her father supported her; although at the
first, her mother disagreed with her decision, because she wanted her to become a
lawyer. But at last, she succeeded to make Jenny to become an independent
woman.
Discussion
This paper examines the element of Post-colonialism that exists in Only a Girl
novel. This novel is written by Lian Gouw to tell the story about natives,
especially Chinese who live in Indonesia in the Dutch Colonial Era. In this novel,
there is a borrowing of culture or cultural imitation toward the Dutch; for example
the Chinese characters mimic the Dutch‘ language and culture. Since they adopt
the Dutch culture, it makes Nanna‘s family declares themselves that they are part
of the Dutch. As a result, they apply colonial gaze by looking down at the natives
and low-class Chinese. Not only that, Nanna‘s family feels that they have power
and freedom. Unfortunately, those power and freedom are unreal; they cannot be
by the Dutch. In addition, there is also ambivalence, or a feeling of both love and
hate toward the Dutch. So the characters sometimes feel ‗in-betweenness‘; they
imitate the Dutch but in some cases they still hold tightly to their Chinese culture.
1. Mimicry in the Characters of Only a Girl Novel
In the novel, mimicry of language happens in Nanna‘s family. They master
the Dutch language because they have ever joined the Dutch school in the Dutch
Colonial era. In addition, the Dutch language is the medium of communication; in
other word, Dutch is the only language that the family used. It is shown in this
quote,
―In Nanna‘s house only the servants spoke Malay, everyone else in the family spoke Dutch.‖ (Gouw 21)
Even, the myna bird, Caesar and Claus dog, are trained to speak and understand
the Dutch language. This situation supports the proof that the Dutch is the
dominant language in the family.
―The dogs began barking furiously while Mundi (the inlanders servant) announced Ting‘s arrival with another Dutch guest. The myna
bird tried to calm the dogs. ―Af Caesar, af Claus,‖ she shouted. But the
Although Nanna‘s family is Chinese, but Nanna‘s children could not speak
Chinese. Chinese language is supposed to be their mother tongue that is replaced
by the Dutch. They are willing to pawn their identity to something that they
perceive as the superior. It is shown in this quote where Carolien and her
daughter, Jenny, struggle to understand the Chinese language:
―The woman yelled something in Chinese over her shoulder. Loud voices called answers from the back of the house and a couple appeared in the doorway. The three of them carried on a conversation in Chinese while giving Carolien the once over. Carolien wished she could speak Chinese. In their zeal to adapt to Dutch ways, her family had abandoned the Chinese language and she had not needed it until now.‖ (Gouw 160)
Seeing the word ―wished‖ in the quote above shows that Carolien actually does
not understand her birth language, that is Chinese. She struggles to figure out
what the Chinese woman said in Chinese. In addition to Carolien, her daughter,
Jenny also experienced the same thing.
―‗Hong, Hong, li-li. Juliana‘s mother clapped her hands and held
her arms out. When Juliana buried her face deeper into Carolien‘s neck, the woman patted Juliana on her bottom, making her cry even more. The boys clung to their aunt who addressed her sister in Chinese with agitated
statements. ‗What‘s she saying? Why is she making Julie cry?‘ Jenny
Here, we can see that when Juliana‘s mother tries to call Juliana using Chinese
name calling, it makes Juliana cry because she is not familiar with the Chinese
language. Since Carolien found Juliana, she raised Juliana using the Dutch
language. Then, it made Jenny who saw the situation ask to herself ‗What‘s she
saying? Why is she making Julie cry?‘. It shows that actually she is frustrated
since she does not understand Chinese language and she is worried about what
Juliana‘s mother‘s saying which makes her sister cry. In short, Carolien and Jenny
do not understand their birth language; they have switched their tongue into the
colonizers‘ tongue. In my own view, Carolien and Jenny‘s situation is so pathetic,
since they are kind of strangers in their own land; Carolien and Jenny are Chinese,
the same as the other Chinese people they met, but when the people spoke
Chinese, Carolien and Jenny feel that they are outsiders. Despite the fact that
Nanna‘s family comes from Chinese, Dutch language is the only language they
knew. Besides that, the Chinese language which is supposed to be Nanna‘s
family‘s mother tongue is replaced by the Dutch language, since Chinese was
forbidden from being used in the family. Clark states “Young children will
become bilingual when there is a real need to communicate in two languages and
need.” In other words, if we apply Clark‘s saying in this context, Clark implies
that the Dutch language becomes the mother tongue in Nanna‘s family, not their
second language, because they have even already forgotten and never used the
Chinese language.
Language represents culture. That statement also is reflected in the novel.
So, they do not only speak Dutch in everyday life, but they also adapted the Dutch
culture; for example table manner by putting the napkin in their laps.
―Carolien crumpled the napkin in her lap.‖ (Gouw 14)
The quote above concedes that Nanna‘s family also adapts Dutch culture; they eat
like the Dutch who are putting the napkin in their laps when they eat.
Furthermore, Nanna‘s family serves Dutch food as their daily menu.
―‗Isn‘t this one of your favorite dishes?‘…Jenny nodded. Els had
told her (Jenny) that Dutch knights used to eat this dish when they fought their feudal wars. The potatoes, carrots, green beans, and cabbage were boiled with a side of salted pork. The dish was finished with a plump ring
of wurst.‖ (Gouw 136)
Through the quote above, we can see that Nanna‘s family serves the menu that is
adapted to the Dutch dishes and tastes which consist of potatoes and bread which
are special characteristics of Western or European cuisine. Not only that, the
arrangement of food, like the appetizer, main menu, and dessert, which is part of
the Western and European style.
―‘I‘ll stop by the Dutch bakery on my way home and get us some creampuffs for tonight‘s dessert.‘ said Carolien.‖ (Gouw 180)
In addition to table manner, their imitations can be seen through their
names.
―Sue and I (Carolien) have Dutch names, so do my nieces and
nephew.‖ (Gouw 56)
Carolien‘s statement shows the fact that the whole family has their own Dutch
name which is different from the names on their birth certificates. It is because
when they were in a Dutch school, the teachers had changed the name to suit their
tongue and habit (Gouw 14).
Besides naming, Nanna‘s family also imitates the Dutch habits:
―At bedtime, Eddie read Jenny stories. The family had adopted the Dutch
habit of reading for pleasure.‖ (Gouw 77)
Through the quote above, we can see that before Jenny is going to sleep, Eddie
usually reads a story for her. Besides that, in the quote also says that reading for
pleasure is part of the Dutch habit. Well maybe it is true, but what makes me
read the stories of the Grimm brothers (Gouw 77) and Uncle Tom‘s Cabin in the
Dutch version for Jenny (Gouw 137). Those proofs emphasizes that Nanna‘s
family also adopts the Dutch habit, because if they still assume themselves as a
Chinese, they are supposed to read their Chinese stories, not the Dutch ones.
Another example of adopting the Dutch habit is kissing in the public.
―Jan Bouwman lifted the veil from Els‘ face and kissed Els on her lips in front of everyone in church. Chinese people never showed physical affection in public, Jenny had never seen a man and a woman kiss before.‖ (Gouw215)
Seeing Jenny‘s statement who said that she had never seen a man and a woman
kiss, and the quote also highlights that Chinese never show physical affection in
public, make me believe that what Els did implies the West or Dutch style, not the
Chinese one. In short, what Nanna‘s family did and how they lived their lives,
they put the Dutch way as their orientation or guide.
The Dutch‘s guide also influences Nanna‘s family‘s way of thinking. In
the past, Chinese women had a hard time in their homeland. Chinese women faced
oppression and were treated as the property of the husbands and the only thing
they could do is produce sons. So, in other words, women at that time would
think that it is just a waste of their time (Harper-Hinton 9). However, the story
demonstrates the Chinese culture as the other way round; Chinese culture doesn‘t
apply in Nanna‘s family,
―…with your Lyceum diploma, you‘ll be able to enroll at the university in Leiden and study law. You can be one of the first woman lawyers in the Indies—― (Gouw 120)
That quote is spoken by Carolien to her daughter, Jenny; she allows Jenny to join
the school, as Nanna did for her children. The statement opposes Meij‘s saying
that daughters in old Chinese families are useless, because they prefer to have
sons in order to continue the family lineage. Here, Carolien emphasizes that her
family is not similar to the other old Chinese families, because she does not only
allow her daughter to join the school, but she also has a big dream for Jenny; she
wants her child to be a lawyer. In short, the quote proves that Nanna‘s family is
more modern, because they have left the old Chinese culture. In the novel Nanna
also treated her children equally in terms of education, which is different from
other Chinese families who apply the Patriarchy system; the status of a girl is
always regarded as unimportant in Chinese families.
have been left somewhere like this baby just because she was a girl.‖ (Gouw 147)
Here, we can see the difference of Nanna‘s family and other Chinese families,
where a girl in Nanna‘s family is still given a place in the family, and the other
Chinese family prefers to leave the baby girl. The statement supports the proof
that Nanna‘s family is a modern family by adopting the Dutch way of thinking;
they are different from the other Chinese families who still maintain the old
Chinese assumption that a girl is useless in the families. In short, Nanna‘s family
does not only mimic the Dutch physically, but also mentally.
Even though, those examples shows that the colonized try to mimic the
colonizer, but it does not mean that the mimic men or the colonized are slavish;
they only follow what the subject did.
―Chip was assistant to the chief accountant of the Department of War and Welfare. Ting held a similar position in the Department of Communications. Backed by her brothers‘ support, and a glowing reference from her employer, Carolien was soon hired as a private
secretary to a department head in Chip‘s office.‖ (Gouw 72)
In the above quote, we can see that Chip, Ting and Carolien work for the Dutch
―Until this point, being enlisted in the KNIL only meant Eddie wore a Dutch army uniform when he left for work in the morning. This
changed in December when he was called to active duty.‖ (Gouw 89)
Those evidences emphasize that Nanna‘s family are not only ‗the mimic men‘
who imitate language, habits, ideology, and culture of the Dutch. But they also
show their skills and abilities, which can be equated with the Dutch natives. By
working in the Dutch office, Nanna‘s family seems like they are affirming their
identity to be different with the inlanders and breaking the representation of
laziness, stupidity, backwardness, and tradition; they want to show that they are
also proper and at the same position with the Dutch or at least above the natives
and can erase the Orient stereotypes in their lives. Besides that, this point seems to
emphasize Nanna‘s family‘s lives change to be better in term of material and they
really enjoy it.
2. Behind the word Mimicry
The presence of the Dutch in Indonesia made Indonesians feel foolish
enough. When the Dutch came to Indonesia, they found natives and Chinese who
are different with them in terms of physical appearances and culture. But the
of facing the marginalized. The binary oppositions of the West and the East can be
found in the novel also.
―When her sons had moved the family into this house and provided her with all the amenities a Dutch family enjoyed, she had seen the Dutch lifestyle as a way to make life easier, better. She enjoyed the electric lighting, running water and flush toilets, refrigerator and gas stove.‖ (Gouw 44)
The last sentence of the statement above highlights that after adopting Dutch
culture, it brings Nanna‘s family to an advanced family where their house has
sophisticated things; for example refrigerator, gas stove, electric lighting, etc,
make their lives easier. Implicitly, the Dutch try to reveal themselves as the
civilized culture and the educated by showing their advanced lives.
In addition to the Dutch‘s portrayal, the Eastern people especially Chinese and
natives in the novel are portrayed different from the Dutch. Reading through the
novel, we can see that Indonesians and Chinese are just servants (Gouw 133),
pedicab (Gouw 159) and delman drivers (Gouw 11), and even tofu seller (Gouw
157-158) which are indicated as uneducated. Moreover, in the novel the Eastern
are described as irrational and mystical which is shown in the quote below,
Through the quote, we can see that Ocho, Chinese woman, who is Po Han‘s
grandmother, tries to ask a dukun for help to prevent Carolien‘s pregnancy. It
implies that the Eastern are irrational and mystical, since the West or Europeans
do not do such a weird and an unusual thing. That is why, it makes the Eastern far
from the word ‗normal and rational‘ in the eye of the West and Europeans.
Obviously, the representations are negative stereotypes which portray the West in
an unfairly superior one and shows that they are racist, as what Bulhan says
that,―a society is racist if imaginary or real differences of race are accentuated,
these differences are assumed absolute and considered in terms of superior and
inferior, and these are used to justify inequality, exclusion, or domination.‖ (qtd.
in Jiwani 5).
By creating stereotypes and prejudices, Indonesians and Chinese are made
to believe that they are in an inferior rank while the Dutch occupies a superior
rank. It indicates that the power of hegemony occurs among the inferior class,
especially Nanna‘s family. Hegemony is promoted by Antonio Gramsci; it is
domination by consent; in other words, the ruling class uses ideological power to
Griffiths, and Tiffin 107). Ideological power refers to the ways in which the
society as a whole adopts values, ideas, beliefs of the dominant class through
schools, churches, etc (Stoddart 195). Dominance is not always in the form of
threat or force, but it can also be through the way of peace by introducing values
which are considered dominant. Using ‗consent‘, it creates a greater impact rather
than using coercion, since the ideology is more embedded in the society‘s minds,
while ‗coercion‘ only has a meaningless effect (Fantoni 4). As a result it makes
hegemony be seen as a truth, natural and something unquestionable. That‘s why
the stratification system which put the Nanna‘s family in the inferior class, while
the Dutch the superior one is seen as the natural state of life. Seeing that situation,
it‘s not surprising if Nanna‘ family adopts the Dutch culture, since they believe
that the Dutch culture is the best one and that‘s what everyone agrees on. Bulhan
assumes that Nanna‘s family may be ashamed of their own culture which
occupied in the inferior level, hence it is natural if they want to find their identity
and voice in the dominant culture by mimicking the Subject (Pather 10). By
adopting the Dutch culture, Nanna‘s family put themselves in the dominant group,
the superior, and classified the other groups as the ‗Other‘ or ‗Orient‘ which are
―Nanna picked up the open newspapers from the coffee table. A large picture of Sukarno appeared on one of the pages. She couldn‘t read the article, but from listening to the radio and conversations around the dinner table, she knew that while the war with Japan was over, the Dutch were now fighting the native uprising. The natives, under the leadership of Sukarno, had denounced the colonial Dutch government and proclaimed The Netherlands‘ Indies to be the Republic of Indonesia. Nanna shook her head. How would peasants and servants be able to manage government?‖ (Gouw 118)
The statement above shows that Nanna‘s family sees the natives homogeneously
based on their opinion and judgment (Khan and Khan 3). As stated by Verma, Zec
and Skinner argue that ―prejudice may be described as favorable or unfavorable
emotions, attitudes and beliefs, which are based on a lack of prior knowledge,
understanding and reason‖ (qtd. in Pather 2). The statement also indicates that the
ideology of East and the West/the European discourage people, especially
Nanna‘s family from thinking rationally. Since in the novel, the natives are
painted as the servants, pedicab and delman drivers, it makes Nanna concludes
that all natives are the same which are subaltern classes. That is why, although the
uprising is lead by Sukarno, the president of Indonesia, but he is still a native and
Nanna views all natives as other peasants and servants. In addition, Nanna‘s
family also doubts the natives‘ ability and they even called the natives as
―The Indonesian independence was a hot topic of conversation between the adults. Caroline and Ting were convinced that the new government wouldn‘t last long. ‗How can you expect a bunch of ignorant inlanders to rule?‘ Ting was fond of saying.‖ (Gouw 205)
The statement of Ting ‗How can you expect a bunch of ignorant inlanders to
rule?‘ sounds like he does not believe that Indonesians can control the country. He
called them as a bunch of ignorant inlanders. The word ‗inlander‘ is a term to call
a native which is used by the Dutch in the Dutch colonial era. Although the word
‗inlander‘ has a similar meaning with a native, but it includes the element of
humiliation. Since every time Nanna‘s family complain or get angry, they always
speak ill of Indonesians by calling them ‗inlanders‘.
It can be seen in the novel, when Mr. Sardjono asked to Jenny and other Chinese
or Indonesian students to see their birth certificates whether their written names
are different from their names calling (Gouw 208). Then, when Jenny asked to her
mother to see it, Carolien is angry and says ‗What‘s the stupid inlander talking
about?‘. Not only that, when Jenny sassed Mr. Sardjono and she is given detention
slip, Carolien also call Mr. Sardjono using the term ‗inlander‘; ‗You shouldn‘t let
In addition to Ting, Jenny also doubts the Indonesian teacher‘s teaching skills and
she also uses the word ‗inlander‘ to refer to her teacher.
―She (Jenny) checked her roster. She would have Sardjono for two classes. She never had an inlander as a teacher and was doubtful that he had
anything to teach her.‖ (Gouw 182)
Both quotes above show how Ting and Jenny look down to the natives. In my
own view, Ting and Jenny are enslaved by their superiority; that is why they
always do monitoring and criticizing toward the natives. The stereotype of the
Orient and the Occident allows them to keep judging and ignore them to criticize
the natives objectively. Through their superiority, it allows Nanna‘s family to
confirm that they are more civilized than the others and so they claim themselves
as different from the other, the marginalized. The sense of superiority can be seen
in this quote below,
―‘The Dutch,‘ the Indonesian boy (Muchtar) spoke haltingly and
with a heavy native accent, ‗are also not trustworthy.‘
‗Can you clarify your statement?‘ Kees leaned on the podium.
‗Just look at what happened last year. In January, the Dutch told us that they are willing to work out our independence under a ceasefire. In December, they attacked us without warning or provocation. Even the Americans are on our side!‘
teacher. The handful of Chinese teens leaned across their desk and curiously observed everyone‘s reaction.
Jenny fastened her gaze on the large portrait of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands hanging above the blackboard. The Dutch had always stood for everything right, honest, and admirable. She didn‘t particularly like
Muchtar, but she knew his facts were correct.‖ (Gouw 219-220)
The quote above tells about Muchtar who is an inlander; he kind of expresses his
annoyance because the Dutch cannot be trusted; the Dutch say they want to help
Indonesia to gain independence, but in contrast they attack Indonesians. Hearing
Muchtar‘s statement, it makes his Dutch classmates prefer to keep silent. But
different with her Dutch classmates, Jenny prefers to look at the picture of the
Netherlands Queen which implies that Jenny is kind of proud to be part of the
Dutch whom she admires. Although the number of Dutch people are less than
number of Indonesians, the Dutch succeeded to dominate Indonesia. Jenny knew
that the Dutch bring harm to Indonesian, but she still believes that whiteness is
superior and the Dutch are always in the high position. Although the Dutch shows
The quote above states that after staying in the Jap camp, Mrs. Van Houten who is
Dutch had caught lice. Although Jenny clearly see that there are lice in Mrs. Van
Houten‘s hair, but because of racism or the portrayal of East and West, it makes
Jenny keeps accusing for the natives. Not only that, the statement highlight the
stereotype of the East who is dirty, so it is natural if they had caught lice because
they could not take care of their bodies and indeed they do not know how to do it.
Accepting ideologies set by the Dutch as natural is the case for Nanna‘s
family. They do not realize that hegemony shapes and changes their lives. It is
shown in Nanna‘s family who has their own Dutch names.
―Only Nanna called Carolien by her birth name. She had been named Ong Kway Lien at birth. According to Chinese custom her family name, Ong, came first. The teachers of the Dutch School for Girls had altered the name to suit their tongue and habit. Thus, Ong Kway Lien became Carolien Ong.‖ (Gouw 14)
The statement clearly shows that hegemony operates through the schools too.
Using school as a medium of operation is part of the Dutch strategy to erase
Chinese custom, since in Chinese the family name came first, but the statement
shows that it was placed at the end. Through replacing Carolien‘s birth name into
the Dutch identity. Nanna‘s family unawareness proves that the power of
‗consent‘ is so powerful. Not only that, Dutch‘s interest to change the colonized‘s
identity has spread in Nanna‘s family, it appears in the statement below.
―Jenny‘s education was one of the reasons Carolien had joined her
brothers in working for the resistance.‖ (Gouw 119-120)
Through the statement above, we can see the ideological power tries to control
Carolien‘s mindset. She is made to believe that the Dutch things are always the
superior, includes education matter. Carolien thinks that she is free and has
freedom to choose her own life, but the fact is she is trapped in the European
world. So, she could not think anything, unless the Dutch. It is shown in
Carolien‘s desire to send her daughter to the Dutch school, she even willing to
work for the Dutch, although she may not like her job. Not only that, but Carolien
also has a plan to send Jenny abroad to Holland.
―The authorities had assured Carolien that the job little to no risk. Still, she was apprehensive about Jenny‘s safety. She accepted the assignment in the hope of earning privileges that would help Jenny‘s future. Her work for the Dutch government would make Jenny eligible for financial aid and scholarships for schooling in Holland.‖ (Gouw 130)
Through those quotes above, Broman and Jackson et al celebrate the fact that
Pederson 49). That is why it makes Carolien follow the prestige that everything
which is related to the Dutch is always the superior and only believe in the Dutch
schools which have higher standards than the schools for the natives or Chinese
(Gouw 120). Here, we can see Carolien is being bounded to an ideology where
she believes that they are being successful if she enrolls her daughter to the Dutch
school. Even just for parenting advice; discussing about the ovulation process
with Jenny, Carolien also needs to open a series of Dutch pedagogy books (Gouw
172). It is so surprising since it is just the simplest thing, but she cannot decide or
choose her own way, and she still needs the Dutch thing to tell them that. In sum,
then, we can see how the Dutch mindsets control the inferior‘s lives especially
Carolien‘s. She has a hard life; since she is tied by invisible limitations which
make her cannot express herself because of the superiority of the Europeans that is
embedded in her mind, so she has no bravery to go out of line. In addition, it
shows how great the power of hegemony is to successfully paralyze the colonized
ones common sense and unconsciously change their mindsets. Through that
limitation, it forces the colonized to surrender and unable to fight for their culture,
that actually they are being controlled by the colonizer and are the object of
colonization.
3. Ambivalence
In addition, there is also ambivalence which emerges in Only a Girl novel.
As previously stated, mimicry is not simple, but complex. When the colonization
‗forces‘ the colonized to imitate or mimic the colonizer‘s language, manners,
ideas, and culture, it will lead to various impressions toward the colonized, and
the result is ‗blurred copy‘ (Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin 125). Despite the word
‗mimicry‘ having a meaning of resemblance in terms of behavior, color, etc, Homi
K. Bhabha uses it to mean ―exaggerated copying of language, culture, manners
and ideas‖ (qtd. in Huddart 39). The word exaggeration means that the way the
colonized mimicked the colonizer is similar but not identical. Moreover, the
concept of mimicry is produced around ambivalent. In other words, the result of
mimicry is in-betweenness or in limbo; a mixed feeling of love and hate toward a
person. Using Homi K. Bhabha theory, I want to examine ambivalence which
happens toward the colonized, Nanna‘s family.
In the novel, ambivalence appears in Nanna‘s family. Nanna‘s family adopts
time Nanna‘s family shows their obedience; they even declare that they are part of
the Dutch.
―In their zeal to adapt to Dutch ways, her family abandoned the Chinese
language and she had not needed it until now‖ (Gouw 160)
Here we know that, in Nanna‘s family, the use of the Chinese language is banned,
because they want to adapt the Dutch culture. It emphasizes that Nanna‘s family
has replaced their own culture, their identity, with the Dutch. They are willing to
‗quit‘ from their group and join another group which they perceive as the superior.
Although the quote seems to show that Nanna‘s family left their birth culture, the
quote below shows the opposite,
―‘As long as you live under my roof, you shall respect your brother,‘
Nanna said as soon as Mundi had left the room.‖ (Gouw 15)
The statement is said by Nanna; she implicitly tries to explain to Carolien that
they are Chinese. So Carolien should respect and listen to what her brothers say;
although she lives in a fatherless family, but she still has two brothers. The
character of Nanna contradicts herself; at the same time that she implies her
family belongs to the Dutch, she also still maintains the Chinese Three Obedience
culture: an unmarried Chinese girl is expected to obey her father and brothers, a
her adult sons (Harper-Hinton 4).The evidence demonstrates that Nanna‘s family
seems to create self-difference; they mimic the Dutch, but they do not want to be
real Dutch, which is supported by Bhabha saying that mimicry does not create
―wholly human‖, the discourse of mimicry is repetition with difference (Bhabha
85).
In his book, Black Skin, White Masks, Fanon maintains that ―the colonized
are ‗the mimic men‘; they learn to act English but do not look English nor are they
accepted as such‖ (qtd. in Sawant 123). While it is true that colonial discourse
wants the colonized to be very much like the colonizer, this is by no means
identical, as shown in the quotes below.
―‘You have a very brave family, Jenny.‘ Jan Bouwman‘s blue eyes
under the heavy blond eyebrows were kind. ‗Your family was faithful to
the Queen and the government through the war. They helped the people in the camps survive. Your uncles and Eddie visited us many times, in secret.‘ Jan took a seat on the porch bench. ‗Your mother often smuggled food and carried messages into the camps.‘‖ (Gouw 116)
Jan Bouwman tells to Jenny that her family is faithful to the Dutch and is kind;
Jenny‘s family is willing to help the Dutch even though they are in a difficult
situation. The statement emphasizes that Nanna‘s family has served the Dutch
Dutch, but unfortunately they are still the other and their position will never be
balanced with the Dutch. Even Jenny admits it. It is the saddest fact that Nanna‘s
family should face. Here we can see that actually they are treated as an
instrument. They are required to perform their sacrifice for the Dutch, but then
Nanna‘s family acknowledges their inferiority. In short, the Europeans only took
advantage of them. In addition, if the Dutch put Nanna‘s family at the same level
with the Dutch, they may be afraid that the colonized will take the position and
defeat the Dutch.
―No one in Nanna‘s family was an equalized Dutch citizen.‖ (Gouw 182)
Furthermore, Jenny‘s achievement does not determine that her identity changes to
be the same as the identity of the Dutch women.
―‘Why are you having so much trouble reading in the language you were born with, while you score very high in the foreign languages?‘ Sardjono looked at Jenny. ‗I can understand the Dutch kids having trouble
with this class. But you?‘‖ (Gouw 220)
In Jenny‘s family, a pride and achievement is when she can speak Dutch fluently,
look like the subject she imitated, and defeat the natives. In her class, Jenny belongs
to smart students; she always gets high scores in some foreign languages, such as
makes her Indonesian teacher, Mr. Sardjono, always pick on her when the lesson
begins. Even though Jenny speaks Dutch well, she is not allowed to speak it. Mr.
Sardjono even says that ‗I can understand the Dutch kids having trouble with this
class. But you?‘ (Gouw 220), it shows that what Mr.Sardjono‘s saying is that he
cannot tolerate Jenny who cannot speak Bahasa Indonesia well, because she is not
Dutch. That statement is a kind of bitter reality to Jenny; she may feel like she is
being thrown to her birth place and she realizes that her identity is not the Dutch and
never will be the same. In short, her identity is not only rejected by the Dutch, but
the natives also. In fact, Bhabha celebrates the fact that the mimic men are ―almost
the same, but not quite‖ (Bhabha 86).To sum up, mimicry does not necessarily lead
to empowerment.
In the novel, the issue of injustice happens among the colonized, but it does
not necessarily follow that the colonized are powerless. Although Bhabha states
―the discourse of mimicry is constructed around an ambivalence; in order to be
effective, mimicry must continually produce its slippage, its excesses, its
difference‖ (Tibile 88), but it does not mean that ambivalence will always lead to
uprising, or active strategy to disturb and undermine colonial power. In the novel,
views of the colonized, as stated by Bhabha that the project of mimicry leads the
colonized to ridicule and mock the colonizer.
―‘Don‘t let any of them touch you. Be especially careful with the Dutch
boys, they‘ll take a lot more liberties than the Chinese.‘‖ (Gouw 174)
The statement is said by Carolien to her daughter; she tells to Jenny to stay away
from the Dutch boys when she gets her first period. Even Nanna also does the same
thing.
―‘Now that you‘ve started using your mooncloths, you should try behaving more like a girl and stop playing with boys so much. Especially Dutch
boys.‘‖ (Gouw 175)
The two statements demonstrate that Carolien and Nanna are worried about Jenny.
It implies that Carolien and Nanna may have a lot of experiences dealing with the
Dutch people; that‘s why they know what Dutch boys are like. Thus, Nanna also
does not give permission when Els is going to marry to the Dutchman.
―‘Jenny we are Chinese.‘ Nanna sounded tired. She clutched the sides of the flower basket and took a deep breath. ‗Our family doesn‘t have any other blood and that‘s the way it‘s going to say.‘ Nanna picked
up another flower. ‗We don‘t mix blood.‘‖ (Gouw 212)
Listening to Nanna‘s statement makes Jenny confused, since she knew that
socializing with the natives is not allowed by her family, but when the Dutchman
actually Nanna has her own judgment or opinion toward the Dutchmen. Basically,
the statements above are saying that Carolien and Nanna use their experiences or
knowledge to give advice toward Jenny and Els, but, at the same time, they also
seem to use their knowledge as their weapon to mock and look down at the Dutch;
as stated by Bhabha, mimicry is one response to the circulation of stereotypes.
Furthermore, through using knowledge proves that mimicry in Nanna‘s family is
not blind imitation; in doing imitation or mimicry, they are also learning and
criticizing the Dutch culture based on their background knowledge by comparing
it to their Eastern culture. Besides that, their Dutch language skills are also a
threat to the Dutch colonizer. In short, the colonizer taught them their language; as
a result the colonized use the language to fight or mock them back.
When the position of the mimic men will never be balanced with the
colonizers, it can be a source of anti-colonial resistance. Besides that, in the
Location Of Culture, Bhabha even says that ―mimicry is the sign of double
articulation which may destroy the authority of colonial discourse‖ (Bhabha 86).In
addition to Bhabha, Leela Gandhi also says that ―mimicry is also sly weapon of
in Tibile 86). Actually I disagree with that, because the novel shows the opposite
fact,
―Chip‘s room had remained untouched since the day he had been taken prisoner. Nanna entered it every day by herself. She often asked the spirits why they had found it necessary to take Chip‘s life, but they had not answered her. Now Ting had asked her to make Chip‘s room available to Dutch strangers. The white god was apparently not finished yet. How much more would be demanded?....Nanna fingered the silver rim around the desk pad. The Dutch gave useless gifts while asking for great
sacrifice….Chip would have asked her to house the camp people, yet she
felt reluctant to care for the strangers Chip died for.‖ (Gouw 111)
The sentence ‗yet she felt reluctant to care for the strangers Chip died for‘,
emphasizes that Nanna still has not accepted the death of Chip. It implies that the
Dutch have not tried to do something which shows their sympathy and
responsibility to Nanna‘ family, since Chip died for them. The Dutch also do not
appreciate her family‘s sacrifices; it is described in the statement ‗The Dutch gave
useless gifts while asking for great sacrifice‘. Moreover, Ting asks her permission
to let the Dutch live in their house. But, then Nanna shows her obedience to the
Dutch by letting them stay in her house, instead of showing her disobedience. She
even pretends everything is okay.
―Nanna had grown weary of caring for the Dutch guests. Why didn‘t they
The quote above also proves that Nanna does not only give permission, but she
also takes care of the Dutch by preparing the room, serving food, and boiling
water for their bath, even though she actually feels reluctant and tired to care for
the Dutch. The evidence clearly denies Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin‘s view that
the effect of ambivalence on the Dutch authority is threatening (10), because as
the evidence has shown, the ambivalence cannot disturb the colonial power.
Ambivalence here ―can be seen to be ambi-valent or ‗two-powered‘, which leads
to the simultaneous attraction and repulsion‖ (Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin 10). It
can be seen in the statement above, when Nanna represents the Dutch as ‗the
white god‘. In my own view, ‗the white god‘ means that the Dutch is always
telling what Nanna‘s family should do and shouldn‘t do. In addition, the word
‗god‘ here, also can be meant something which is glorified and respected. In short,
at the same time there is a feeling of adoring the Dutch, and hating them. In
addition, the way Nanna treats the Dutch guests also emphasizes camouflage is
Nanna‘s resistance option; in front of the Dutch, Nanna shows her obedience and
cooperation, but actually she hides the resistance and revenge.
In the novel, between the colonized (Nanna‘s family) and the colonizer
Dutch colonial era is the memorable experience where they achieved the glory in
Indonesia and got support from the other groups. But for the colonized, especially
Nanna‘s family, they may think that the experience is the most bitter memory they
ever passed. The diversity memories between the colonized and the colonizer
become one fact that makes the relationship between Nanna‘s family and their
past experience become ambivalent. This ambivalence makes Nanna‘s family
realize that the Dutch only bring harm to their family.
―‘Is divorce the Dutch way of settling problems between husband and wife?‘ Nanna added a few briquettes of charcoal to the stove. Carolien
didn‘t answer. ‘I hope you realize that the Dutch way you chose to get
married was wrong,‘ Nanna said. ‗Now, don‘t go making another Dutch mistake.‘ With that statement, Nanna gathered her belonging and left. Caroline checked the simmering stew. Their conversation echoed in her head. She was certain that Nanna disapproved of Po Han‘s attitude. Yet it seemed that her mother placed blame on her Dutch thinking, rather than on
Po Han‘s irresponsibility. (Gouw 65)
The statement is said by Nanna who was angry because at first Carolien chose the
Dutch way of thinking in choosing someone to marry, then after she got financial
difficulties she decided to divorce as the solution of her problem. Here, Carolien
may feel in-betweeness, because she applied the Dutch way of thinking that she
believed was the gate of happiness because she could marry someone she love and
realizes that she chose the wrong choice and sees her birth culture as virtuous.
Instead of blaming her daughter who could not handle her problem well, Nanna
prefers to blame the Dutch and say that divorce is part of the Dutch‘ lives; she
puts something which is negative as the Dutch‘s fault. Besides that, after taking
care of the Dutch by providing rooms and food for the Dutch, it makes Nanna
realize that the Dutch only bring trouble to her family.
―Nanna was relieved that the Dutch people were leaving. Before the war any Dutch contact had brought pride, now she felt burdened by it. The Dutch no longer provided shelter; instead, they brought harm. (Gouw 134)
The quote implies that Nanna cannot neglect the presence of the Dutch which
bring her family into an advanced and modern life, although finally Nanna‘s
family has realized that the Dutch only burdened their lives, Nanna‘s family who
is the inferior has no reason to rebel, since the Dutch have helped them financially
and provided them with luxury and easy living. Even though at the end, Nanna‘s
family turns to their birth culture.
―‘Doesn‘t Jenny tell you where she‘s going after school?‘ Nanna eyed the driveway.
‗She tells me when she goes to see her father, not when she comes here
‗If I were you, I‘d keep better tabs on Jenny. Next thing you know the girl will be off on a Dutch tangent, too.‘….Nanna turned to Carolien. ‗Maybe, someday, you‘ll stop promoting all these Dutch ideas. This isn‘t all of it.
They‘re not done. Just watch– ‗ Her voice broke and she abruptly walked
away. ‖ (Gouw 222)
After Els is getting married to the Dutchman, Nanna considers it as a Dutch
tangent and makes Nanna worried about the other members of family. Nanna does
not want her family to choose the Dutch way of thinking inappropriately.
Moreover, when Jenny comes home late, Nanna gives a warning to Carolien to
look after her daughter so Jenny is not on a Dutch tangent. Nanna‘s warning
implies that Nanna has bad memories, since the Dutch culture has taken her
family away one by one, and she seems to stop applying the Dutch culture; it can
be seen in her statement ‗maybe, someday, you‘ll stop promoting all these Dutch
ideas. This isn‘t all of it. They‘re not done. Just watch–‗. The statement implies
that if the family still applied the Dutch culture, it could ruin the family like the
previous one. In my own view, it seems like Nanna‘s family left the Dutch culture
which they perceived as something admirable, superior, and civilized. In short,
Only a Girl novel brings the reader to an understanding that the West or the
Western or European things could take you to the superior level and the lowest
one at the same time.
Conclusion
Only a Girl presents the experiences of Chinese who live in Indonesia in
the Dutch Colonial Era, where they are placed in the colonized position. The
presence of the Dutch who create the portrayals of the Orient and the Occident,
through the stratification system, make Nanna‘s family acknowledges their
inferiority. Not only that, the Dutch also perform as good and civilized in front of
people in the lower position. That situation makes Nanna‘s family ashamed of
their own culture and decides to adopt the Dutch culture to ‗survive‘ in Indonesia.
Even Nanna‘s family is willing to pawn their Chinese identity into something that
they perceived as the superior. To be like the Dutch, Nanna‘s family not only
imitates the Dutch language, but they also imitate the culture, habit, ideology and
mimic the colonial gaze, meaning that they judge or gaze at the natives and low
class Chinese with their own cultural standards or norms. In short, they imitate the
are independent. But actually they are unaware that they are being controlled by
the rulling class and the European mindsets. Although in the novel, Nanna‘s
family tries to be the same as the Dutch, but it does not mean that they are ‗the
mimic men‘. In the novel Nanna‘s family shows their skills and abilities which
can be equated with the Dutch and affirms their identity which are different with
the natives. Unfortunately, imitating the culture and serving the Dutch well do not
guarantee that Nanna‘s family‘s identity will changeto be the same as the Dutch.
Thus injustice leads to ambivalent feelings, or a feeling of love and hate toward a
person. The ambivalent feelings make Nanna‘s family use their experiences and
knowledge to ridicule and mock the colonized as a form of fighting back.
Although Nanna‘s family is treated with injustice and their lives are embraced by
ambivalent feeling, they prefer to hide their resistance and revenge from the
Dutch. This novel proves that ambivalence does not necessarily mean to
undermine Colonial power. Ambivalence here means two-powered of attraction
and repulsion.
This study is one of the efforts to invite the readers to open their eyes that
whiteness is not always superior; it suggests the readers think twice before
races and cultures, mimicry is not the best solution in facing differences. The
important thing is how we can deal with the differences by appreciating the other
cultures and maintaining our own culture as our identity.
In addition, I strongly hope that the future research this paper will be
helpful and useful for other researchers when they do other focus analyses like
analyzing Chinese and non-Chinese readers‘ perspective of assimilation in Only a
Girl using social reader‘s response theory. The novel happens to shift between
governments from the Dutch to Indonesian. So, based on the assimilation issues in
the novel, the other researchers can investigate about how Only a Girl readers
view the process of coercive assimilation in Chinese society during the Dutch
colonization era and after Independence Day of Indonesia. The research is
important to give new perspectives of Chinese assimilation based on Only a Girl.
Although the assimilation occurred in the past, but it may continue to present time
since there are a lot of Chinese in Indonesia, moreover they posit as Indonesian
now. So, in my own view, the assimilation still happens and increases in
Acknowledgment
This thesis is a proof of hard work and sincerity. It would not have been
completed without help and support from people around me.
First, I would like to thank to my Almighty God who always besides me.
Second, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my beloved supervisor,
Danielle Donelson-Sims, and Ibu Lany Kristono for guiding me patiently and
supporting me during the process.
Third, I also would like to thank my mother, my late father, brother and my man,
Ahmad Wafa Mansur, who have been supportive in prayers and their
encouragement. They are always be my sunshine; their love and spirit always
brighten my days.
Forth, I want to thank my best girl friends, Laras, Eren, Nana, Tyas and Fitri who
have accompanied and supported me from our first semester until now. I really
thank to God for bringing you all in my life.
Lastly, I would like to give big thanks and big hugs to Tenners. I really glad to be
part of awesome angkatan.
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Harper-Hint
