AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
SONI WIJANARKO
Student Number: 044214012
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
SONI WIJANARKO
Student Number: 044214012
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
iv
strength to break all the walls in front of me. You make me believe that there is nothing impossible in this world. The door You have chosen for me through Sana ta Dharma University has opened my eyes to the different standpoint of this world and I believe that everything You give to me is the best thing I can have. Jesus, You are the best thing that I believe never wrong to be followed and believed in this world.
Time always flies and leaves everything behind and here I am now finishing my undergraduate thesis as the zenith of my study in Sanata Dharma University. Pondering about completing my undergraduate thesis, I want to summon up all the people who have helped and cared to me through all these years. I would like to give my sincere gratitude to my advisor, Gabr iel Fajar Sasmita Aji, S.S., M.H um. for his patience, guidance, and help that I can finish this undergraduate thesis. I would also like to give my truthfully appreciation to my co advisor Tatang Iskarna, S.S., M.Hum. for his very careful reading, informed suggestions, and tactful advice.
My deepest gratitude goes to Mama and Papa for all the love, care, pray, support, and teaching many things to face th is wild world. Mama and Papa, I will never be like now without both of You. My personal and especial gratitude is just for my Eyang who always prays and supports me in every step of mine. I would also like to express my profound gratitude to my brother Dek i and my sister Maya for all the pray, supports, and things we have shared together, both of you are the best thing I ever had.
I would also like to express my sincere grati tude to my buddies, 612 and Ismoyo, for all the help and things we have shared tog ether. I do not know how I would be without both of you; I do hope we can be the last men standing. I would also like to thank all lectures and staff in Sanata Dharma University who have served me during my study. Last but not least, I would also like to thank all my friends in Sanata Dharma University for all the things we have shared together.
v
APPROVAL PAGE ………... ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ……… iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………. iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………. v
ABSTRACT ……….. vii
ABSTRAK ……….... viii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION……… 1
A. Background of the Study………. 1
B. Problem Formulation………... 3
C. Objective of the Study………. 4
D. Definition of Terms………. 4
CHAPTER II: THEORICAL REVIEW………... 6
A. Review of Related Studies……….. 6
B. Review of Related Theories……….... 7
1. Theory on Character and Characterization……… 8
2. Theory on Society………. 10
3. Theory on Postcolonialism……… 11
4. Theory on Representation……… .. 13
C. Theoretical Framework……….. 15
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY……… … 17
A. Object of the Study………. 17
B. Approach of the Study……… 18
C. Method of the Study……… 19
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS………... 21
A. General characteristic of Antoinette……… 22
1. White……….... 22
2. Rich………. 23
3. Generous………. 23
4. Beautiful……….. 24
5. Emotional……… 25
6. Irrational………. 26
7. Weak………... 27
8. Unhappy………. 28
vi
c. Rational………. 35
d. Smart……….... 36
e. Racist……….... 37
2. Characteristics of the society as the Representation of the C olonizer……. 40
a. Exploitative………... 43
b. Dominant……….. 44
c. Superior……….... 46
d. Oppressive………... 47
e. Powerful……….. 49
C. Characteristics of Antoinette as the Representation of the Colonized………. 51
A. Double–conscious person………. 52
B. Powerless……… ……… 54
C. Marginalized………... 55
D. Dominated………... 57
E. Oppressed………... 59
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION……….. 62
BIBLIOGRAPHY……… 63
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Sargasso Sea. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
As stated by Elleke Boehmer, postcolonialism i s the term which critically scrutinizes the colonial relationship. However, it is important to think of postcolonialism not in any single sense that it can include various cultures affected by colonization in different periods. In this thesis, the writer focuses on analyzingthe characteristics of Antoinette in Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea as the representation of the colonized. The writer is interested in analyzing this character because through this character the writer can see how the postcolonial practices a rise in the novel and how the postcolonial practices can turn to the oppos ite way that represents Antoinette as the figure of the colonized.
The main objective of this thesis is to reveal how the form of awareness of the black people to regain their voi ce as the colonized, can reverse to the opposite way which finally traps them as the ‘colonizer’. In addition, there are three objectives of this thesis based on the three problem formulations. The first is to explore the general characteristics of Antoinette. The second is to analyze the characteristics of black society that represent them as the colonizer . The third is to find out the representation of Antoinette, which is physically white, as ‘the colonized’.
The method that was applied in this thesis i s library research since all the data needed were gained from written sources. In conducting the analysis the writer applied Postcolonial approach . Using this approach, the writer is able to find how postcolonial practices arise in the novel.
viii 2008.
Sebagaimana dikatakan oleh Elleke Boehmer bahwa pascakolonialisme adalah istilah yang secara kritis digunakan untuk menelanjangi hubungan kolonial yang terbentuk dari sudut pandang bangsa Barat pada umumnya . Namun demikian, penting di sini untuk tidak meng artikan pascakolonialisme dalam konteks tunggal sehingga kita dapat memasukkan berbagai budaya yang terpengaruhi oleh kolonialisasi dari waktu yang berbeda – beda. Dalam skripsi ini penulis memfokuskan analisa karakteristik Antoinett e dari karya Rhys yang berjudul Wide Sargasso Sea sebagai representasi orang yan g terjajah. Penulis tertarik untuk menganalisa karakter ini karena lewat karakter ini penulis dapat melihat bagaimana praktik – praktik pascakolonialisme muncul dalam novel dan bagaimana praktik – praktik pascakolonialisme itu dapat berubah menjadi hal yang sebaliknya yang merepresentasikan Antoinette sebagai figur orang yang terjajah.
Tujuan utama skripsi ini adalah untuk melihat bagaimana bentuk kewaspadaan orang –
orang kulit hitam sebagai orang yang terjajah untuk mendapatkan kembali hak mereka dapat berubah menjadi hal yang sebaliknya yang pada akhirnya justru menyebabkan mereka menjadi figur penjajah. Selain itu, skripsi ini mempunyai tiga tujuan yang berdasarkan rumusan masalah. Yang pertama adalah untuk mengetahui karakteristik Antoinette secara umu m. Yang kedua adalah untuk menganalisa karakteristik masyarakat kulit hitam yang menjadikan mereka sebagai figure penjajah. Yang ketiga adalah untuk menemukan representasi Antoinette, yang secara fisik putih, sebagai figur orang yang terjajah.
Metode yang digunakan dalam skripsi ini adalah studi pustaka karena semua data – data yang diperlukan berasal dari sumber tertulis. Dalam melakukan analisa penulis menggunakan pendekatan pascakolonial. Dengan pendekatan ini penulis dapat menemukan bagaimana praktik
–praktik pascakolonial muncul dalam novel.
Dari analisa yang telah diakukan, penulis menemukan bahwa: Pertama, Antoinette memiliki beberapa karakteristik sepert: putih, kaya, murah hati, emosional, tidak rasional, lemah, tidak bahagia, dan pesimis. Yang ked ua, karakteristik utama dari masyarakat kulit hitam dimana Antoinette tinggal adalah: suka mengeksploitasi, dominan, berada di “atas”, suka menekan, dan
1
Postcolonialism is the term which occurs as the response to colonization and its aim is to scrutinize the colonial relationship (which is universally shaped by
Western point of view). Thus, it is often deeply marked by experiences of cultural exclusion and division under empire (Boehmer, 2005: 3). The discussion of postcolonialism covers all the culture affected by the imperial process from the
moment of colonization to the present day and it involves the binary opposition between the colonizer, or west, or white and the colonized, or east, or black. Postcolonialism arises a new sight towards the relation between east, or black and west or white with the awareness of European exploitation of other worlds as stated
by Ashcroft, et all.
The designation "postcolonial" has been used to describe writing and reading practices grounded in colonial experience occurring outside of Europe but as a consequence of European expan sion
and exploitation of "other” worlds (1991: 1-2).
Postcolonialism asserts the relation between the colonizer and the colonized
in which the colonized always becomes the object of exploitation, suppression and oppression by the colonizer. As stated by Mishra and Hodge, cited in Colonialism/postcolonialism, that“whichever direction human beings and materials
traveled, the profit always flowed back t o the so-called mother country” (the colonizer) (2005: 9). Because of that, there is stereotyping that the white is the agent of colonial rule since they are never the subject to the genocide, economic
(the colonized) (2005: 14). On the contrary, if the white is closed to the colonizer ,
the black is, sometimes, regarded as the colonized as Fanon stresses, cited in the Empire Writes Back, that ‘Blackness’ is the racial characteristic through which all
the colonized people have to pass (1991: 124). Unfortunately, those critics seem to
be trapped in the discourse by saying that ‘the colonized’ is always black and the
“colonizer” is white. However, since the word postcolonialism cannot be used in any single sense, it is important noting here, as suggested by Loomba, to think of
postcolonialism not just as coming literary after colonialism and signifyi ng its demise, but more flexibly as the contestation to colonial domination and the legacies of postcolonialism. By doing so, we might include the exploitation which
occurs in the white people that we cannot simply align it to the exploitation experienced by the other colonized people (the black) (2005: 16).
Regarding to the problem s above, the writer sees an interesting phenomenon
in the novel Wide Sargasso Sea written by Jean Rhys. This novel tells about the life of Antoinette who is physically whi te and living in the black society. It is told in the novel that the society does not accept her and she almost has no friend in her
childhood. She has also to live with the mocking and pressure of the society which calls her as ‘white cockroach’. It is also told in the novel how the hatred of the
society gets to its climax with the incident of the burning of Antoinette’s house
which forces her to move. Unfortunately Antoinette’s suffer does not only stop with
Antoinette, who is physically white, and the society , which is described as black
society, around her.
Based on the description of the relationship between Antoinette and the society the writer decides to look for the deeper meaning behind the phenomenon ,
the relation between the white and the black, which occur in the novel since, as Hall states that, meaning can be drawn from imaginary worlds of fictional objects (Hall, 2003: 17). By using postcolonial approach, the writer will examine the relationship
between Antoinette (the white) and the society (the b lack) since everything in fictional objects may create different representation. Furthermore, in relation to postcolonialism, this thesis will focus on how t he topic of postcolonialism can be
revealed through the major character of the novel, Antoinette; since, as stated by Henkle, the writer can presumably understand the focal experience of the novel by putting full attention to the major character (1977: 92). Thus , the writer would like
to analyze the life of Antoinette who is living in the black society. This thesis will not only stop in analyzing the life of Antoinette who is living in the black society, further, the writer will analyze the representation of this character.
A. Problem Formulation
To examine this novel, the writer formulates three probl ems as follows:
1. What are the characteristics of Antoinette as the main character in the novel? 2. What are the characteristics of the black society, where Antoinette lives, that
represents“the colonizer”?
B. Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this thesis is to reveal how the form of awareness of the black people to regain their voice as the colonized, can reverse to the opposite way which finally traps themas the ‘colonizer’.
In addition, there are three objectives of this undergraduate thesis based on the three problem formulations . The first is to explore the characteristics of
Antoinette’s character in the novel. Secondly is to analyze the characteristics of
black society in the novel. The third is to find out the representation of Antoinette,
which is white, as ‘the colonized’.
C. Definition of Terms
The writer uses some key terms in this undergraduate thesis and to avoid confusion, it is better to define the key term s.
1. Characteristics of the Colonized and the Colonizer
According to Bijay Kumar Das, the colonized refers to people who are marginalized by the colonizer (2002: 203). The colonizer-colonized relationship is
based on a Manichaean division of the world: the colonizer is good, has power, and
controls the colony’s resources; the colonized is bad, must be dominated, and must
forfeit control over both land and labor (1995: 20). As cited by Loomba, Fanon
defines colonized people as not simply those whose labou r has been appropriated
but those ‘in whose soul an inferiority complex has been created by the death and
burial of its local cultural originality’ (2005: 26). Thus, the writer sees the characteristics of the colonized that are marginalized, inferior, and dominated.
2. Representation
Representation is the production of meaning through language. Languages can use signs to symbolize people or events in the so -called “real” world, but they can also reference imaginary things and fantasy worlds or abstract ideas which are not
in any obvious sense part of our material world (Hall, ed. 1997: 28). 3. Black society
According to Krech, et all, the central characteristic of a societ y is that it is an
organized collectively of interacting people whose activities become centered around a set of common goals, and who tend to share common beliefs, attitudes, and modes of action (1962: 308). Thus, black society is a group of black people
6 A. Review of Related Studies
To more understand and get more information of the work and about the
topic, in this part the writer would like to give some previous studies of this novel. Andrew Gibson states this novel as a nove l which lies somewhere in between
classic realist and modernist narrative, “It can help us to think differently about
narrative voice without either lapsing into an established frame of reference or reverting yet again to a celebration of the avant -garde”. His review focuses on the
major character of the novel, Antoinette. He states that the voice Antoinette’s
narrative discourse are various and shifting. He also says that the voices in Rhys’s
narrative constantly fade in and fade out, “Those voices are sometimes subject to
interference, blurred or placed within or behind other voices”. In the last part of his
review, Gibson states that the voice in Wide Sargasso Sea is like the principle of the
Creole, “not one thing nor the other, displaced, modified by context, caught between identities, always suspended somewhere between absent origin and alien
context” (1996: 163-165).
In his book, entitled The Language of Postcolonial Literature, Ismail asserts
that “attitudes toward language in fiction are very often reflective of, or are affected
by, what goes on outside it”. He givesWide Sargasso Sea as the example and states
the Jamaican variety of English”. He says that this attitude perhaps due to the
prejudice that the author or readers may not regard the use of certain varieties of
English as ‘acceptable’. Thus, he concludes that this attitude is a reflection of
linguistic attitudes which have a social dimension (2002: 133).
The article by Judie Newman, cited in Postcolonial Discourse and Changing Cultural Context, states that the colonial voice within the motherland hardly makes itself heard until it has become postcolonial and one of the examples of the figure to
represent it is jean Rhys. She compares the distance between Rhys’sVoyage in the Dark and Wide Sargasso Sea as emblematic of their author’s trajectory from colonial surrender to postcolonial resistance. “The first novel depicts the trauma of
arrival while in her final novel Rhys finds in the intertextuality the means to resist,
the interstitial spaces where the identity in formation could enunciate infraction”
(1995: 48).
The information above is very important and it gives the writer useful insights in doing the study since the writer focuses on the topic of postcolonialism which revealed through the main character in the novel, Antoinette. By analyzing the
characterization of this main character, the writer can see the representation of this
character as “the colonized”.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory on Character and Characterization
Character is an important element in a story in which a person can be described. The author employs the character to make the story alive. On the basis of their importance, the characters are categorized into two, namely major and minor
character. Major character is the one frequently discussed in the novel. Usually the acts of the story focus on this character from the beginning to the end. This major character emerges from background to the end of the story. The character’s
personality is revealed in the interaction with others. While minor character appears in a certain setting, just necessary to become the background for the major character (Abrams, 1981: 50-56).
Another related definition of the character is raised by Stanton in An Introduction to Fiction. The term ‘character’ is used in two ways: firstly, it gives a
particular description about the individuals who appear in the story and secondly, it
refers to the mixture of interests, desires, emotions, and moral principles that form the individuals. Every story usually has a main character that is significant to all events in the story; usually they cause the conversion either in him or in the readers’
attitude toward him (1965: 17).
Lilian White and Jay Cline in Outlooks through Literature state that characterization is the technique used by an aut hor to make his characters come
alive for the reader. According to them, an author may reveal a character in several
ways: (1) he may directly describe the character’s appearance and personality; (2)
he may describe the character’s actions; (3) he may tell us what the character say;
The ability to characterize is the most import ant element for a good writer . It
is the way the writer creates imaginary persons so that the readers can feel their existence as lifelike. M.J. Murphy (1972: 1 61 –173) gives us nine ways to make a character understood by the readers. Those are:
a. Personal description.
The author can describe the character through the character’s physical
appearance, face, body, and clothes that the reader can have the descripti on about
the characteristic of the character. b. Character as seen by another.
The author can also describe the characteristic of a certain character from the
eyes and opinion of other character. c. Speech.
The author can also describe the characteristic of a character through the
information about the person’s character that is given from the speech of the person itself in the story.
d. Past life.
The person’s past life contributes to the characteristics of a character. Thus, the author can also give the read er a clue to events that have helped to shape the characteristics of a character from his past life.
e. Conversation of others.
f. Reaction.
The characteristic of a character can also be understood by the reader from his or her reaction toward various situation and events.
g. Direct comment.
The characteristic of a character in the story can be given by the author himself through the direct comments of the other character.
h. Thought.
The author can describe the characteristic of a character through the person’s
thought. It means that the reader can have knowledge of a character through the way of thinking of the character itself.
i. Mannerisms.
The description about the person’s mannerism can make the reader know the
characteristics of that person. Thus, the author can describe a person’s mannerisms,
habits, or idiosyncrasies which can also tell us something about the character. 2. Theory on Society
According to Krech, et all , the central characteristic of a society is that it is an
organized collectively of interacting people whose activities become centered around a set of common goals, and who tend to share common beliefs, attitudes, and modes of action (1962: 308). Thus, society is a group of people who is
interacting and sharing common beliefs, attitudes, and modes of action.
to one another and shaping their behavior in relation to the behavior and
expectations of others (1977: 89). 3. Theory on Postcolonialism
The term ‘Postcolonial’ addresses all aspects of the colonial process from the
beginning of colonial contact until after -independence. The development of new elites within independence societies; the development of internal divisions based on racial, linguistic or religious discriminations; the continuing unequal treatment of
indigenous people in settler/invader societies – all these testify to the fact that postcolonialism is a continuing process of resistance and reconstruction (Ash croft, et all, 1995:2).
Helen Tiffin in her article, entitled Post Colonial Literature and Counter Discourse, adds that post-colonial performance includes these following features:
a. Acts that respond to the experience of imperialism, whether directly or indirectly.
b. Acts that performed for the continuation and or regeneration of the colonized community.
c. Acts that performed with the awareness of and sometimes the incorporation of post contact forms.
d. Acts that interrogate the hegemony that underlies imperial representation
(Ashcroft, Griffith, and Tiffin, 1995: 95 -98) By those features we can see the relation between the colonizer and colonized country. The form of postcolonialism usually marked by th ose features as
the way of the ex-colonized country to obtain and regain their voice.
Postcolonialism can be the discussion of resistance which according to Bhabha, as cited in the book Twentieth Century Literary Criticism, is not necessarily an opposition al act of political intention, nor the simple negation or the
effect of an ambivalence produced within the rules of recognition of dominating
discourses as they articulate the signs of cultural difference (2002: 224).
There are some differences in defining resistance, but according to Sharpe there are two key points which can be drawn out as stated below
First, you can never easily locate the sites of anti -colonial resistance-since resistance itself is always in some measure an effect of the contradictory representation of colonial authority and never
simply a ‘reversal’ of power. Secondly, resistance itself never purely resistance, never simply there in the text or the inte rpretative community, but is always necessarily complicit in the apparatus it seeks to transgress (Ashcroft, et all, 1995: 108).
In the book entitled Colonialism/Postcolonialism Loomba states how
colonial intellectuals consistently raise d the question of their culture, both as the
sites of colonial oppression, and as vital tool for their own resistance. “The
oppressed subject possesses a dual consciousness , which is beholden to the rulers,
and complicit with their will, and that which is capable of develo ping into
resistance” (2005: 29). From this quotation the writer can see the characteristic of
the colonized that it does not only have to oblige to the rule and the ruler, but it also
has its own consciousness which is possible to develop into resistance toward the rule or ruler.
In the book Twentieth Century Literary Criticism, Bijay Kumar Das states
how the colonizer has taken advantages over the colonized by exploiting the
colonized both politically and culturally. “The colonial power had exploited the
colonized both politically and culturally and sought to establish the superiority of
the colonizer over the colonized” (2002: 214). Thus, the writer can see the
politically and culturally, that the colonizer becomes superior and dominant over
the colonized through the exploitation they did. This quotation also enables the writer to see the characteristic of the colonized in which the colonized becomes the one who is exploited and dominated.
The other idea of the characteristic of the colonized is raised by Gayatri
Chakravorty Spivak who gives the term ‘subaltern’ toward the colonized. Her vie w towards the subaltern, as cited in A Reader’s Guide to Contemporary Literary
Theory, is that the subaltern cannot speak or silenced. “That is to say, the oppressed
and silenced cannot, by definition, speak or achieve self -legitimation without ceasing to be that named subject under neo -colonialism” (1998: 227). From this
quotation the writer can see the other characteristic of the colonized in which it does not have voice that it becomes powerless and marginalized.
Based on the description between t he colonizer and the colonized by critics
above, such as, Ania Loomba, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and Bijay Kumar Das, the writer can see the characteristics of the colonizer and the colonized. The characteristics of the colonizer are: have the power (tha t it can exploit and take
advantages over the colonized), dominant, smart, have the control over the colonized, and superior. Meanwhile, the characteristics of the colonized are: dominated and exploited by the colonizer, marginalized by the colonizer, oppr essed,
and possesses dual consciousness (obliged to the rule and ruler and the one which can turn into resistance).
4. Theory on Representation
According to Stuart Hall, r epresentation is the production of meaning
representation. The first is how we correlate and construct the objects, people, and
events in the material world to the concepts we have in our mind. The second is how we arrange those concepts in various languages which stand for or to represent those concepts (1997: 17 -19). He also gives three theories of approach in
representation, which are reflective approach, intentional approach, and constructionist approach. Reflective approach stresses that meaning always lies to the object, person, event, or idea in the real world. Intentional approach asserts to
the use of language to represent the object, idea or event in the real world. Constructionist approach emphasizes that there is no fixed meaning within the material world that we are not supposed to confuse with the material world. Thus, it
stresses that representation is not only related to the material world and the language we use to represent the material world , but it is also related with the other systems in the society (1997: 24-25). From these three approaches of representation,
the writer will only use constructionist approach since it can represent a thing in the wider sense that is not only limited by the thing or the language to represent it.
As stated by Gibson that representation reappears in a double figure, in the
imitation of imitation, the simulation of imitative form (1996: 71). Based on classical theory there are two accounts of narrative representation developed, surface representation and depth represe ntation (1996: 81).
Surface representation conceives of language as unproblematically adequate to what it represents. It thinks of representation as a rendering of individual phenomena as documentation over an experience of surface. Surface representation is apparently founded in the visual and it tells us about things only within norms of
Representation of depths means penetrating the visible. This is the
representation of essence, general features, types which thus depends on and express ontological conviction (1996: 82). The representation of depths enables us to see the unseen from the seen, meaning to say that it makes us enable to see not
only the outside (e.g. physical appeara nce) but also the inside of the thing.
C. Theoretical Framework
All the reviews and theories above are very important in supporting the analysis. The analysis takes some theories to answer the problems proposed in the problem formulation. There are so me theories on character and characterization,
theories on society, theories on representation and theories on postcolonialism in order to analyze the novel.
The writer analyzes this novel through its main character, thus the writer
starts by the theory on chara cter. Characters employ a great role in a story and have important part to decide of what the story will be. In this novel, the writer tries to reveal the significance of what the cha racters represent. The theory on character
helps the writer to distinguis h the major and minor characters in the novel. By understanding the distinction of both kinds of characters and see what do those two kinds of character represent, the writer will have a starting point to analyze the work
further. To see the characteristics of the main character and black characters, the writer uses the theory o n characterization to analyze how the author characterizes them. Using the theory on society, the writer is able to see how black characters and their characteristics can represent t he society. To see how the society represents the
the theory of the colonizer, which are dominant, has the power and superior . These
three theories help the writer to answ er the second question in problem formulation. In answering the last question of problem formulation, the writer analysis the general characteristics of Antoinette by using the theory of depth representation
17 A. Object of the Study
The writer uses a novel entitled Wide Sargasso Sea written by Jean Rhys as
the object of the study. The novel was firstly published by Andre Deutcsch in 1966. Especially in doing this study, the writer uses the novel published by Penguin Books in student editions, 2001. The novel consists of 123 pages and is divided into
three parts.
This book has won the WH Smith Literary Award in 1967, which brought Rhys to public attention after decades of obscurity. It was also named by Time
Magazine as one of the 100 best English -language novels since 1923 . In 1993 Wide Sargasso Sea was made into film adaptation directed by John Duigan and starring Karina Lombard and Nathaniel Parker. Then, in 1997 Wide Sargasso Sea was also
performed in Contemporary Opera adaptation with music by Brian Howard, directed by Douglas Horton, and produced by Chamber Made. In 2006 Wide Sargasso Seawas made into TV adaptation directed by Brendan Maher and starring
Rebecca Hall as Antoinette (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide_Sargasso_Sea ). Wide Sargasso Sea is about a woman named Antoinette Mason. She is a white creole woman who faces many re sistances, even since her childhood, because
the resistances by the blacks. The first part of the novel tells about the story of her
childhood in Antoinette’s voice. In this part of the novel the story is set in Jamaica of the mid 1830s where she has started to face many re sistances, starting with the
death of her mother’s horse, called as ‘white cockroach’, being betrayed by her only
best friend, until the burning of her family house that forces he r and her family to
move. The story moves into the second part in Antoinette’s husband voice (Mr.
Rochester). In this second part of the novel is told that Antoinette and her husband
are having their honeymoon. But, during their honeymoon, she also has to face the other resistance, and the worst is that it is one of her servants who dare to insult and even attack her in front of her own husband. All those resistances make her pity
herself and feel hopeless. In the last part of the story is told that Antoinette is locked
in the attic of the man’s home in England. Grace Poole is the woman hired to watch
her. Antoinette goes from violent to melancholy. She does not realize that she is in
England and has nostalgic memories of Jamaica. She dreams of sneaking downstairs and setting the house on fire. Fina lly, she takes a candle descending the stairs.
B. Approach of the Study
The approach which is used in analyzing the novel is postcolonial approach. This approach is used in analyzing postcolonial works of literature. In the book of
exclusion and division under empire” (2005:3). Using this approach the writer can
find the new form of colonial relationship in a literary work. This approach is used in order to find out how the postcolonial is represented through its major character (Antoinette-represents the white) and minor characters (the blacks). Here the writer
can see what kind of postcolonial practices occurred in the story. This approach is the most appropriate one because it stresses on how the postcolonial practices are reflected in the story. This approach is used in order to get full understanding of
what the major and minor characters’ deed, thought, and saying to show
postcolonialism.
C. Method of the Study
The writer used library research to collect the data for this thesis. There were two kinds of sources: primary source and the secondary sources. The primary
source of this thesis was the novel Wide Sargasso Sea. The secondary sources were taken in order to support the analysis of the study. The books which were used as
the secondary sources such as: Abrams’s A Glossary to Literary Terms, Stanton’ s
An Introduction to Fiction , Holman’s A Handbook to Literature, X.J. Kennedy’s
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, Ashcroft, Griffiths, and
Tiffin’s Post Colonial Literature and Counter Discourse , and Elleke Bohemer’s
Colonial and Postcolonial Literature.The writer also gathered information from the internet in order to get more d ata about the novel and to complete the analysis.
important points related to the topic analysis and f ormulated three questions to get
the scope-limitation. To get a better understanding of the work, the writer also collected references about criticism from other writers and special records of Wide Sargasso Sea.
There were some steps in analyzing the nove l, and to support the analysis the writer used some theories. The first step was by analyzing the characters in the novel used the theory on character in order to examine and distinguish the
characters in the novel. In analyzing the characters of the novel , the writer started by making the list of characters in the novel and then a nalyzed them using the theory on character and characterization. In analyzing the character in the novel, the
writer found the major character of the novel and the characteristics of her by analyzing the description of the character , the thought and what was said by the character itself or the other characters, the manner, and the reaction of the character.
Furthermore, the writer also found some black characters which had importan t role in the novel and analyzed them. By doing so, then the writer could find some characteristics of black society where the major character lived. The next step was
analyzing the relationship between the major character and black society. In analyzing this relationship, the writer also employed theory on society to see social context, custom, action, and behavior of the society in the novel. In this analysis the
21
In this chapter the writer will answer the problem formulation in the
previous chapter. The analysis will be divided into three parts. First, the analysis will be focused on the characteristic of Antoinette as the main character in the novel. Second, the writer will analyze the society where the main character,
Antoinette, lives. Here, the writer will focus on the characteristics of the black society which represent the colonizer. The third part of the analysis will analyze the representation of Antoinette as “the colonized”.
Wide Sargasso Sea is about the life of Antoinette. Antoinette is the main character of this novel; she is a white and the daughter of ex -slave owners. The writer can see clearly that Antoinette is the main characte r of this novel because all
the stories in the novel are centered on this character. The novel consists of three
parts and each part is told by different characters. First part is in Antoinette’s voice,
the second part is told by Mr. Rochester, and the thi rd part is told by Grace Poole.
Though each part is told by different people, but all the stories there are centered on Antoinette. All of the stories in the novel are about the life of Antoinette. Thus, based on the understanding of a main character in t he novel as stated by Abrams,
This fact also supports this character to be the main character since, as stated by
Stanton, “every story usually has a main character that is si gnificant to all events in
the story; usually they cause the conversion either in him or in the readers’ attitude
toward him” (1965: 17). The writer sees that instead of her part as the main
character in the novel, she also has an important role in delive ring the message of the novel.
A. Characteristics of Antoinette
As stated by Lilian White and Jay Cline in Outlooks through Literature that characterization is the technique used by the author to make his characters come alive for the reader (1964: 35). The author of Wide Sargasso Sea uses some ways to
make her characters alive. In this part the writer will analyze Antoinette’s
characteristics and how the author c haracterizes her in the novel. Those characteristics are:
1. White
One of the ways to characterize a character is by the speech of the character itself (Murphy, 1972: 164). It can be seen directly from Antoinette’s speech about
how people around her see her. “They called us white cockroaches” (p.7). That
Antoinette is a white is also supported by the com ment of other characters. According to Murphy, instead of describing a character directly the author can
describe her through the eyes and opinions of another (1972: 162). The writer can see this through the direct comment of a girl in the novel who calls Antoinette as
the white cockroach. “Go away white cockroach, go away, go away. Nobody want
you. Go away” (p.7). The other comment that Antoinette is a white is stated by
cockroach, “I hit you back white cockroach, I hit you back,” (p.61). From all these
facts, Antoinette’s speech of herself and how other characters see her, the writer can
see one of the characteristics of Antoinette which is a white people.
2. Rich
The other characteristic of Antoinette is that she is rich. The writer can see this from the conversation of other characters since, as stated by Murphy, the author
can also give us clues to a person’s character through the conversations of other
people and what they say ab out him (1972: 167). Thus, the writer finds the fact that
Antoinette is rich from the conversation between Daniel Cosway and Antoinette’s
husband. “But old Mason take a great fancy for the girl Antoinetta and give her
half his money when he die” (p.59). The other way to characterize a character in a story can also through the comment of other character (Murphy, 1972: 170)and from this theory the writer can also find the fact that Antoinette is rich from the
comment of Christophine, “But look me trouble, a rich white girl like you...(p.68).
There is also the other statement by her husband who says, “I have not bought her,
she has bought me, or so she thinks” (p.39). From all those facts the writer can see
how rich Antoinette is that according to her husband she even can buy a man to marry her. Interestingly, though she is rich but she does not care much about the
money as stated by Christophine, “She is more better than you, she have better
blood in her and she don’t care for money-it’s nothing for her” (p.98). 3. Generous
From the comment of Antoinette’s husband, the writer can also see that
Antoinette is also a generous person. This is the way which is used by the author to
(Murphy, 1972: 170). It is told in the novel that Antoinette always gives money,
food and drink to all visitors. But, her husband does not quite agree with what she does and thinks that she only wastes money for useless thing. Though he does not agree with what Antoinette does, but he can do nothing about it.
“As for the money which she handed out so carelessly, not
counting it, not knowing how much she gave, or the unfamiliar faces that appear then disappeared, though never without large meal eaten and a shot of rum I discovered -sisters, cousins, aunts and uncle-if she asked no questions how could I?” (53-54).
The other way to characterize a character is by the speech of the character itself in the story (Murphy, 1972: 164). The writer finds out that Antoi nette is a generous person from the way she talks. She never gets angry when her friends are
mocking her, she prefers to avoid and ignore them. Though her friends often mock
and hurt her, she never really hates them. “I never looked at any strange negro.
They hated us” (p.7).
4. Beautiful
The other characteristic of Antoinette is that she is beautiful. The writer
finds this fact through the comment of Antoinette’s husband who gives comment
about how pretty she is when she is sleeping. He watches her and state s his admiration.
“As I looked she moved and flung her arm out. I thought
coldly, yes, very beautiful, the thin wrist, the sweet swell of the forearm, the rounded elbow, the curve of her shoulder into her
upper arm. All present, all correct” (p.88).
The other quotation that shows the beauty of Antoinette is her husband’s
beauty of his wife charms him. “She was sitting on the sofa and I wondered why I
had never realized how beautiful she was” (p.46).
5. Emotional
The way to characterize a character in a story can also through the comment
of other character (Murphy, 1972: 170). Hence, from the comment of her husband, the writer can see that Antoinette can loose her temper suddenly an d turn into
different person as stated by her husband, “She’d be silent, or angry for no reason,”
(p.55). The other way to characterize a character can be from the actions of the character itself and it can seen from her reaction of certain event or situat ion (Murphy, 1972: 168). Using this theory the writer sees that Antoinette is
characterized as a girl that sometimes cannot control her own emotion. This kind of attitude can be seen from her reaction when one of her servants, Amelie, is mocking her. When Antoinette cannot bear anymore of it, she wakes up and slaps her
servant’s face which causes fighting between them.
‘Antoinette jumped out of bed and slapped her face.’
“I hit you back white cockroach, I hit you back,” said Amelie.
And she did
‘Antoinette gripped her hair. Amelie, whose teeth were bared,
seemed to be trying to bite.’ (p.61)
This attitude is also shown when she is quarrelling with her husband. She is very angry with the betrayal of her husband who makes an affair to one of her
servants, Amelie. When she is angry, her husband himself can see how Antoinette turns into different person. He sees how Antoinette expresses her anger in drunk by smashing bottle to the wall and cursing her husband.
‘She smashed another bottle against the wall and stood with
‘Then she cursed me comprehensively, my eyes, my mouth,
every member of my body, and it was like a dream in the large unfurnished room with the candles flickering and this red -eyed wild-haired stranger who was my wife shouting obscenities at me (p.96).
6. Irrational
The characteristic of a person in the story can also b e described through the
person’s thought. It stresses on what the character thinks of herself and what is going on (happen) to her (Murphy, 1972: 171). Thus, the writer finds out one of the
characteristics of Antoinette that she is irrational in the way that she doubts the power of God and more believe in superstition . She doubts the power of God
because of her family’s bad conditions and many sufferings that she faces. She
thinks that God does not help her to overcome her problems. She often asks the
existence of God. “And God who is indeed mysterious who had made no sign when
they burned Pierre as he slept not a clap of thunder, not a flash of lighting” (p21
-22).
The writer also finds the characteristic of Antoinette, that she doubts in God, when she has the conversation with her husband. She asks her husband to explain
why he hates and ignores her, but he does not answer. W hen she asks why he never kisses her, he answers by mentioning the word of God. Antoinette cannot understand his God and respond in mocking way.
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I have a reason’, and added very softly, ‘my God’ ‘You are always calling on god, ‘ she said. ‘Do you believe in God?’ ‘Of course, of course I believe in the power and wisdom of my creator.’
‘And you,’ I said. ‘Do you believe in God?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ she answered calmly, ‘what I believe or you
On the contrary, instead of the fact that Antoinette does not believe in God,
the author characterizes her as a person who more believes in superstition. From her conversation with Christophine, the writer finds out that Antoinette believe s in superstition, rather than uses her rational and believe in God. When she feels that
her husband does not love her anymore, she goes to Christophine and asks her help.
Antoinette believes that Christophine can make her husband loves her again. “Yes
you can, I know you can. That is what I wish and that is why I came here. You can
make people love or hate. Or…or die” (p.70). From all of these facts the writer can
see the characteristics of Antoinette as the irrational girl who doubts about the existence of God and believe in superstition.
7. Weak
From Antoinette’s reaction, when her beloved people are about to abandon
and leave her, the writer also discovers that Antoinette is characterized as a weak
girl in the way that she is too much dependant to the be loved people around her. From the fact that she is characterized as a weak girl makes her dependant that she will feel hopeless without the beloved people around her. First time she expresses
this kind of feeling is to her husband. She states that her life begins since she knows him and she will never know how her life will be if he leaves her. If she has to die, she prefers to die now, when she is in happy.
‘I never wished to live before I knew you.’…
‘Why did you make me want to live? Why did you do that to me?’ ‘Because I wished it. Isn’t that enough?’
‘Yes, it is enough. But if one day you didn’t wish it. What should I do then?’…
The writer also sees how Antoinette feels hopeless without beloved people
around her when she expresses her feeling toward Christophine. Chris tophine is one of her black servants who has worked for her family since her childhood. Antoinette is very close with her and always goes to her everytime she has problem. One day,
when Christophine puts up with Antoinette, she tells her that she will go a nd leave her. But, Antoinette cannot accept her decision; she does not know what to do without her. From what her thought about this problem, the writer finds out that
Antoinette is so dependant to Christophine that she expresses her feeling as follow,
“And what will become of me?’ (p.62). As stated by Lilian White and Jay Cline in Outlooks through Literature that the author of a story can combine several ways to
characterize a character in the story (164: 35). Therefore, from her thought and reaction when her beloved people are about to leave her, the writer sees that Antoinette is a weak girl in the way that she becomes so dependant to the beloved
people around her. She is so dependant to people around her that she does not know what she will be without th em.
8. Unhappy
As stated by Murphy that the author can also give the reader a clue to events that have helped to shape the characteristics of a character from the character’s past life (1972: 166). From the past life of Antoinette the writer sees that she i s used to
live with no friends which lead to her solitaire life. The fact that her only friend, in her childhood, finally betrays her has proved that she has no friends in her childhood. It is told in the novel that Antoinette has ever had a good friend in her childhood, Tia, but she eventually betrays her. Not only stole her clothes (p.8 -9),
jagged stone in her hand but I did not see her throw it. I did not feel it either, on ly
something wet, running down my face” (p.23). From the experience in her
childhood, the writer finds out that Antoinette is used to live alone. Because of this,
she becomes a kind of solitaire person that she expresses her feeling as follow, “I
got used to solitary life” (p.3). Here, the writer finds out that Antoinette does not have a lot of friends that she prefers to be alone. From what Antoinette’s thought
the writer sees her hatred toward people around her which make her to think that
people are worse than animal or any pains she has ever felt.
And if the razor grass cut my legs and arms I would think it’s better
than people. Black ants or red ones, tall nests swarming with the white ants, rain that soaked me to the skin -once I saw a snake. All better than people.
Better. Better, better than people. (p.11)
All of the bad experiences in her past life lead to her unhappy life.
Antoinette thinks that she has a miserable life, always live unhappily, which make her to think that she does not deserve to ha ve happiness. The writer sees this fact
from Antoinette’s speech when she has a conversation with her husband. “I am not
used to happiness, she said, It makes me afraid” (p.55). from all these facts the
writer can see that Antoinette is characterized as an unhappy girl who has many bad experiences in her life that makes her as solitary girl.
9. Pessimistic
Antoinette is also characterized as a pessimistic person who always afraid of what will happen to her. The writer sees the characteristic of Antoinet te as a
frightened people from what she says. It is told in the novel that Antoinette is always frightened that she always sleeps with a piece of wood to defend herself.
of wood by my side so that I could defend myself if I were attacked. That’s how
afraid I was’ (p.42). When she is a child, Antoinette has also thoughts about how
she used to get frightened. Hence, she ever states her frighten as follow, “I wish I
had a big Cuban dog to lie by my bed and protect me, I wished I had not heard a
noise by the bamboo clump,” (p.18). As stated by Lillian and jay that to make the
character alive the author can describe the character through the characters’ action
(1964: 35). Therefore, from what Antoinette does, the writer also sees that she is
hardly to believe anyone that she is almost cancelling her wedding.
“You don’t wish to marry me?” “No.” she spoke in a very low voice. “But why?”
“I’m afraid of what may happen.” (p.45)
From the above quotations, the writer discovers that she is a pessimistic girl
who always afraid to face what will happen to her. All of her fears affect what she thinks of herself. It makes her uncertain about her identity that she does not know where she belongs. “So between you I often wonder who I am and where is my
country and where do I belong and why I ever born at all.” (p.63)
B. Characteristics of the Society where Antoinette lives
1. General Characteristics of the Society
As stated by Krech, et all that s ociety is a group of people who is interacting and sharing common beliefs, attitudes, and modes of action (1962: 308). In a story,
characters that form the society where its main character lives. Though the
existence of these characters seems to be trivial, but actually the y have important part in the novel. The existence of these characters becomes important in the way that they have the characteristics which are shared to form a society. Hence, the
writer analysis some minor characters which share the same characteristics to form the society of the novel. These characters are Christophine, Amelie, Daniel Cosway,
Tia, Baptiste, and a little girl in Antoinette’s childhood.
When the writer analysis these characters, the writer discovers that the actions they perform in the st ory are not merely the actions as what they seem. There are some actions, such as the mocking and insulting toward Antoinette, the
burning of Antoinette’s house, to represent the society. It happens because they are part of the society that the norm, value , and belief of the society affect their actions. Thus, all the actions of these characters are determined and affected by the society
where they live. Hence, the writer discovers the characteristics of the society through the actions of the characters abo ve as follow:
a. Dignified
Though it is told in the novel that the society lives in bad condition, that
they even have to work in Antoinette’s family to make a living, but they have a high
self – esteemed. They do not want to be underestimated by anyone, es pecially
Antoinette’s family. This kind of characteristic is represented through some
Antoinette’s servants that are Baptiste, Christophine, and Amelie.
The way to characterize character in a story, as stated by Murphy, can be through the thought of the o ther character (Murphy, 1972: 171).Through the
does not want to call him ‘sir’ or ‘master’. This kind of fact is reflected through his
thought when he is talking to Baptiste. “I noticed that he did not call me sir or master” (p.91). From this fact the writer finds out that even though his status is only
a servant, Baptiste does not want to be inferior and he tries to show it in front of his
master that his master will not und erestimate him.
As stated by Lillian and Jay that the author can combine several ways to make the character alive (White and Cline, 1964:35) . The writer sees several ways
which are used by the autho r to give the characteristic of Christophine. The author combines between the action and what the character says to describe the characteristic of Christophine as a servant with the high self -esteem. Even though
she is only a servant, she does not want to be underestimated. When she is in the right position, she will defend it even though she is facing her master. The example
of this is when Antoinette’s clothes are stolen by Tia that she has to go home with
Tia’s dress, which absolutely dirty. Knowing this, her mother angry and tells her to
burn it. Then Christop hine enters and she is asked to find a clean dress for Antoinette, but Christophine answers that Antoinette has no clean dress anymore,
and then they quarrel.
Christophine said I had no clean dress. ‘She got two dresses, wash
and wear. You want clean dres s to drop from heaven? Some
people crazy in truth.’
‘She must have another dress,’ said my mother. ‘somewhere’. But
Christophine told her loudly that it shameful. She run wild, she grow up worthless. (p.9)
reaction of this character in certain situation. It is told in the novel t hat when
Antoinette, who is her master, cannot control her emotion and slaps her, Amelie attacks her back. “I hit you back white cockroach, I hit you back,” said Amelie. And
she did (p.61).
b. Cynical
The other characteristic of the society where Antoinette lives is that the society cannot accept the existence of Antoinette and her family in their land. Thus,
the society hates and tries to get rid the family out of their land. The way which is done by the society to get rid Antoinette out of their land is by mocking and insulting Antoinette. The writer discovers that this characteristic of the society is
represented by a little girl in Antoinette’s childhood, Amelie, and some people of the societythat burn Antoinette’s house.
The fact that the society hates and often mocks Antoinette is noticed for the
first time by Antoinette in her childhood. The way to characterize a character in a story can be by combining several ways (White and Cline, 1964:35 ). Thus, when Antoinette is followed by a child, the writer fi nds out the characteristic of the
society which is reflected through that child’s statement. Here, the writer sees that
the author combines two ways, which is by the thought of Antoinette and the speech of the child itself, to describe the characteristic o f the society. It is told in the
novel that one day a little girl, a black, is following Antoinette and she does not know her. Suddenly, comes to her surprised, that little girl mocks her by calling her a white cockroach. That little girl even curses and a sks her to go away.
They hated us. They called us white cockroaches. Let sleeping
white cockroach, go away, go away. Nobody want you. Go
away’. (p.7)
That the society where Antoinette lives is a cynical society is also shown
through the action of Amelie, one of Antoinette’s servants in her honeymoon. As
stated by Murphy that the author of a story can characterize the character through the action of the character itself (Murphy, 1972: 168). From the action of Amelie
the writer sees her characteristic as a part of the society where Antoinette lives which is insulting and mocking Antoinette. It is told in the novel that Amelie hates Antoinette so much and calls her as white cockroach. She always sings the song
about white cockroach to show her hatred towards Antoinette. The white cockroach she marry
The white cockroach she marry
The white cockroach she buy young man The white cockroach she marry
(p.61)
That the society where Antoinette lives is a cynical society is also shown
through the deed of the society when they burn Antoinette’s house. When they
succeed burning the house, they express their deed by laughing at t he family and
mocking them. They yelling and throwing stones to the family. They feel so happy because they can show their power. This kind of fact is revealed through the speech of Antoinette and her father. By seeing these speeches, which are the respons e of
Antoinette and her father toward the action which is done by the society, the writer finds out the characteristic of the society as a cynical society since, as stated by Murphy, that the way to characterize the character in a story can also through th e
speeches between other characters (Murphy, 1972: 162).
“Annette,” said Aunt Cora. “They are laughing at you, do not allow them to laugh at you.”
Somebody yelled, “Look the white niggers!” and then they were all yelling. “ Look the damn white niggers!” A stone just missed
Mannie’s head,…
Some of them were laughing and waving sticks, some of the ones at the back were carrying flambeaux and it was light as day. (p.21)
c. Rational
The other characteristic of the society where Antoinette lives is rational in the
way that the society does not believe in any superstition . The writer discovers this characteristic is reflected by the two characters in the story, Christophine and Baptiste. From the conversation between Antoinette and Christophine, the writer
can see that Christophine is also a rational woman who does not admit that s he believes in any superstition like obeah, though she actually knows it. This fact can be seen clearly in the novel when Antoinette comes to see Christophine and asks
her to make her husband love her again she refuses it and says that she cannot do
that. She even regards it as foolishness. “So you believe in that tim -tim story about
obeah, you hear when you so high? All that foolishness and folly.” (p.70)
The way to characterize a cha racter can be from the speech of the character itself (Murphy, 1972: 164). Using this theory, the writer finds out how Baptiste, one
of Antoinette’s servants, is characterized as a rational person who does not believe
in superstition. It is told in the nov el that Baptiste does not believe in anything
related to ghost or zombie. When Antoinette’s husband asks him about that kind of
thing, he answers that he does not know anything about it, he even says that it is a
fool to believe in that kind of thing. “Don ’t know anything about all that
does not believe in superstition , but he actually also tries to mock his master who
still believes in that kind of fool, believing in ghost . d. Smart
The other characteristic of the society is smart. The writer finds this
characteristic when analyzing the three black characters around Antoinette that are Christophine, Amelie and Daniel Cosway. These three are regarded to represent the characteristic of the society as smart since they share the same attitudes and modes
of action as the part of the society. As stated by Murphy that the way to characterize a character in a story can through the comment of other character (1972: 170). Hence, the writer finds that Christophine is characterized as an
intelligent person through the comment of Daniel Cosway who describes her as the
most dangerous person due to her intelligent. “She is intelligent in her way and can
express herself well, but I did not li ke the look of her at all, and consider her a most
dangerous person.” (p.92).
That the society is smart is also reflected through the other two characters, Amelie and Daniel Cosway. When the writer analyzes the general characteristics of
these two characters, the writer finds how the actions which are done by these two characters to oppress Antoinette. These two characters use their intelligent to
manipulate Antoinette’s husband that lead to Antoinette’s unhappy marriage and
life. Amelie can manage her intelligent well to ruin Antoinette’s marriage by
seducing her husband. This fact is revealed through the conversation of other
characters, between Christophine and Antoinette’s husband. When Antoinette’s
husband is quarrelling with Christophine, he admits th at he does it intentionally to
“You bring that worthless girl to play with next door and you
talk and laugh and love so that she can hear everything. You
meant her to hear?”
“Yes, that didn’t just happen. I meant it.” (p.100)
Daniel Cosway is also characterized as a person who can use his intelligent
well by manipulating Antoinette’s husband to leave her. It is told in the novel that
even only through his letter he can convince Antoinette’s husband about
Antoinette’s bad life which enco urage Antoinette’s husband to leave her. After
receiving Daniel’s letter, Antoinette’s husband begins to doubt about Antoinette
and interrogates her as what has been said by Daniel. Knowing this fact, Antoinette is really sad and she accuses her husband has been affected Daniel’s words and hates her. “He tells lies about us and he is sure that you will believe him and not
listen to the other side” (p.81).
e. Racist
As stated by Ashcroft, et all that resistance is never purely resistance, but it
may take various forms it seeks to transgress ( 1995: 108). Thus the writer discovers the characteristic of the society where Antoinette lives as r acist society through the deeds of the society in order to get rid Antoinette out of their land. That the society
is a racist society becomes one of the forms of the resistance toward the white. In order to get Antoinette out of their land, the society does some deeds such as by
mocking, insulting, and even burn Antoinette’s house as the zenith of their attempt
to get rid Antoinette out of their land. The writer discovers this after analyzing the characteristic of the society which is represented by Tia, Amelie, a little girl in
The way to characterize a charac ter in a story can be through the thought of
the other character in the story (Murphy, 1972: 162). Thus, from Antoinette’s
thought the writer discovers that Tia is characterized as a racist person who disdain and often mocks Antoinette.
“That’s not what she hear, she said. She hear all we poor like beggar. We ate salt fish – no money for fresh fish. That old house so leaky, you run with calabash to catch water when it
rain. Real white people, they got gold money. They didn’t look
at us, nobody see them come near us” (p.8)
From the quotation above, the writer discovers how Tia disdains and mocks Antoinette. She means to say of how poor Antoinette is that she even lives in leaky house and does not have money to buy fresh fish.
The fact that the society hate s and often mocks Antoinette is also noticed by Antoinette in her childhood. The way to characterize a character in a story can be through the thought of the other character in the story (Murphy, 1972: 162). Thus,
from Antoinette’s thought, when she is followed by a child, the writer finds out the
characteristic of the society which is reflected through that child’s statement. It is
told in the novel that one day a little gi
