viii ABSTRACT
Perwitasari, Ancila Putri (2015). The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles in His Life as Portrayed in Laksmi Pamuntjak’s The Question of Red. Yogyakarta:
Sanata Dharma University.
This study analyses Laksmi Pamuntjak’s novel entitled The Question of Red. The novel tells about two lovers, Amba and Bhisma, who live in Indonesia’s New Order era. Unfortunately, they are separated because Bhisma is accused of being a communist and imprisoned in Buru Island. This analysis of the study focuses on the meanings of Bhisma’s struggles as the major character in the novel. There are two formulated problems. The first is to know how Bhisma as the major character is portrayed in the novel. The second is to reveal the meanings of
Based on the analysis, there are two points to conclude. The first point is how Bhisma, the major character is portrayed in the novel. Bhisma is described as attractive, attentive to his family and other people, smart, responsible, friendly, open-minded, and reflective. The second finding is the meanings of Bhisma’s struggles in his life as a doctor and prisoner: He is powerless that he cannot fight against those who are in power. However, his ideology and his gifted supernatural powers have encouraged him to oppose the unfairness. He would do everything for others. His struggles are based on his spirit to share and sacrifice to help others which based on his life experience. Therefore, he serves his country by his own way.
This study provides implications and suggestions. For implications, the
study can be used as reading and translation materials because it has Indonesian’s
background. It helps the students to have social awareness as well as critical thinking. Meanwhile, for suggestions, the researcher suggests that further research examine the relation between Bhisma and Amba. In addition, for English teachers and lecturers, this study can be used as the materials, for example, it can be used as the material to teach prose in the English Education Study Program (PBI).
ix
ABSTRAK
Perwitasari, Ancila Putri (2015). The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles in His Life as Potrayed in Laksmi Pamuntjak’s The Question of Red. Yogyakarta:
Sanata Dharma University.
Studi ini menganalisa novel dari Laksmi Pamuntjak yang berjudul The Question of Red. Novel ini bercerita tentang kehidupan dua orang yang saling jatuh cinta, Amba dan Bhisma yang hidup pada masa Order Baru di Indonesia. Namun, mereka terpisah karena Bhisma dituduh komunis dan dipenjara di Pulau Buru. Tujuan dari studi ini berfokus pada arti perjuangan-perjuangan Bhisma, karakter utama dalam novel ini. Ada dua rumusan masalah dalam studi ini untuk dijawab. Pertama, bagaimana Bhisma digambarkan dalam novel ini. Kedua, apa arti-arti yang paling memungkinkan dari perjuangan-perjuangan Bhisma dalam hidupnya.
Peneliti menggunakan studi pustaka sebagai metode dalam studi ini. Pendekatan dalam studi ini dengan Marxisme dan Katresnanisme. Untuk menganalisis studi ini ada dua jenis data yang digunakan; data primer dan data sekunder. Data primer dalam studi ini adalah novel The Question of Red, sedangkan data sekunder berasal dari beberapa buku, journal, artikel, dan sumber dari internet yang berkaitan.
Dari hasil analisa, terdapat dua poin kesimpulan. Poin pertama mengenai bagaimana Bhisma, karakter utama digambarkan dalam novel ini. Peneliti menemukan bahwa Bhisma dapat dideskripsikan sebagai sosok yang atraktif, perhatian, pintar, bertanggung jawab, ramah, terbuka, dan reflektif. Sedangkan pada poin kedua, arti-arti yang paling memungkinkan dari perjuangan-perjuangan Bhisma dalam hidupnya sebagai dokter dan tahanan politik. Dia tidak mempunyai kekuatan untuk melawan kekuasaan. Akan tetapi, ideologi dan kesaktiannya mendorongnya untuk berjuang melawan ketidakadilan. Dia rela melakukan apa pun untuk sesama. Perjuangannya didasari oleh semangatnya untuk berbagi dan berkorban untuk menolong sesama yang berangkat dari pengalaman hidupnya. Dia melayani negaranya dengan caranya.
Studi ini juga memberikan implikasi dan saran untuk penelitian lebih lanjut. Implikasi dari studi ini dapat digunakan sebagai materi membaca dan penerjemahan. Ini dapat membantu siswa untuk memiliki kesadaran sosial dan pemikiran kritis. Peneliti menyarankan bahwa penelitian berikutnya dapat meneliti hubungan antara Bhisma dan Amba. Untuk guru dan dosen Bahasa Inggris, novel ini juga dapat dijadikan sebagai materi Bahasa Inggris, contohnya sebagai materi prose di Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris (PBI).
THE MEANINGS
OF BHISMA’S STRUGGLE
S IN HIS LIFE
AS POR
TRAYED IN LAKSMI PAMUNTJAK’S
THE QUESTION OF RED
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Ancila Putri Perwitasari Student Number: 111214012
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
i
THE MEANINGS
OF BHISMA’S STRUGGLES IN HIS LIFE
AS POR
TRAYED IN LAKSMI PAMUNTJAK’S
THE QUESTION OF RED
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Ancila Putri Perwitasari Student Number: 111214012
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
iv
LORD,
Teach me to be generous
Teach me to serve You
As You deserve
to give and not to count the cost
to fight and not heed the wounds
to toil and not to seek for rest
to labour and not to seek for reward
save that of knowing
I do Your most Holy Will
v
This thesis is dedicated to
my beloved parents
and
viii ABSTRACT
Perwitasari, Ancila Putri (2015). The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles in His Life as Portrayed in Laksmi Pamuntjak’s The Question of Red. Yogyakarta:
Sanata Dharma University.
This study analyses Laksmi Pamuntjak’s novel entitled The Question of Red. The novel tells about two lovers, Amba and Bhisma, who live in Indonesia’s New Order era. Unfortunately, they are separated because Bhisma is accused of being a communist and imprisoned in Buru Island. This analysis of the study focuses on the meanings of Bhisma’s struggles as the major character in the novel. There are two formulated problems. The first is to know how Bhisma as the major character is portrayed in the novel. The second is to reveal the meanings of
Based on the analysis, there are two points to conclude. The first point is how Bhisma, the major character is portrayed in the novel. Bhisma is described as attractive, attentive to his family and other people, smart, responsible, friendly, open-minded, and reflective. The second finding is the meanings of Bhisma’s struggles in his life as a doctor and prisoner: He is powerless that he cannot fight against those who are in power. However, his ideology and his gifted supernatural powers have encouraged him to oppose the unfairness. He would do everything for others. His struggles are based on his spirit to share and sacrifice to help others which based on his life experience. Therefore, he serves his country by his own way.
This study provides implications and suggestions. For implications, the
study can be used as reading and translation materials because it has Indonesian’s
background. It helps the students to have social awareness as well as critical thinking. Meanwhile, for suggestions, the researcher suggests that further research examine the relation between Bhisma and Amba. In addition, for English teachers and lecturers, this study can be used as the materials, for example, it can be used as the material to teach prose in the English Education Study Program (PBI).
ix
ABSTRAK
Perwitasari, Ancila Putri (2015). The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles in His Life as Potrayed in Laksmi Pamuntjak’s The Question of Red. Yogyakarta:
Sanata Dharma University.
Studi ini menganalisa novel dari Laksmi Pamuntjak yang berjudul The Question of Red. Novel ini bercerita tentang kehidupan dua orang yang saling jatuh cinta, Amba dan Bhisma yang hidup pada masa Order Baru di Indonesia. Namun, mereka terpisah karena Bhisma dituduh komunis dan dipenjara di Pulau Buru. Tujuan dari studi ini berfokus pada arti perjuangan-perjuangan Bhisma, karakter utama dalam novel ini. Ada dua rumusan masalah dalam studi ini untuk dijawab. Pertama, bagaimana Bhisma digambarkan dalam novel ini. Kedua, apa arti-arti yang paling memungkinkan dari perjuangan-perjuangan Bhisma dalam hidupnya.
Peneliti menggunakan studi pustaka sebagai metode dalam studi ini. Pendekatan dalam studi ini dengan Marxisme dan Katresnanisme. Untuk menganalisis studi ini ada dua jenis data yang digunakan; data primer dan data sekunder. Data primer dalam studi ini adalah novel The Question of Red, sedangkan data sekunder berasal dari beberapa buku, journal, artikel, dan sumber dari internet yang berkaitan.
Dari hasil analisa, terdapat dua poin kesimpulan. Poin pertama mengenai bagaimana Bhisma, karakter utama digambarkan dalam novel ini. Peneliti menemukan bahwa Bhisma dapat dideskripsikan sebagai sosok yang atraktif, perhatian, pintar, bertanggung jawab, ramah, terbuka, dan reflektif. Sedangkan pada poin kedua, arti-arti yang paling memungkinkan dari perjuangan-perjuangan Bhisma dalam hidupnya sebagai dokter dan tahanan politik. Dia tidak mempunyai kekuatan untuk melawan kekuasaan. Akan tetapi, ideologi dan kesaktiannya mendorongnya untuk berjuang melawan ketidakadilan. Dia rela melakukan apa pun untuk sesama. Perjuangannya didasari oleh semangatnya untuk berbagi dan berkorban untuk menolong sesama yang berangkat dari pengalaman hidupnya. Dia melayani negaranya dengan caranya.
Studi ini juga memberikan implikasi dan saran untuk penelitian lebih lanjut. Implikasi dari studi ini dapat digunakan sebagai materi membaca dan penerjemahan. Ini dapat membantu siswa untuk memiliki kesadaran sosial dan pemikiran kritis. Peneliti menyarankan bahwa penelitian berikutnya dapat meneliti hubungan antara Bhisma dan Amba. Untuk guru dan dosen Bahasa Inggris, novel ini juga dapat dijadikan sebagai materi Bahasa Inggris, contohnya sebagai materi prose di Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris (PBI).
x
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, my deepest gratitude goes to Jesus Christ, my Lord, for His love and spirit in guiding me to finish my study. My next greatest gratitude is dedicated to my beloved parents, Fransiskus Jumino and Mathilda Suhesti. I owe my gratitude to my beloved brothers Gregorius Prima Putra Sanjaya, Alexander Jeffri Putra Sanjaya, and Hendrikus Sukma Setia Utama. My special thanks goes to Hardjo Sumarto family, Djoyo Dihardjo family, and Bapak Benny, who always give their sincere prayer and support so that I can
finish my thesis.
Next, my beloved gratitude is to my major advisor, Dr. Antonius Herujiyanto, M.A., Ph.D., for his willingness, love, and patience to guide me during the process of my thesis. Therefore, I not only accomplish my thesis, but I learn a lot of values of life from him. In addition, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my academic advisor, Christina Lhaksmita Anandari, S. Pd., Ed.M. and all PBI lecturers for their roles during my study in PBI. I also thank the secretariat staff that always help me in administration affairs patiently and librarians who serve me in a friendly manner.
I am indebted to my literature and philosophy family: Gilang, Marcell, Vania, Tomi, Heri, Destra, Gevi, Daryanto, Siwi, and Bagas for their patience in helping me to find the sources, discuss the novel, give advices and proofread my thesis.
xi
experiences together in ‘the jungle’. I thank my family in Star de Acyuta English
Course for the extraordinary friendship and teamwork in teaching students in Mechanical Engineering program in Sanata Dharma University, my family in MAGIS Indonesia and Puri Agung Lestari boarding house for their kindness in accompanying me during the process of my thesis. I am also grateful to my dancing teachers and friends in Ndalem Pujokusuman, Bangsal Kepatihan,
Komunitas Tari Kotabaru for their support and prayer for me.
Last but not least, I would like to thank all of the people who I cannot mention here. I also dedicate my acknowledgements to everyone who struggles for his or her life.
xii
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ... .8
A. Review of Related Theories ... .8
1. Theory of Character and Characterization ... .8
xiii
CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS... 25
A. Bhisma’s Characteristics ... 25
1. Attractive ... 25
2. Attentive ... 26
a. Attentive to His Family ... 26
b. Attentive to Other People ... 27
3. Smart ... 28
4. Responsible ... 29
5. Friendly ... 30
6. Open-Minded ... 31
7. Reflective ... 32
B. The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles ... 33
1. The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles Using Marxism theory ... 33
a. The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles Using Theory of Ideology .... 34
b. The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles Using Theory of Power and Powerless ... 39
2. The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles Using Theory of Katresnanism . 43 CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS .... 49
A. Conclusions ... 49
B. Implications ... 50
C. Suggestions ... 51
REFERENCES ... 52
xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix A: Summary of The Question of Red ... 52
Appendix B: The Biography of Laksmi Pamuntjak ... 54
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of five parts, namely, the background of the study, the objectives of the study, the problem formulation, the benefits of the study, and the definition of terms. The first part is the background of the study which explains the justification of choosing the topic. The second part is the objectives of the study which states the purpose of conducting this study. The third one is the problem formulation which presents the problems of the research that will be analysed. The fourth part is the benefits of the study which state the contribution of this thesis to the knowledge development. The last part is the definition of terms which gives the explanation of some important terms used in this study.
A. Background of the Study
A literary work is basically a reflection of human’s real life. There are
between the first and second languages. Consequently, the students are expected to obtain the knowledge of the social characteristic. As a result, it will help them to enlarge their social awareness as well as their critical thinking.
The Question of Red written by Laksmi Pamuntjak. It was published in 2013 by Gramedia Pustaka Utama. It becomes a national bestseller novel under its Indonesian version’s entitled Amba. There are some reasons The Question of
Red is chosen. First, this novel became the finalist of the Tempo Magazine’s Annual Best Work of Literature list in 2012 and shortlisted for the Khatulistiwa Literary Award in 2013. Next, it gives a new point of view of the Indonesian national tragedy in 1965-1968. This novel depicts the struggle of ordinary people in resisting President Suharto’s New Order repression and several events related to Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) movement. It primarily presents political prisoners’ life struggles in Buru Island. Through this novel, the readers can see the
impact of Indonesian historical events to Indonesian current situation. Hence, this novel can enrich and broaden up readers’ knowledge and their insight since it helps young generations to know Indonesian history.
The novel tells about two young lovers named Amba and Bhisma as the main characters. The characters’ names in this novel are taken from the classic
other people suffering from political pressures in the Old and New Orders in Indonesia.
The story in the novel begins with a journey of Amba, who is looking for her lovely man, Bhisma, who is in Buru Island, after being separated for forty years. They are separated because Bhisma is accused of being a communist and is imprisoned as a political prisoner. During her journey, Amba is accompanied by Samuel, a man whom she meets in a boat to Buru. Unfortunately, in Buru, she finds the fact that Bhisma has passed away. Besides, the novel tells the struggle of the Indonesians living from 1965 up to 1968 where they lived in such a horrible political situation. They had to struggle to survive in their own lives. Bhisma, as exemplified in the novel, struggles for his life against the Indonesian government by his own way as a doctor and political prisoner (tapol). Finally, Amba knows the reason why Bhisma lost through Bhisma’s letters and other people. Then, she invites Samuel, a man who always accompanies and cares about her to see her daughter, Srikandi, who holds a painting exhibition in Jakarta.
characteristics and struggles which contain with the spirit of charity. In this study, Marxism and Katresnanism approaches are used to probe Bhisma’s struggles.
B. Objective of the Study
The objective of this study is to reveal the meanings of Bhisma’s struggles as seen in Laksmi Pamuntjak’s The Question of Red.
C. Problem Formulation
This study is conducted in order to answer these two formulated problems: 1. How is Bhisma as the major character portrayed in the novel?
2. What are the meanings of Bhisma’s struggles in his life as a doctor?
D. Benefits of the Study
Moreover, it can help everyone to respect other’s choice, for instance during communist era whether being Red or Green are the same for Bhisma. Therefore, in helping others, those do not need to look at their backgrounds. Furthermore, the researcher expects this study can inspire the future researcher to examine this novel from the other aspects, for instance, the analysis of relation between Bhisma and Amba viewed from other approaches, such as liberalism, humanism, and feminism approach.
E. Definition of Terms
In the beginning of this study, some keywords will be defined further. 1. Struggle
According to Simmel (as cited in Spacer and Flaming, 2006), struggle is a word taken from German term kampf which is translated as a conflict. It means a way to achieve something. Even, it needs an annihilation of one conflict in a party. Simmel argues, “struggle paradoxially promotes social interaction with the
group of one’s struggle against” (p. 8). In this study, struggles mean by fighting
against power and unfairness.
2. Bhisma
gods grant Bhisma to choose his own death. In this story, Bhisma’s character is
based on the Mahabarata epic. However, the fate of the story is different from what Bhisma has in Mahabarata. In this study, Bhisma is portrayed as one of ordinary people struggling against the unfairness.
3. Buru Island
Buru is the third largest island in the Maluku Islands. Buru obtains its major popularity during President Suharto’s era. In that era, more than 12,000 people were accused of being communists and Communist Party followers. They were detained without formally charged in such a clear legal process (Pamuntjak, 2013). Thus, many prisoners are killed and died in Buru Island. In this novel, Buru becomes the setting of Bhisma’s life.
4. Tapol
Tapol stands for tahanan politik, which means political prisoner in New
Order era during President Suharto’s authority (Pamuntjak, 2013). This term is commonly used to label those who are accused of being communists, left-wing, or Indonesian Communist Party followers. They are popularly sent to Buru Island in Maluku. In this story, Bhisma is one of those who is accused of being a communist. Therefore, he is imprisoned in Buru as a tapol.
5. Red
(Bryan, n.d). In addition, in this study, the red means blood of those who are injured and victimized during some political conflicts in Indonesia.
6. Surface Meaning
Case and Marshall (2009) mention surface meaning as literal meaning. Associate with this concept, literal approach is the tacit acceptance of information and memorization. It does not promote understanding for long term retention of knowledge (pp. 9-18). In short, the surface meaning is meaning that the readers can obtain without conducting further analysis.
7. Deeper Meaning
8
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of three parts. The first part is the review of related theories. It presents explanation of applied approaches, namely Marxism and Katresnanism. Besides, the theory of character and characterization is applied as
the theory of literature. In order to know the effect of Bhisma’s characteristics towards his struggles, the researcher applies theory of ideology, theory of power and powerless, and Katresnanism theory. Next, the theoretical framework consists of elaboration of the theories to answer the two formulated problems. The last part is the context of the novel which explains the setting of the novel and its author.
A. Review of Related Theories
This part consists of three theories which are applied in this research. They are theory of character and characterization, theory of Marxism (theory of ideology and theory of power and powerless), and theory of Katresnanism (aos andhom slamet).
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
Forster states in Gill (1995) that there are two kinds of character: flat character and round character (p. 130). Thomas and Johnson (2006) support that flat characters tend to stay in the same throughout story because they only have one or two predominant traits, meanwhile round characters tend to change because they have more predominant traits (p. 64). Based on characters’ speech and action, Abrams (1985) defines that:
Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say the dialogue and what they do the action ( p. 23).
As a result, the characters are always interesting to be analysed. The process of creating the character by an author is called characterization (p. 21). The author creates the characters live as real people in order to be understandable for the readers. Furthermore, Murphy (1972) mentions nine ways to analyse
characters’ characteristics and personalities (pp.161-173)
a. Personal Description
The researcher describes a certain character in the novel by his or her
appearance, for instance by telling the character’s look and what he or she wears.
b. Character as Seen by Others
The researcher uses other characters’ opinions to characterize a certain character.
c. Speech
d. Past Life
The past life of a certain character shapes the character’s characteristic. It
is because one’s past life influences one’s characteristic in the future. His or her
past life can be told directly by an author of the novel or other characters in the novel.
e. Conversation of Others
The researcher describes of a certain character through the conversation of other characters. It can be clues which reveal the characteristics of a particular character.
f. Reactions
The reaction of a certain character in dealing with some situations and events which he or she faces in the novel can reveal his or her characterisation. g. Direct Comment
By describing or giving a comment on a certain character, the researcher shows the characterisation to the readers through sentences in the novel.
h. Thought
In order to know the characteristics of a certain character, the researcher describes through the character’s thoughts.
i. Mannerism
The researcher shows the characteristic of a certain character through his or her traits, habits, or manners.
2. Theory of Marxism
Marxism is an approach applied in social, political, economic, scientific, and philosophical field. It is strongly political oriented criticism which is derived from a theory of German social philosopher, Karl Marx, and Frederich Engels, a German sociologist (Barry, 2002). Marxism approach can be said as the theory of Marxism. This theory looks at a progress through struggles from different social classes. The theory is popular as class struggle by competition for economic, social, and political advantage.
Marxism is called as materialist philosophy which has some perspectives on social class, economy, and how social existence can determine one’s awareness. However, Marx and Engels call their economic theories as communist rather than Marxism (Barry, 2002). In Communism, private ownership is banned and changed into state ownership. Moreover, Marxist theory argues that the way of thinking and experiencing the world is largely conditioned by the way of organising the economy (Bertens, 2008, p. 63). Marxism believes that in a communist society, there is a human alienation as a result of exploitation of a social class by another.
criticism focuses on contents rather than forms. It has an attention to the idea about things like economy, class, and power.
a. Theory of Ideology
Theory of ideology is firstly introduced by Althusser (1918-1990), a French Marxist theoretician and philosopher. He introduces the ideology as a key
term for all Marxists. Althusser’s point of view is called revisionist Marxist. He is
the most influential person in developing theoretical Marxist about literature. He views the literary works are closely related to ideology. He claims (as cited in Barry, 2002),
―ideology is a system of representations (possessing its logic and proper
rigour) of representations (images, myths, ideas or concepts according to the case) endowed with an existence and an historical role at the heart of a
given society‖ (p. 163).
The society, therefore, gives ideas and production of meanings. Ideology can be shown to be greater significance than material power.
conscious of what they are doing in life. Althusser offers the way to pass the base or superstructure without omitting the Marxist perspective.
The general purpose of these Althusserian ideas is to enable a view on how society works. He has a term to encourage an individual to see that himself or herself is free and independent in social forces. Thus, it makes a person has interpellation. The interpellation is Althusser’s modification from psychoanalytic theory. It works by showing an image of relation between the super-ordinate and sub-ordinate the repressed. Thus, the ideology for Athuesser is profoundly unconscious; it has been lived in individual’s life because he always uses the ideology in his life (Barry, 2002).
b. Theory of Power and Powerless
Power according to Foucault (1980) is relation between people in which
one affects another’s action. Theory of power and powerless is a part of Marxism.
In Marxism, there are two classes based on economy: bourgeoisie (powerful part of society) and proletariat (powerless part of society). These two classes always fight against one another so that they become a conflict for both. It is because their economic objective interests are different, but the competition makes the bourgeoisie become a dominant power to proletariat.
Karl Marx states that the economy has a great impact of the existence of
society’s power. Another expert, Weber (1968) agrees with Karl Marx. He adds,
―power as the ability to impose a person’s will on another, even when the other
One’s authority can be powerful and oppressed the powerless. The power consists of three types. According to Mills (as cited in Elwell, 2002)
1. Authority: power justifies by the beliefs of the voluntarily obedient. 2. Manipulation: power wielded to the powerless.
3. Coercion: the final form of power, where the powerless are forced to obey the powerful.
From those types, the coercion usually appears in a society. The bourgeoisie always wants the proletariat to obey and work for them. This condition emerges alienation for people, particularly the proletariat. Next, the alienation is a condition where an individual lives in a distance of something. For Marx, most individuals are alienated from themselves and others in the society. In addition, the alienation explodes individuals to be victimised and dehumanised so that it needs struggle to have them humanised.
3. Theory of Katresnanism
Theory of Katresnanism is a critical theory which derived from Javanese philosophy. According to Herujiyanto (2001) in Katresnan Criticism states that
―theory of katresnanism (divine love) is a term which refers to the result of an
inductive work functioning as a reminder and an invitation (éling-kèlingan) of
one’s true self (jati diri) and one’s existence which was granted due to katresnan
(divine love) as soon as one was born (p. 2). Based on this meaning, Katresnanism has a positive way of thinking which leads everyone to have
everyone to find who he or she is. Therefore, everyone can develop him or herself. In another word, it can be used to explain someone’s true self.
There are 33 aos or principles of Katresnanism up to now which can be applied to analyse one’s behaviour and the reason behind it positively. Herujiyanto (2001) also adds the 33 aos of Katresnanism theory:
1. It celebrates feelings of needs to learn (andhap asor). 2. It shows the concern and care for others (andhom slamet).
3. It reasons that quandary or predicament may also be there due to the goal (angon mangsa).
4. It intents appreciating others (atur panuwun).
5. It calls to become a model of learning (banyu sinaring).
6. It promotes working for the sake of best for others (binerkahan).
7. It requires changing practice in the light of the appraisal and versatile (cancut taliwondo).
8. It celebrates doing honestly and truthfully (citra wicita wicitra). 9. It promotes applying calculated steps (duga prayoga).
10. It celebrates holding a peace and happy ending (yatna yuwana). 11. It promotes welcoming and wishing good luck others (kasugengan). 12. It highlights believing in the long run (kraton nDalem).
13. It promotes gratitude due to any situation granted (lothong kemayangan). 14. It involves explaining and identifying the purpose in the sense of beneficial
mission and objective (migunani).
16. It promotes maintaining the fact that nobody would like to lose their face (mulat sarira).
17.It highlights nurturing logical deeds (nalar). 18.It invites holding commitment (ngugemi).
19. It promotes creating pleasure and enjoyment (nyamleng). 20.It celebrates promoting others respectfully (nyumangga). 21. It promotes creating harmony (rukun).
22.It celebrates creating an energy and spirit of the so-called united mind and heart–you and me (samanunggal).
23.It promotes having a win-win attitude (sithik edhing).
24.It promotes doing the best one can and full-heartedly inviting the nature to take its course (sumèlèh).
25. It promotes creating peaceful end-overt and covert (tentrem). 26.It celebrates acting sincerely (tulus).
27.It believes in reality of faithfulness, loyalty, and following the system agreed (tuhu).
28.It celebrates the acts of tolerance (teposliro).
29.It celebrates an open-ended spirit to be able to accept the end result due to
understanding one’s limitation (sumarah).
30. It promotes producing an enthralling act and end (mranani).
32.It promotes having thing matched and fitted; not less, not too much either; just right (pas).
33. It celebrates producing one-true family atmosphere: caring and forgiving (nyedulur mulur).
It is believed that by applying the aos of Katresnanism, one shows enlightenment not only for himself but also for others. It creates a better and peace society. As Herujiyanto (2001) mentions that everyone can be happier on the right track without any doubt (p. 8). One of the Katresnanism aos which is applied in this study is andhom slamet. It is wishing good luck for somebody else or people whom we meet. The person delivers his blessing from God or the highest power to others when they meet each other. As a result, there is a blessing among them.
Andhom slamet is one of Katresnanism aos (pas in Javanese) which means being harmony with appropriate conditions: migunani (it involves explaining and identifying the purpose in the sense of beneficial mission and objective), mrantasi (it urges trying it out-presenting reliable deeds), ngugemi (it invites holding commitment), nyamleng (it promotes creating pleasure and enjoyment), tulus (it celebrates acting sincerely), and sithik edhing (it promotes having a win-win attitude). However, in this study, the discussion deals with andhom slamet.
B. Theoretical Framework
There are two formulated problems in this study. The first problem is to
analyse Bhisma’s characteristics. The researcher applies Murphy’s theory of
others, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comment,
thought, and mannerism, the researcher obtains Bhisma’s characteristics.
The second problem is to reveal the deeper meanings of Bhisma’s struggles. The researcher uses Marxism approach in analysing Bhisma by applying theory of ideology from Althusser and theory of power and powerless. Besides, the researcher uses theory of Katresnanism to analyse Bhisma’s struggles from Javanese values point of view. One of the Katresnanism aos which is applied is andhom slamet. Then, the researcher will find the relation of the
Bhisma’s characteristics and the meanings of his struggles in his life.
D. Context of the Novel
Context of the novel can be said as a setting in which the novel is written. By knowing the context of the novel and its author, the readers will understand the story of the novel. The setting of the story constitutes the external reality that
surrounds the internal reality of the character’s personalities. The context is
divided into two settings, first is the setting of the writer when she writes the novel and second is the setting of The Question of Red. Culler (1997) says,
―Context is what determines meaning‖ (p. 62). It is used to know the particular
utterances by looking at historical context in each figure. 1. Context of the Author
Buru Island with Amarzan Loebis, a poet, senior editor of Tempo magazine, and former political prisoner in Buru Island prison camp. Moreover, she learned from Pramoedya’s experience to enrich the quality of her novel. By doing long research, Pamuntjak made her novel of Indonesian turbulence from her point of view as the author not as the former political prisoners. As a result, her writing style is different from others’ writers.
She wrote the novel in 2013 in Indonesia’s reformation era. It meant
everyone was free to write his or her opinion for government and PKI. It was very
different from the previous era, particularly in Suharto’s era in which no one was
allowed to refuse the government’s order and discuss PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) or anything related to communism. Pamuntjak, therefore, was bold to write a story about Indonesian political situation in Sukarno and Suharto era. She even put some incidents and people who join group belonging to PKI. It was definitely interesting because the story about PKI was a never ending topic to discuss in Indonesia. There were many perspectives and versions.
2. Context of the Novel
21 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter consists of three parts. They are the object of the study, the approach of the study, and the method of the study. The first is the object of the study which deals with the subject of the study. The second is Marxism and Katresnanism approaches which applied in this study. The last part is the method
of the study. It deals with all sources which are used to analyse the novel and the steps of process in accomplishing the study.
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is a novel entitled The Question of Red. This novel is a fiction novel with Indonesian historical background. It is one of the most popular novels. This novel is the first novel written by Laksmi Pamuntjak, one of the Indonesian female writers. Laksmi Pamunjak was born in Jakarta, on 24 December, 1971. She graduated from Asian Studies, Politics, and International Studies, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia in 1993. She has written some previous successful collections of poetry such as Ellipsis (2002), The Anagram (2007), Perang Langit dan Dua Perempuan (2006). Besides, she has writes some short stories: The Diary of R.S.: Musing of Art (2006) and four editions of the award winning, Jakarta Good Food Series. The Question of Red is published by
seven chapters. Basically, the plot in the novel is told using a narrator point of view. This novel portrays some characters of people from a lot of backgrounds and areas in Indonesia, such as Yogyakarta, Kediri, Pulau Buru Island, and Jakarta. It tells Indonesian history related to the 1965 tragedy which is covered through the love affair of Bhisma and Amba.
The story in the novel begins with the description of Buru Island in which Amba is attacked by a woman named Muka Burung, a woman who marries Bhisma according to customary law. Her purpose of coming to Buru is to look for her lovely man, Bhisma. She is accompanied by Zulfikar, one of Bhisma’s friends when they become political prisoners. In the ship to Buru, they meet Samuel who later on always accompanies Amba in exploring the island to find Bhisma. Sadly, she finds the fact that Bhisma has passed away. However, Bhisma leaves her some letters which she found through Manalisa’s guidance.
The story is back to the time when Bhisma and Amba in Kediri. At that time, Amba is working as a translator for Bhisma, who works as a young doctor in a hospital. Then, they fall in love and go to Yogyakarta together. Bhisma has to heal his CGMI friend, as requested by Untarto, while Amba returns to her aunt’s home in a horrible political situation of communist massacre. One day, Bhisma invites Amba to come to CGMI’s meeting in Res Publica, the place for them to be together. After Bhisma finishes his speech, there is a gunshot incident. Because of the incident which makes Bhisma separates from Amba forever.
American. Nevertheless, Amba still keeps her only love for Bhisma so that she travels to Buru. At the end, Amba knows the reason why Bhisma lost. Then, Amba returns to Jakarta, invites Samuel, a man who always accompanies and cares about her during her journey in Buru. He sees Srikandi, Amba’s daughter, who holds a painting exhibition.
B. Approaches of the Study
This study focuses on the meanings of the struggles as shown in Bhisma, as the major character in The Question of Red. In order to find the meanings of Bhisma’s struggles, the researcher applies both Marxism and Katresnanism approaches. The study analyses the deeper meanings of Bhisma’s struggles, as the major character which is supposed to be influenced by Marxism approach. Besides, Katresnanism theory is applied to know the meanings of Bhisma’s struggles from Javanese point of view. The researcher uses both Marxism and Katesnanism approaches to answer the second problem formulation. As a result,
the researcher finds several meanings of Bhisma’s struggles. C. Method of the Study
The method that was used to conduct this study was library research. Library research is a research method which is conducted by reading and analysing the sources. There were two sources in this study: the primary and secondary sources. The primary source was The Question of Red, a novel by Laksmi Pamuntjak which was written in 2013. The secondary sources were some relevant books and journals named Murphy’s Understanding Unseen. In addition,
Theory and Kennedy and Gioia’s Literature: An introduction to fiction, poetry
and drama. Then, in order to understand the Marxism approach, Barry’s
Beginning theory and Bertens’ Literary theory were applied. In addition, the
researcher applied Katresnanism approach as proposed by Herujiyanto.
There were some steps that the researcher did when conducting this study. The first step was reading the whole novel in order to understand the story. The researcher focused on Bhisma’s characteristics, struggles, and his details stated in the novel. Then, the researcher reread the novel again and tried to understand it more. The researcher focused on Bhisma as the main character and noted some useful, related information to Bhisma. It could be obtained by observing the description by the narrator or the author as well as the description or thought by the other characters. Then, the researcher provided two formulated problems in order to limit the topic being discussed and other characters’ thoughts about him.
25
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
This study deals with the characteristics of Bhisma, the major character of The Question of Red and the meanings of his struggles. The discussion of this
chapter is divided into two parts based on the two formulated problems as mentioned in the first chapter. The first part is the discussion of Bhisma’s characteristics, while the second one discusses the meanings of Bhisma’s struggles.
A. Bhisma’s Characteristics
The analysis on the character of Bhisma is based on Murphy’s theory of character and characterisation. According to Forster in Gill (1995) and Thomas and Johnson (2006), Bhisma belongs to round character since a lot of changes occur to him throughout the story. He, additionally, has more than two predominant traits (characteristics). Besides, the nine ways of Murphy reveals Bhisma’s characteristics and personalities. This study, accordingly, concerns on
the analysis of the meanings of Bhisma’s characteristics. As a result, there are seven of Bhisma’s characteristics found in The Question of Red.
1. Attractive
introduces Bhisma to Amba. “This new doctor”, the young woman says with a sudden blush, “is a graduate from a German University. He is, how shall I say it,
very un-Indonesian. His mannerism, even his face, seem half-European” (p. 172). It makes Amba curious about him. In addition, Bhisma becomes a trending topic among nurses and female staff when they gather to have lunch. They say, “So handsome and aristocratic” (p. 195). They talk about him because they are
attracted to Bhisma.
One day in the afternoon, Amba meets Bhisma behind a tree. Without any doubt, she directly states Bhisma is the most handsome man that she has ever seen. “He was unusually tall. Easily more than six feet, a height that seemed to cause him to stoop a little, and made Amba feel tiny” (p. 181). Bhisma’s appearance is definitely perfect for every woman. Since then, Amba has not been able to look at him because of his attractiveness.
2. Attentive
a. Attentive to His Family
Bhisma’s own life forms him grows as a caring person. He experiences
many things, especially since he knows their parents’ fall into poverty. Prior to that, Bhisma lives in a noble, rich, and happy family. His father works as respectable publisher of high quality books. Nevertheless, his family’s life drastically changes in early 1940s, when Japan took off Indonesia from Netherlands, all people lived in an apprehensive situation.
Bhisma’s parents have already sold all goods that they have, including his mother’s lovely clothes and beds. They do so for their children, particularly for
Bhisma, their youngest child. His father says, “Yes, our youngest must be well educated” (p. 240). Bhisma realizing his name is mentioned, he feels sad when he sees sorrow in his parents’ faces.
Bhisma is crying for his parents, “He was crying for his parents, for
himself, and for his shared bed because, God forbid, what if they should want to sell it too?” (p. 240). Despite his young age, he has already known that life has plenty of choices to struggle. He follows his parents’ suggestions to live with Lipalasy’s family. In Leiden and Leipzig, he still loves his family. Therefore, he
remains to contact his family, especially his sister, Mita. b. Attentive to Other People
As time changes, Bhisma’s care is not only for his family but also for others. One of the examples is when he is in a canteen of the small hospital in Berlin. In 1958, after his last semester in Leipzig, he suddenly sees a woman sitting sadly with her problems. Bhisma approaches and asks for her condition, “One winter day, I asked her whether she’d had dinner” (p. 506). By asking a
simple question, he shows his care about that woman. Then, he gives his time to relax his acquaintance. He listens to the woman’s story that is capable of touching his heart. “I soon learned, she had many issues, her father was a drunkard, her
Furthermore, while returning to Indonesia, he takes care of sick people lovingly without viewing their backgrounds. Through his profession as a doctor, Bhisma helps everyone who needs his cure. He is willing to work in a small clinic in Tanjung Priok, Jakarta although he has graduated from Leipzig. “I think I’m going to help out at a clinic in Tanjung Priok. My Gerwani (Gerakan Wanita Indonesia, The Indonesian Women’s Movement) friends have asked me to go there, and I can do two things at one, be both doctor and researcher” (p. 220). Bhisma is always ready to help someone else in all situations. Therefore, he is a caring person.
3. Smart
Bhisma is considered as a smart person proven by some direct comments from those people living with him. It is seen when he follows his parents’ friend, Thomas Lipasaly to move from Indonesia to Leiden for the better education. Thomas Lipasaly takes Bhisma to Christelijk Lyceum, a good and prestigious school. As a student, Bhisma is always trying to do his best. In the first week of his study, he feels that he is a fool in all of subjects including in science (exact science or some foreign languages field). However, he never gives up to his last effort. His Dutch friends are amazed at him, “he the reigning king of numbers. He remained the champion of maths until the day he graduated” (p. 247). Because of
his achievement, Bhisma continues his study in Karl Marx University, Germany (pp. 241-248).
who gives Bhisma magic power. When Amba, Samuel, and Zulfikar come to Rukmanda’s house, Rukmanda tells his unforgettable experience with Bhisma as
a political prisoner (tapol). Rukmanda remembers the situation when there is a snake on his feet. He feels that he is going to die. Suddenly, he is surprised by Bhisma’s action who chopped the snake’s head (pp. 410-411).
Since then, Rukmanda realizes that Bhisma is different from someone else. Therefore, Rukmanda says to Amba, “I first realized that Bhisma’s essence was that kind of wisdom, at once impulsive and matured”. Rukmanda adds, “Everyone
came to understand this quiet and strange empathy of Bhisma” (p. 412). Rukmanda tells the situation when Bhisma sees many political prisoners being tortured. Rukmanda looks at Bhisma who standing, finding such a strange on him.
4. Responsible
In their first encounter, Bhisma and Amba spend their beautiful night by walking around the hospital. Beneath the Banyan tree, Bhisma states that he is a responsible person. He says to Amba, “I know something about responsibility,
just don’t ask me about politics” (p. 184). He says the same utterance not only
once but also when Bhisma talking to another friend, Isa in Bumi Tarung. It is a statement that Amba always remembers. In addition, Bhisma really shows his responsibility as a doctor. Some nurses tell Amba that Bhisma likes to suddenly leaves without permission, “One or two days you don’t see him, suddenly he appears the next morning”. “Well, he brings in those new patients, from those
Bhisma definitely knows his job. In Indonesian political chaos, he does not wait for his patients to come, but he visits the patients in camp.
As a political prisoner, Bhisma is responsible with his duty. In Buru, he must work together. He does many tasks, “Most of the time my tasks range from the mundane to the thankless, and there is nothing new to this” (p. 488).
However, he has a special position due to his proffesion. He tells it in his letter on 7 December 1973, a letter to Amba. He tells, “Because I’m a doctor, and by
extension a responsible person (though I’m not sure this is the only reason), I’m treated somewhat differently in Tefaat Buru (Tempat Pemanfaatan, literally place of exploitation)” (p. 457). Bhisma is always responsible to everything, especially with his duty which is closely related to public service.
5. Friendly
Bhisma is a friendly person. He is easy to interact with other people, for instance, when he moves to Netherlands and lives with Lipalasy’s family, he says, “they were always friendly and gracious to me” (p.245). He considers Lipalasy’s
family as his own family similarly.
Another evidence is while he studies in Leipzig, German, he has many friends. For example, when he tries to look for Liz, a woman whom he loves in Germany, he meets Gerard Mannuhutu, Liz’s cousin. In the short time, Gerard becomes Bhisma’s best friend, “More months passed and Gerard hadn’t only his
friend, he was also his window to a new world” (p. 252). They almost spend their
Luxemburg. They do many activities together: watching movie, salivating books that they cannot buy, and riding a bike during their study break.
Besides, Bhisma has a good relation with some important and popular people, particularly when he is in Germany. He tells Amba that in the summer he comes to the World Youth Festival which began in 1947 in Prague. He meets Indonesian artist, he tells “The festival offered the chance to meet those great Indonesian artists like Sudjojono, Hendra Gunawan, and Sunardi” (p. 268). It makes him forthcoming to live with many people from various backgrounds.
Furthermore, Bhisma opens himself to a lot of young people. He has friends from Lekra (Lembaga Kebudayaan Rakyat, the Institute of People’s Culture) and CGMI (Concentrasi Gerakan Mahasiswa Indonesia, the Unified Movement of Students of Indonesia). He is well accepted even he has a special position from them. One of the evidences from his Lekra friends is when Bhisma with Amba come to Bumi Tarung, his friends welcome them. It is proven, “A man with long frizzy silver hair rose and greeted them with open arms. He said, genuinely surprised and happy to see Bhisma” (p. 270). His Lekra friends allow
him to stay in Bumi Tarung. Moreover, CGMI people respect Bhisma, mainly Untarto, the leader of CGMI.
6. Open-Minded
meets his friends in Bumi Tarung, their Lekra friends are free to express their opinion about Stalin, Manipol, Marxisme and Sosialist Realism to Bhisma and Amba. Bhisma does not object to his friends’ opinions despite his knowledge of the real situation of Germany, the place where he studied. In front of his friend, Bhisma chooses to keep his silence because he respects his friends’ opinions. He opens to others’ point of view on Stalin. Only with Amba, he tells that he knows about a real situation in Germany. He says to Amba,
“That fool who founded you”. “He obviously doesn’t know, or doesn’t want to know, that in Germany, in all of East Europe, Stalin is truly no more, died and buried six feet under his fatwa. And with him gone it is as if a huge tumor was taken out of Germany’s skull” (p. 276).
Bhisma chooses to do it because of an unfriendly political situation, especially a drastic change in Yogyakarta where a lot of chaoses occur to the suspected left wing people. Besides, he needs a place to sleep for some days with Amba. He is bored with many theories of struggle and politics. He expresses it to Amba when Amba asks why he keeps his silence; he says “I was sick of the talk about theory. Theories can be wrong, but not painting” (p. 277). Therefore,
Bhisma always keeps his silence and appreciates others’ opinions and ideas. He
knows well what he should do and say before taking a real action. 7. Reflective
example, Amba and Manalisa. Bhisma is well known to walk alone into a wood, reflecting everything in his life.
Furthermore, Bhisma likes to go to a quiet place where there are trees, birds, and rivers. Since he studies in Leipzig until he lives in Buru, Bhisma likes to go to the forest alone. He enjoys nature and himself, even in a solitude. He muses what he has faced. It is proven in his letter to Amba on 23 December 1973 in which he says, “By a tree, a bird, by watching the river. Things we know as
lovely become magnified, almost Godly, as you come close to them. He continues, “But, I’ve discovered that learning to rest in solitude is in itself a
religious experience” (p. 468). Bhisma finds a peace in his life that helps him to
think and reflect it deeply. Because of his reflection, he is encouraged to keep his struggles.
B. The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles
1. The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles Using Marxism Theory
Bhisma is one of the major characters in the novel in this research. The researcher analyses Bhisma using Marxism theory because Bhisma’s character has Marxism ideology in term of social, political, economic, philosophical, and scientific aspects. Therefore, the focus on the study is using Marxism in social and political field. The meaning of Bhisma’s struggles can be viewed from his letters buried in a tree and collected by his sister, Paramita.
Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) is allowed and becomes a bigger party in addition to Indonesian National Party (PNI). This party is able to attract many Indonesians from all ages. Therefore, there are various organisations under PKI. One of which is CGMI (The Unified Movement of Students of Indonesia). In his young age, Bhisma spends his life studying and being involved with many young activists from some organisations under Communist Party. However, Bhisma does not clearly join any organisation. He prefers to stand on his line with his profession as a doctor.
a. The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles Using Theory of Ideology
ideology to do something for his country which fights with itself. He remembers his country’s condition.
His ideology cannot be separated from his study in Leipzig, Germany, mainly in East Germany which is known as a socialist country. He observes many people who have ideas for other people’s futures. Since then, Bhisma realizes that borders influence someone’s idea. He claims,
“By then I had to understand what borders stood for. How borders stopped a single idea and a single future from travelling through a wall. How borders enabled a man to know the world but not to change it. How there were borders within myself” (p. 270)
Borders in Bhisma’s view are such kind of mental block, for example, his fear
which restricts his freedom. Thus, he has the ideology to service his country with full of his responsibility.
In line with his ideology, Bhisma gives his ideas as representation of his resistance. He always states that the real condition is not similar with what he expects to because he chooses to fight intellectually. Bhisma tells what he has experienced to his love, Amba, for instance, he tells his experience when he studies and his point of view in the Old Order. In the Old Order, Bhisma always admires Sukarno. However, when he returns to Indonesia, he changes his point of view. He is disappointed with Sukarno after Sukarno has announced the concept of Guided Democracy in 1957. Bhisma does not like Sukarno’s Western oriented policies. He shares his ideas of his disagreement with his friend to Amba (pp. 218-220).
replies, “The revolution will carry on, my friend and shouldn’t even be asking such questions.” (p. 218). In that situation, Bhisma realizes that he is in Jakarta
which is different from Leipzig, where people are free to talk about government or Stalin’s oppressive rule. In accordance with the theory of ideology, Bhisma still
holds on ideological structures since he sets himself to be free. It makes Bhisma become brave to share his ideology of political view.
As he lives in Buru as prisoner, Bhisma forces himself and his friends to be creative thinkers to set a strategy to survive. This is the ideological structures because he always tries to encourage others to be free thinkers. In Sukarno’s era, Bhisma does not like his order because Old Order changes his politics. Meanwhile, in New Order era, Suharto has the biggest power and authority that no one can argues his policy, for example, he orders his military power to arrest people who are involved PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) activities. It is no matter whether they are the real member of PKI or only supporter. As a result of his ideological belief, Bhisma is arrested by New Order’s government without
being process in court.
believe before stating as Marxist-Leninists. The second, the economic system in Buru is modified by the prisoners (p. 458). Bhisma says,
While we are incarcerated here for being Communists, the economics of this place is organized along centralistic, collective lines- in other words, the exact opposite of the so-called new ideology of the Suharto regime. Behold: a penal colony dedicated to the reformation of Communists, but which is itself a giant copy of the Chinese commune system (p. 491). It is the irony because according to Bhisma, the prisoners do not follow becomes both a political prisoner and a doctor, Bhisma’s routine activity is to see his patient. By seeing his patient, Bhisma thinks about the meaning of suffering. It is written in his letter in 1974, he tells a story when he visits his patient who is a comrade (a member of PKI). The comrade asks Bhisma about suffering. He tells about the hard of tapols’ lives which is not far from prison chaos. It happens because they live in suffer from many things like suffering from his family or somebody who they love.
everyone cannot compare suffering because all of prisoners suffer in Buru from many things. It is because some of them have nothing left, not even their skills, or future’s hope, especially their goals in life (p. 482).
Bhisma is always neutral in seeing many problems and answering question. He tries to see everything from many perspectives. He says, “My patient may be right. Perhaps, every suffering needs a salve at some points. And for Zakir, feeling noble in the name of sacrifice may just be part of his way or surviving” (p. 484). For Bhisma, he is too simplistic because when there is
suffering, there is a sacrifice to survive.
It is different from Amba. For Amba, she likes Bhisma’s view on Marxism. Bhisma states, “The thing about people who speak for Communism,”
he continues, “is that very often they don’t know their Marx and their Marxism. While it’s true that gray old man often referred to history itself as an actor, people
so often mistake him as a historical determinist” (p. 278). In Bhisma’s letter in
b. The Meanings of Bhisma’s Struggles Using Theory of Power and Powerless
According to Marxism theory of power and powerless by Mills, Bhisma’s
position shows that he is powerless, whereas the government, Suharto and the commander are powerful. There are authority, manipulation, and coercion of Bhisma’s life.
Bhisma becomes powerless because he lives as a political prisoner. In 1965, when he attends a student meeting, he is arrested in an assault. His assault conducted by right wing side and military. Before being assaulted, Bhisma gives a speech to fire up audiences. Then, he is arrested and imprisoned in Salemba prison. Three months later he is sent to Nusakambangan and finally, he is sent to Buru Island. Therefore, he is suffered from his freedom (p. 452). Buru Island for Bhisma is neither black nor white place. It is a gray place where Bhisma and his friends must work as unpaid labour. He states,
“Here, even if life bouls down to one thing-unpaid labour- at least we still see the sky, feel the breeze, breathe the air, hunt, enjoy the taste of sago and local fruits and catch fish in the lake. While, this doesn’t make it deal as a final resting place, somehow I know I may never leave this island” (p. 452).
After his long life as a prisoner, Bhisma realizes that he never leaves Buru until his death.
around 50 prisoners. It makes Tefaat Buru much more comfortable than most prison cells in Java which are crammed with 60 people (p. 454). The prisoners are far from their freedom. Their lives are arranged with an exact schedule. They must work from early morning. “At 05.00 we fetch tools from the warehouse and
labour in the sun or rain until lunch, then an hour of rest.” The unpaid labour does
not stop in the afternoon. After having lunch, they must work again, “At 13.00 we resume labour without a break until 18.00” (p.457). The unpaid labour is a result
of oppressor to oppress the powerless. The prisoners are alienated as humans because they cannot enjoy their production. They only work for the oppressor.
It is clear that Buru is called Tefaat because it is the place for exploitation prisoners. They work to make Buru become more profitable for the government as a miniature of Java Island. From this, it can be seen that Suharto, the power, manipulates and forces the prisoners to work. Bhisma tells about many kinds of labour categories, for example, clearing forests and meadows for paddy fields, building footpaths and roads, making irrigation and so on. Besides, they have a side project to bear the cost of agricultural projects, rice production facilities, and the living consumption costs of the oppressors. Their lives are full of unfair oppression which is not fair. Bhisma once expresses that he has no choice for him living as the oppressed. He must obey and follow the commanders’ order (p. 458).
However, the prisoners have idea to make illegal store rooms in order to survive with enough food. Unfortunately, there is no escape from the commanders. Many of Bhisma’s friends are beaten into submission. Bhisma, in his letter on 13
December 1973, tells his perspective about Buru, is well-known as heartless killing machine (p.474).
In Buru, Bhisma has a brother-in law, named Manalisa, whom he tells about his secret and life. Bhisma tells Manalisa that he has a gifted supernatural power to decide his death. Moreover, he tells Manalisa how hard his life as a tapol is. According to Manalisa’s story to Amba and Samuel when they come to
Buru, Bhisma is a different from other political prisoners. He has different behaviour like entering the forest alone as if from inside of a tree. After few months, Manalisa knows that Bhisma is a reflective man in sharing his innermost thoughts. He cannot show his anger with action. Manalisa knows it from Bhisma’s opinion about the men in uniform manning the barbed. Bhisma thinks
that political prisoners like him are alienated of his life. Their lives are manipulated and forced to hard labor even they spend their time to work for the island. He tells Manalisa how political prisoners are used to transform the island. By their hard work, they covert the barren field into rice fields, plant vegetables to eat and sell, and build roads. It is stated by Manalisa’s story when he talks to Bhisma.
Manalisa remembers Bhisma says grimly, “Those who dumped us in this
