Analysis of Theme Through Social Conflicts in V.S.Naipaul's 'A Bend in The River'.

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_ii Universitas Kristen Maranatha

ABSTRACT

Skripsi ini ditulis untuk memenuhi salah satu persyaratan kelulusan program Sarjana di Jurusan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Kristen Maranatha. Dalam skripsi ini saya menganalisis tema dari novel V.S. Naipaul yang berjudul A Bend in the River. Tema tersebut dianalisis melalui konflik-konflik sosial yang terjadi di dalam novel ini. Dan konflik-konflik-konflik-konflik ini juga dibahas melalui pendekatan postcolonial. Pendekatan postcolonial yang saya gunakan bersumber dari karya Frantz Fanon yang berjudul The Wretched of the Earth.

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_iv Universitas Kristen Maranatha penjajah mereka, yaitu orang Eropa, untuk ikut duduk di pemerintahan dengan alasan mereka sudah merdeka. Bukan hanya itu, di saat bangsa mereka telah merdeka, praktek jual beli budak masih berlangsung. Oleh karena itu sudah seharusnya sisa-sisa penjajahan disingkirkan agar mereka tidak merasa tertekan atau tertindas seperti saat mereka dijajah sebelumnya. Karena merasa tertindas oleh orang-orang asing tersebut, para pemberontak dan penduduk asli Afrika lainnya terpaksa membunuh mereka. Konflik menjadi semakin parah ketika ternyata bukan hanya orang-orang Eropa dan Arab yang dibunuh, tetapi banyak dari penduduk asli setempat yang dibunuh karena para pemberontak ingin membersihkan kota dari pengaruh-pengaruh penjajah. Mereka dibunuh dengan alasan karena mereka sudah terpengaruh oleh budaya Eropa, contohnya para pemuda dan pelajar yang bersekolah di sekolah yang berbasis Eropa.

Dalam pembahasan konflik-konflik sosial ini, saya menggunakan teori postcolonial dari Frantz Fanon, terutama tentang proses dekolonisasi suatu bangsa yang merasa masih tertindas walaupun secara status mereka telah merdeka. Fanon menjelaskan bahwa sudah seharusnya suatu bangsa yang merdeka mendapatkan kebebasannya baik secara budaya atau politik. Selain itu, kekerasan adalah jalan keluar bagi mereka yang merasa tertindas untuk mencapai kebebasan.

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APPENDICES

Synopsis of V.S. Naipaul’s

A Bend in the River

The story is told by Salim, a Moslem Indian trader who immigrates to a

small town at the bend in the great river of a newly independent African nation.

Although he is an Indian, his family has been living in Africa for centuries. He comes

to the town to start a new business by opening his own shop. The town at the bend in

the river is more than half destroyed after the independence. Moreover, Salim does

not know that he will be trapped in many troubles that will come to the town.

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₂₅ Universitas Kristen Maranatha Then the new government decides not to involve European people in

the new government. The Belgian president’s adviser finally has to leave the

domain house, which is once built by the president for his special people and state

guests. The rebellion continually happens. There will be a big rebellion when the

president comes to the town. But Salim leaves the town before the rebellion

happens. Ferdinand, the native African who is from another tribe in Africa, gives

a steamer ticket to him so that he can run away from the town that will be

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₂₆ Universitas Kristen Maranatha Biography of V.S. Naipaul

Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul was born in Chaguanas, Trinidad, on

August 17, 1932. His Hindu grandfather immigrated there from West India as a

servant and his father, Seepersad, was a journalist. Naipaul’s family moved to Port

of Spain, where he attended Queen’s Royal College. Moreover, he travelled for

long periods in India and Africa. It was a time of decolonization, when so many

people had to find their own identity. On these travels, he explored the meaning of

culture and history.

In 1948, he received a Trinidad government scholarship, which he

used to study literature at University College, Oxford. After four years at Oxford,

he began to write. Naipaul married an English woman, Patricia Ann Hale in 1955.

Since then, they resided in Wiltshire England, travelling extensively and writing

many critical novels, short stories, and essays. His wife died in 1996, and he was

remarried shortly thereafter, to a Pakistani woman named Nadira.

Naipaul is the author of more than twenty five books of fiction and

nonfictions. He also has received many awards, including the Nobel Prize in 2001,

the Booker Prize in 1971, and knighthood for services to literature in 1990.

Furthermore, he has been called “the world’s writer”. His journey in India and

Africa had many influences to his works, like in his major novels A House for Mr.

Biswas (1961), The Mimic Men (1967), In A Free State (1971), Guerrillas (1973),

The Enigma of Arrival (1987), and A Bend in the River (1979). Naipaul addressed

violence and despairing of life in the Third World countries, from India, Africa to

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Every work of arts must have a theme, because theme is the most

important element in it. It is stated that theme is ‘the message or moral implicit in

any work of art’ or ‘the central and dominating idea in a literary work’ (Shaw,

1972: 378).

In this analysis, I would like to reveal the theme of V.S. Naipaul’s A Bend

in the River through the social conflicts. Having found some sources, I find out

that social conflict is the opposition of two individuals’ or g roups’ ideologies to

gain the right one. The conflict itself is ‘the opposition of persons or forces upon

which the action depends in drama and fiction’ (Shaw, 1972: 91). Shaw has

divided conflict into three types, one of which is social conflict. In Dictionary of

Literary Terms, social conflict is defined as ‘a struggle between man and man’

(Shaw, 1972: 91). In some cases, social conflict does not emerge between two

individuals only. It can emerge within a society with many groups in it. Different

opinions or even ideologies might be the source of the problem that will arouse social conflict. According to Marxist-based social theory, social conflict emerges

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₂ Universitas Kristen Maranatha differing amounts of material and non-material resources (the wealthy vs. the

poor) and that the more powerful groups use their power in order to exploit groups with less power.’ < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social-conflict_theory> In other

words, social conflict is related to power. The more powerful group will be the

ruler and the less powerful will be the suppressed.

A Bend in the River is a novel written by V.S. Naipaul, ‘a world writer of

Indian descent whose works are concerned with the issues of freedom and

decolonized world.’ < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._S._Naipaul> It tells about a

newly independent African nation with its conflicts in finding their voice and

identity. The nation has got their independence, yet there are still traces of

colonization, as some critics argue that ‘colonialism is over when in fact most of

the nations involved are still culturally and economically subordinated to the rich

industrial states… even though they are technically independent.’ <http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/anglophone/postcolonial.html> The Africans,

who have been colonized over the years by the Europeans, will reclaim what

should be their rights. And there is only their feeling of anger that is retained

during the colonization. Having got the status as an independent nation, the

Africans warn the Europeans that their sovereignty is over. Their great anger of

the oppression in colonial time bursts into violence after the Independence Day.

In conveying the theme through social conflicts, postcolonial approach is

suitable to be used as extrinsic approach in the novel. Post-colonialism itself

‘deals with many issues for societies that have undergone colonialism’

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₃ Universitas Kristen Maranatha Frantz Fanon’s theory of The Wretched of the Earth, which is ‘the ancestry of

postcolonial criticism’ (Barry, 2002: 193).

A Bend in the River deals with the issue of decolonization, that is ‘the

process by which a colony gains its independence from a colonial power, a

process opposite to colonization’ < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonization>

Colonial power is built by the colonizer to indoctrinate the natives so that they

believe superiority is only owned by white people. Politically, colonial power is

built in the government so that the natives believe that in the Europeans’ hand,

their nation will be brought to the same level with the whites’. And culturally,

colonial power also succeeds in making the natives see that all of the whites’

values are the best; for instance, in arts. But finally, this colonial power has made

the natives realize that they have felt oppressions over the years because they have

to lose their freedom in having their national identity. Gaining the freedom is the main reason for them to free themselves from being suppressed and feeling

inferior.

Fanon points out that ‘madness is one of the means man has of losing his

freedom’ < http://www.nu.ac.za/CCS/> A nation that has been suppressed for a

long time without any resistance will reclaim their history with the feeling of

anger because of losing its freedom as well as finding its identity. Having been

colonized for a long time, Africans have lost their voice and their identity. In fact,

identity is required for every independent nation to be admitted by other nations.

Yet, the colonizer feels that oppression during the colonial time is not enough.

Indirectly, they still colonize their ex-colonized nation by dominating the region

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₄ Universitas Kristen Maranatha free from the oppressor; not only technically, but also economically and

culturally.

Statement of the Problems

The problems that I would like to analyze are:

1. What is the theme of V.S. Naipaul’s A Bend in the River?

2. How do the social conflicts help in revealing the theme?

Purpose of the Study

The purposes of this study are:

1. To show the theme of V.S. Naipaul’s A Bend in the River.

2. To show the author’s way in presenting the theme through the social

conflicts.

Method of Research

In this thesis, I use the method of library research. First, I read A Bend in

the River by V.S. Naipaul as the primary text. Next, through the reference books

and internet websites I obtain more relevant information about the novel. In

analyzing the novel, post colonialism is used as the approach so that the theme can

be revealed clearly. Finally, from the data and the information obtained, I analyze

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₅ Universitas Kristen Maranatha Organization of the Thesis

I divide this thesis into three chapters. In Chapter One, the Introduction consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the

Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research and the Organization of the Thesis.

In Chapter Two, I present the analysis of the theme through social conflicts of A

Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul. Chapter Three contains the conclusion of what

has been discussed in the previous chapter. This thesis ends with the Bibliography

and Appendices. The Appendices contains a synopsis of A Bend in the River and

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₁₉ Universitas Kristen Maranatha

CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

Having analyzed the social conflicts using Frantz Fanon’s theory of post

colonialism, I arrive at the following conclusion. There are five social conflicts in

A Bend in the River. The first social conflict is between a group of Africans and

Europeans. The second social conflict happens between the new president and two

of the army, they are Colonel Yenyi and Iyanda. The same conflict also occurs

between a number of Africans and Father Huismans. The fourth social conflict is

between the Europeans and the Liberation Army. And the last conflict happens

between the new government and some foreigners like Noimon, Salim, Raymond

and his wife, Yvette.

I find that those conflicts are closely related to the theme of the novel. The

first social conflict, which happens between Africans and Europeans, occurs

because of the Europeans’ domination in the new government that then arouses

the Africans’ fury. The second social conflict happens owing to the continuity of

slavery that finally makes the native Africans furious and turn to violence. In the

third social conflict, I find the cause of the conflict is because of Father

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₂₀ Universitas Kristen Maranatha Huismans’ idea of civilization. At first, the Africans seem to accept the

Europeans’ values, but eventually they realize th at it is oppression. They lose their

freedom to show their own character as well as their skills. Moreover, Father

Huismans has to die tragically. The fourth social conflict occurs for the reason

that the Europeans still indirectly dominate the region; for instance, the natives

think that their children have been given false interpretation by the priests and the

teachers. Finally, this fact arouses the Liberation Army’s fury. And the fifth social

conflict emerges between the native Africans and the foreigners who still live and

work in the natives’ region. Therefore, it makes the new government decide to

nationalize the town.

By focusing on the outcome of those five social conflicts, I discover that

the theme of the novel is revealed through those social conflicts. The theme is

oppression that continually happens in the aftermath of colonization will arouse

the ex-colonized nation’s fury. All of the social conflicts stem from the

oppression that continually happens in the ex-colonized country. Realizing that

they are now an independent nation, the native Africans become furious at their

ex-colonizer.

Moreover, I also find that Fanon has the following notion. It is compulsory

for the oppressed nation to be free from the oppressor. This freedom can be gained

through decolonization, as done by the natives through violence. Actually, there is

no way back to their old culture, but he believes that the oppressed nation can

create a new idea to develop a new nation through their struggle.

In addition, I also notice that the author has a special intention in writing

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₂₁ Universitas Kristen Maranatha native Africans and their ex-colonizer, which are the Europeans. Naipaul

concentrates on these conflicts and gives a depiction of how an oppressed nation

tries to gain freedom culturally and politically from the oppressor. And he also

tries to make the readers imagine if one person is oppressed continually, he will be

furious and try to take revenge even he has to kill his oppressor. On the other

hand, Naipaul succeeds in portraying the condition in which native Africans

become horrible and have the heart to kill brutally because of the continual

oppression. And violence is their only way to gain freedom.

To end my thesis, I would like to give my personal opinion concerning the

novel from what has been discussed in the previous chapter. The conflicts in A

bend in the River can be taken as an example. It may happen in our real life,

especially in some Third World countries like Africa. Many independent nations

do not realize that in some cases, they actually have not got freedom either

culturally or politically. The natives in A Bend in the River have courage to fight

against the colonial system which still prevails even they are already independent.

These conflicts may happen in our country because oppression that continually

happens to an individual or a group of people can arouse their fury. All of us may

confess that western countries are superior to other nations and they have done all

of things that make us admire them. But it does not mean that they can suppress

their inferior all the time. Independent nations have their own rights to be truly

free from their oppressor. One day, if we are more aware of the condition, we will

reclaim our rights as the native Africans have done in Naipaul’s A Bend in the

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

References

Barry, Peter. Beginning theory. New York: Manchester University Press, 2002.

Hornby, A. S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Great Britain: Hazell, Watson

and Viney limited, 1989.

Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: Mc Grow Hill Book

Company, 1972.

Internet Sites

"Postcolonial Literature": Problems with the Term. 16 September 2005.

<http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/anglophone/postcolonial.html>

Ahluwalia, Pal (2002) Fanon’s Nausea: The Hegemony Of The White Nation. 16

September 2005. <http://www.nu.ac.za/CCS/>

Decolonization. Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. 23 November 2005.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonization>

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₂₃ Universitas Kristen Maranatha <http://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/fanon/conclusion.htm>.

Frantz Omar Fanon : Urgent Lessons for the Bolivarian Revolution. 16 September

2005. <http://pzadmin.pitzer.edu/masilela/general/essays/fanon2.htm>

Postcolonialism. Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. 23 November 2005.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcolonial_theory>

Social-conflict theory. Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. 11 November 2005.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social-conflict_theory>

Speech by Frantz Fanon at the Congress of Black African Writers, 1959. 5

November 2005.

<http://marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ot/fanon.htm>.

Primary Text