MAJOR CHARACTERS’ DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES IN PERCEIVING THE GENDER-RELATED SYMBOLS IN SOCIETY AS SEEN IN BUCK’S THE GOOD EARTH

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AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

THERESIA DEWI PUSPITASARI

Student Number: 064214039

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

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MAJOR CHARACTERS’ DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES IN

PERCEIVING THE GENDER-RELATED SYMBOLS IN

SOCIETY AS SEEN IN BUCK’S

THE GOOD EARTH

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

THERESIA DEWI PUSPITASARI

Student Number: 064214039

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

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Nama : Theresia Dewi Puspitasari

Nomor Mahasiswa : 064214039

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

Major Characters’ Different Perspectives in Perceiving the Gender-Related Symbols in Society as Seen in Buck’s The Good Earth

beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpusatakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelola dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal : 04 Oktober 2010

Yang menyatakan

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Above all, I would like to thank Jesus Christ and Mother Mary for

blessing and guiding me in writing this undergraduate thesis. You will always be

my guidance for now and forever.

I would also like to thank Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum., my

advisor, for her guidance, suggestions, and time during the writing of this

undergraduate thesis, and to Modesta Luluk Artika Windrasti, S.S. , my

co-advisor, for reading, correcting, and giving me essential inputs in order to make

this undergraduate thesis better. And I also like to thank all my lecturers in

English Letters Department for fulfilling me with knowledge.

My deepest gratitude also goes to my Dad, Alexander Miyadi whose way

of teaching me to be a strong girl can make me to be who I am today. To my

Mom, Tri Wahyuningsih, who always says my name in her prayers, your spirit

makes me stronger. To my two younger brothers, Adit and Dio, I thank you for

your unseen support that can push me to finish this undergraduate thesis as soon

as possible. All the things I did, I did it for you boys. I love you all. To Eyang

Kakung and Eyang Putri for their never ending support and bless, and to my

“second family”, Bapak and Ibuk, who never feel tired to gain my spirit to finish

this undergraduate thesis.

Lots of gratitude to all my friends in English Letters, especially Gaby,

Gentur, Rika, Jembay, Achied, Cica, Ketut, Entunk, Pipiet, Juli, Tuwik,

Asbun, and Ndok for their spirits to finish this undergraduate thesis, it is nice to

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my life, it will be forever. Thank you for making me full of tears and full of

laughs. I would also like to thank Vita, my sharing partner in boarding house, for

all the things we have shared together. I also thank Mbak Yovi and Mas Owri

who never feel tired to gain my spirit in finishing this undergraduate thesis.

Finally, I give my special thanks for my beloved one, Yohanes ‘Yoo’ Adi

Apriyanto, for lending me your shoulders to cry on and your ears to hear my

thoughts. Thanks for your time and patience that you give to me for these 5 years,

I thank God for every single moment that we have together. Your spirit has

encouraged my passion to finish this undergraduate thesis.

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ABSTRACT

THERESIA DEWI PUSPITASARI. Major Characters’ Different Perspectives in Perceiving the Gender-Related Symbols in Society as Seen in Buck’s The Good Earth._{Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters,}

Sanata Dharma University, 2010.

This undergraduate thesis is meant to see the perspectives among man and woman which are represented by the major characters’ perspectives in seeing the gender-related symbols in society that are found in The Good Earth. The two major characters, Wang Lung, and O-Lan have their different perspectives toward footbinding and concubinage. Their different perspectives in seeing some gender-related symbols show that gender differentiates one’s perspectives.

There are three main problems that are formulated to be discussed in this undergraduate thesis. The first problem is about the characteristics of the major characters in the story, the second problem is about how the major characters perceive the gender-related symbols that are found in the story, and the last problem deals with the ideas that can be inferred from the different ways of perceiving those symbols.

In order to answer the three problems above, the theory of character and characterization, theory of symbol, theory of gender, theory of society, and the review of Chinese society and culture are employed. The approach that is used to conduct the analysis is gender approach because this approach tries to investigate how women and men view things in society.

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xii Sanata Dharma, 2010

Tujuan dari skripsi ini adalah untuk mengetahui cara pandang antara pria dan wanita yang digambarkan melalui cara pandang tokoh-tokoh utama dalam memandang simbol-simbol yang berhubungan dengan gender dalam masyarakat yang ditemukan dalam novel The Good Earth. Dua tokoh utama yaitu Wang Lung dan O-Lan, memiliki perbedaan cara pandang terhadap pengikatan kaki dan perseliran. perbedaan cara pandang mereka dalam memandang simbol-simbol yang berhubungan dengan gender menunjukkan bahwa gender membedakan cara pandang seseorang.

Ada tiga rumusan masalah yang dirumuskan untuk dibahas dalam skripsi ini. Rumusan masalah yang pertama yaitu mengenai karateristik dari tokoh-tokoh utama dalam novel tersebut. Rumusan masalah yang kedua yaitu mengenai bagaimana tokoh-tokoh utama tersebut memandang simbol-simbol yang berhubungan dengan gender yang ditemukan dalam cerita. Rumusan masalah yang terakhir berhubungan dengan gagasan pikiran yang dapat disimpulkan dari perbedaan cara pandang terhadap simbol-simbol tersebut.

Untuk menjawab ketiga rumusan masalah tersebut di atas, teori mengenai karakter dan pengkarakteran, teori tentang simbol, teori tentang gender, teori tentang masyarakat, serta resensi mengenai masyarakat dan kebudayaan Cina akan digunakan. Pendekatan yang digunakan untuk menganalisa skripsi ini adalah pendekatan gender, karena pendekatan tersebut meneliti tentang bagaimana pria dan wanita memandang sesuatu yang ada dalam masyarakat.

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Literature is defined firstly as anything which is written. Therefore, some

people think that a cook book, telephone book, an article, and many others are

literature. Literature is then defined as works of imagination or creative writing

(Bressler, 1994:9). By this definition, written works such as a cook book and a

telephone book is no longer considered as literature. It is being replaced by novel,

poetry, drama, fiction, and other imaginative writing.

Charles E. Bressler in his book Literary Criticism: an Introduction to Theory

and Practice explains that literature and human life is closely related because it combines human values, emotions, actions, and ideas in story form (1994:10). The

description of life in literary work such as the conflict and the problem faced by

the character in the story may represent what really happened in human’s real life

because the subject of the story in literary works is particularly human and their

experiences in life. The way the characters overcome their problems may also be

the model of human life. Sometimes, the problems that are faced by the characters

in literary works are also the illustration of humans’ problems that they usually

face. But, we can not say that the facts in literary work are completely similar with

the facts in real life because the author sometimes put his idea toward the story in

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1984:19). Literary works are the reflection of human’s life, some of them are

really similar but some are imagination and sometimes it is also criticizing.

Reading a literary work will open reader’s view in order to see the changing of

humanity value. According to Wellek and Warren, a literary work can play the

role of a historical document which is artistically portrays the author (Wellek &

Warren, 1956:102). By reading a literary work, the reader can understand the

society, the author’s life, and also the condition of the era at that time.

In this undergraduate thesis, the writer will discuss about an element that exist

in society. This element is the symbol. As we know that symbol is described as

anything which signify something (Abrams, 1985:206). The symbol here is the

symbol that exists in the society that is described in the novel. Through those

symbols, we can understand the different perspectives among the characters. To

make it more specific, the writer simplifies the topic into the gender-related

symbols in society that are found in the novel.

The writer chooses The Good Earth as the object of the study because this

novel tells about the society and the culture of Chinese. In this novel, it is really

clear that the society is dominated by men. Through this novel, the writer can see

that there are some different perspectives between men and women in seeing the

symbols that exist in society. This topic is chosen because man and woman view

things differently. This is also supported by Bressler in his book that “women

view things differently from men” (1994: 270). Through their perspectives toward

the symbols that exist in their society, we can get the deeper understanding about

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The Good Earth is the best source to be analyzed because the writer thinks that this novel has a strong indication of symbols in society. To understand those

symbols, the writer will use the perspective of the major characters toward those

symbols. These perspectives bring us to see that each person has his or her own

opinion toward something, and those opinions can strengthen the idea of the story,

especially toward the gender-related symbols in its society.

This novel is written by Pearl Sydenstricker Buck. It is the first book of trilogy

that includes Sons (1932) and A House Divided (1935). This novel describes the

Chinese people, their lives, customs, and attitudes. In this novel, the writer can see

many things about Chinese people, including their behavior, religion, custom, and

life. It also tells about their traditional culture and values in the society of China in

the early 20th century.

The author of this novel is an American woman. She lived in China until she

was seventeen. Although she is not a Chinese, she tries to explain about the

culture and the life of Chinese in detail. She in this novel tries to be equal in

seeing the culture. She gives us the understanding of the story from both sides,

man and woman.

In this novel, it can clearly be seen that men and women have their own point

of view. This story is settled in Chinese patriarchal society. Therefore, men are

more powerful than women. Although men are more powerful than women, this

story tries to see the perspectives not only from men’s side but also from women’s

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that existed in Chinese society which are found in this story are used to see their

different perspectives toward certain social symbols.

By seeing the gender-related symbols and the characters in the story, the

writer can analyze the different point of view between man and woman. The

major characters here are presented as husband and wife in the story, so that they

can be the best example to see the different perspectives toward those

gender-related symbols in society.

B. Problem Formulation

1. How are the major characters characterized in the story?

2. How do the major characters perceive the gender-related symbols that exist in

society?

3. What ideas can be inferred from the different way of perceiving those symbols?

C. Objectives of the Study

The objective of the study on the novel The Good Earth is simply to answer

the questions in the problem formulation. The aims of this study are to find out the

major characters and their characterization in the story, to find out the gender

related symbols in society that are exist in the story, and to analyze how the two

major characters have their own perspectives toward those symbols that are found

in the story, so that the writer can get the idea from those differences. Therefore,

the writer can see the different perspectives among them toward the gender related

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D. Definition of Terms

In analyzing a novel, it is important to understand the terms which are related

to the problem discussed. There are some terms that are used and will be

discussed in this undergraduate thesis. Those terms are gender, perspective, and

symbol in society.

1. Gender

Gender is defined as the socially constructed roles, behavior, activities, and

attributes that a particular society considers appropriate for men and women

(http://www.who.int/topics/gender/en). Bressler in his book stated that gender is

related with how men and women view such terms as ethics, personal identity,

and society, it is possible that women view each of these terms differently from

men (1994: 270).

2. Perspective

One term that is important in this undergraduate thesis is perspective. It refers

to a specific point of view in understanding or judging things or events, especially

one that shows them in their true relations to one another

(http://www.yourdictionary.com/perspective).

3. Gender-Related Symbol

Gender-Related is the social relationships between woman and man. It creates

and reproduces systemic differences in men’s and women’s position in a given

society. (www.medinstgenderstudies.org). Turner explains that the study of

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Examine the cultural specify of representation and their meanings by using one set of methods and terms across the full range of signifying practices: gesture, dress, writing, speech, and so on (2003:14).

To understand the symbol means to understand the society also. Kennedy

states that ‘symbols generally do not stand for any one meaning, nor for anything

absolutely definite, they point, they hint, they cast long shadow (Kennedy,

1979:113).

Symbol is having strong relationship with society and culture, Ross in his

book stated that

The norms of perception are conveyed and reinforced by symbols. in addition, the values and perspectives of a society are implicit in all the arts of the society, and perspectives and values are closely related to perception. Social norms are indispensible to any society and are valuable in giving direction for new thought and providing a base for new perspectives and values (1962:214).

From that quotation, it can be inferred that to understand the symbols that

exist in the society, people should understand also the social norms in that society.

From this description, it is clear that gender-related symbol in society is anything

that signifies certain customs, beliefs, values, culture and environment which has

social relationships between woman and man, so that it can create and reproduce

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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Review of Related Studies

In this chapter, the writer will present some criticisms and reviews concerning

with The Good Earth. There are two criticisms which criticize The Good Earth. Those two criticisms are undergraduate theses which are done by the seniors.

The first criticism is done by Susiyani in her undergraduate thesis entitled The

Influence of Other Characters to Wang Lung’s Character’s Development in Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth. There are two questions that are analyzed in her study. The first one is questioning about the characters of Wang Lung which are

described in the story, while the second one is questioning about the influence of

other characters in the novel that develops Wang Lung’s character.

In her thesis, she described that Wang Lung’s character significantly develops

as the result of the interaction with other characters. The other characters who

influence Wang Lung’s character are O-Lan- his wife, Lotus- his concubine, and

his children. Wang lung’s character develops in various ways. It can be seen

through his appearance, way of life, his way to think and the way he treats other

characters.

Wang Lung is characterized firstly as responsible and faithful to his father, shy

and lack of self-confidence, naïve, believe in Gods and Goddesses, full of love to

his land, hard working, attentive and responsible to his wife and children,

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character of Wang Lung is developed slowly. It can be seen through his

interaction with other characters.

The first character who influences Wang Lung’s character development is his

own wife, O-Lan. O-lan is silent, but when she speaks Wang Lung will always

hear her. “she seldom speaks, but when she is speaking, her voice has a power that

is stronger than anger” (p. 62). her ability to survive in a difficult condition makes

Wang Lungs becomes a tougher man. She teaches him how to survive in many

ways indirectly and it changes Wang Lung’s view in seeing life. When she takes

the jewels from the rich family in the north, no body knows about that. She gives

the jewels for Wang Lung and she takes only two pearls for her. Wang Lung use

those jewels to buy some lands from the Hwang family and it makes his dream as

a landowner comes true. When he is getting richer, he changes into someone who

is having high self-confidence. He goes to the teashop and he also begins to care

about his appearance.

The second character who influences Wang Lung’s character is Lotus, the

concubine. His meeting with Lotus changes his life. He cannot focus in his life,

his family, and his land. The family and the land that used to be the important

things in his life can no more become important because of Lotus. His mind is full

of her.

And if any spoke to him, his wife or his children, or if ching come to him and said, “the waters will soon recede and what is there we should prepare for the seed?” he shouted and said, “why do you trouble me?” (p.131)

Not only that, Lotus also changes Wang Lung from a parsimonious into an

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The last who develops Wang Lung’s character are his children. Seeing his son

having an affair with Lotus, he realizes that Lotus is not so important. He does not

care about Lotus anymore because she shouts at his retarded daughter and call her

an idiot. From that moment, he begins to ignore Lotus.

The second criticism that is criticizing The Good Earth is done by Afrillia Nita

Sari in her undergraduate thesis entitled Chinese Stereotypes of Women in

Question Using the Women’s Contributions in Buck’s Selected Novels The Good Earth, The Mother, and Imperial Woman.

In her thesis she reveals that the fact of women who are considered as weak

creatures in Chinese society can sometimes be wrong. She analyses the three

characters of women, O-Lan in The Good Earth, mother in The Mother, and

Yehonala in Imperial Woman. O-Lan and mother are having slightly the same

characters and also contribution in the story, they are important to the family, but

Yehonala is a bit different because she comes from upper classes and in the story

she also becomes a leader and a hero to save her country from the western

invasion. In this analysis, she describes the contribution of each character based

on their personalities in the three novels, determines the stereotypes on women in

China, and determines that their contributions are a challenge toward the

stereotypes that women are useless.

O-Lan in The Good Earth is described as a dutiful, sensible, devoted and

self-satisfied woman. From these personalities, the contribution of O-Lan in the novel

is clearly being seen. The first contribution of O-Lan is to save the family from a

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she can make some simple food like grass into delicious food and she can also

cook every parts of the ox from the meat, skin, up to the bone. Her ability here can

save the family to live together in starvation that kills many people in the village.

The second contribution of O-Lan in the story is to raise Wang Lung to a wealthy

landowner. Without her help in the field and the jewels that she robes from the

wealthy man in the north, Wang Lung will not be able to have a better harvest and

to buy the land from the great house of Hwang that he has been dreaming of.

After analyzing O-Lan, she analyses the mother’s personalities in The Mother.

The mother here is described as a dutiful, not ambitious, and a loving mother, wife

and daughter in law. From these personalities, her contribution can clearly be

revealed. The first contribution is saving the family from falling apart. Her love

toward the family makes her able to save the family to be broken. She shows that

her patience can bring the family into a joy. Her last contribution is to marry her

children to good people.

The last character that is being analyzed is Yehonala in Imperial Woman.

Yehonala is presented in the novel as an ambitious, patriotic, brilliant, and strong

woman. Her contribution is very significant in the story because she is the major

character. Her first contribution is defying the Western invasion. Her brilliant

mind is the thing that enabled her to see the weakness of the imperial army. The

second one is ending the T’ai P’ing rebellion. Her love toward the kingdom is the

power that has saved the kingdom from the rebellion. Her last contribution is

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She will not allow the tradition to be forgotten or insulted by the imperial. She

made the dynasty survive.

Women are stereotyped in Chinese society. In The Good Earth, women are

stereotyped as an evil and therefore useless. It can be seen when O-lan delivers a

baby girl. in The Mother, women are stereotyped to be slightly the same in the

first novel. Women are unwanted in the society. The last one is in Imperial

Woman, in this novel the society has the idea that woman can not be a good leader for the kingdom since they are considered to be stupid.

From those contributions we can question about the stereotypes of women in

Chinese society. Each of the woman’s contribution in the story has proven that

women are important. We can see them as a ‘roof’ protecting their people from

‘rain and heat’. Those contributions also show that the stereotypes are wrong.

After reviewing those studies, the writer can conclude that all researchers

above have never discussed the gender-related symbols found in The Good Earth.

This study will discuss about the symbols found in the society that exist in the

story, and from those symbols the writer can see the different perspectives

between man and woman in perceiving those symbols. One symbol that exists in

the story is footbinding. This custom is very painful for women in China. Woman

with bound feet can not work hard because they can not stand long. O-Lan is a

woman who is not having bound feet because she comes from a poor family. Her

unbound feet are seen by her husband as unattractive and ugly because men loves

to see a woman with bound feet rather than not. From this symbol it can be seen

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cultures found in the story. For woman, bound feet can be extremely painful and a

torture for her, but for the man it is an attractive one. Bound-feet is one of the

symbols that can be analyzed. This study will be different from the two studies

above because this study has different point of view with the two above.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory on Character and Characterization

Abrams (1985:23) in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms said that a

character is the person presented in a dramatic of narrative work. The character

itself should be drawn by the reader as being as dispositional from their dialogue

(what they say) and from their action (what they do).

M.J. Murphy states in his book Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to

English Poetry and English Novel for Overseas Student, the author can make the characters understandable by using some ways in the following description

(1972:161-173)

a. Personal Description

An author describes characters through their appearance. Authors may

describe the clothes, the skin, the face, the body, and many others of characters.

b. What other characters say and think about a certain character.

In this way, authors describe characters using the opinion of other characters.

However, readers should not believe whatever they say might only be based on

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c. Speech

Authors give clues about the character’s personalities through what they say

about themselves, others, and so on.

d. Reaction

The author can give the readers clues to identify the characters’ character

through how they react in a certain situation.

e. Direct comment

Sometimes, the author will explain the characters directly. They might tell the

readers that a character is sensitive, spoilt, and so on.

f. Past life

By letting the readers learn something about a person’s past life, author can

give the readers clues to events that have helped to shape a person’s personalities.

Author can do this by giving direct comment, or through the person’s thought, his

conversations or through the medium of another person.

g. Mannerism

The author can give the readers clues about a person’s personalities by

describing his or her mannerism, habit or idiosyncrasies.

h. Conversation of others

Authors give us clues to a person’s character through the conversation of other

people and the things they say about him or her.

Character is very significant and important in a work of art. Morner and

Rausch in NTC’s Dictionary of Literary Terms stated that

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function in the story, whether the character seems designed to fit the plot or the plot is derived from the character (1996:31).

From that quotation, therefore character becomes the most significant part in a

work of literature. Character will perform everything in a work of art. It has great

influence toward literary work because a character will complete the story of a

work of art. The characters will also help the reader to understand the situation in

the story through their characterization.

Holman & Horman in their book A Handbook to Literature state that

characterization is the creation of the imagery personages who exist for the

readers as lifelike. There are three basic methods of characterization (1986:81)

1. The explicit presentation of the character by the author through direct

explanation whether in a book’s introduction or throughout the work, illustrated

by action.

2. The presentation of the character in action

3. The presentation from within a character, without comment on the character by

the author, of the impact of actions and emotions on the character’s inner self,

with the expectation that the readers will come to the clear understanding of the

attributes of the character.

2. Theory of Symbol

Giving the theory of symbol here is significant because this undergraduate

thesis deals with the symbols, its meaning, and its perspectives. Symbols are used

in many types of research. “it is suggested that symbol is the synonym of sign and

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“science would study the life of sign within society” (Turner, 2003:13). Therefore

semiotics here deals with symbols within the society where the symbols exist. It

will teach us what symbols consists of, and what laws govern them. The study of

symbol allows us to

Examine the cultural specify of representation and their meanings by using one set of methods and terms across the full range of signifying practices: gesture, dress, writing, speech, and so on (2003:14).

It means that by studying the symbols, we also examine the society, because

we signify ourselves through the symbols available to us within our culture, “we

select and combine them in relation to the codes and conventions established

within our culture” (2003:14).

In order to understand the symbol that exists in society, the process of

representation is important. Representation based on Hall in Representation:

Cultural Representations and Signifying is

An essential part of the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture. It does involve the use of language, of signs, and images which stand for or represent things. (2003:15)

To understand the process of representation of some symbols or signs there is

one process that is called signification, the sign has been separated into two parts,

“the signifier and the signified” (2003: 14). Signifier is the physical form of the

sign, while the signified is the mental concept referred to by the signifier. We

need to understand the social dimension of the sign: the ways in which culture

supplies us with signifier, the form and the signified. There are two kinds of

meaning of the symbol. The first one is denotative meaning. It is the literal

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world that extends and amplifies its literal meaning. The example is the symbol of

rose. Rose is a beautiful fragrant flower in denotative meaning, but in the

connotative level the rose itself is also defined as woman (regarding it as beautiful

and fragrant). It can also be seen from the Chinese custom of foot-binding.

Foot-binding in denotative level is Foot-binding the foot, but in the connotative meaning it is

also the symbol of beauty that exists in Chinese society.

3. Theory of Gender

Theory of gender is needed here because this study will discuss the different

perspectives in seeing gendered-symbol in society. Pilcher and Whelehan stated

that

gender was used as an analytical category to draw a line of demarcation between biological sex differences and the way they are used to inform behaviors and competencies, which are assigned as either ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ (2004:56).

From that quotation it can be seen that there will be some differences between

being masculine or feminine either in their competencies or behaviors. From the

biological aspect, men or women are also different.

“The sex or gender distinction suggests a radical discontinuity between sexed

bodies and culturally constructed genders” (Pilcher & Whelehan, 2004:58). The

gender differences will lead into other differences in many aspects, including the

behaviors, competencies, point of view, hobbies, and many more.

Gender will also be related with something which is gendered. Gendered is

“when its character is either masculine or feminine, or when it exhibits patterns of

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colors are gendered colors. Blue is regarded as masculine, and pink is regarded as

feminine. Another example of gendered is paid work. Woman and man undertake

different forms of paid work. Woman tends to work part time, while man tends to

work full time. The understanding of gender itself is not something which is ready

made and fixed, but it is an active ongoing processes that is existed in society.

This process is done by the society itself or in other words, it is a socially

constructed process. “Something is gendered when it is, in and of itself, actively

engaged in social processes that produce and reproduce distinctions between

women and men” (2004:59).

The idea of gender gives the fact that every known society distinguishes

between men and women. This will lead into the gender order. Pilcher and

Whelehan said in their book that

Gender order is a patterned system of ideological and material practices, performed by individuals in a society, through which power relation between men and women are made and remade. (2004:61)

From that explanation, it can clearly be seen that through the gender order of

society, the forms of masculinities and femininities are created and recreated and

therefore the relations between them are organized.

Either man or woman has their own roles in doing things. This is called as a

gender role:

Activities that men and women engage in with different frequencies whereas the male gender role or the female gender role is like a script that men and women follow to fulfill their appropriate parts in acting masculine or feminine (Brannon, 1996: 168).

In this case, a person acts to fulfill a role by behaving in the expected way in

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women, and women do some activities more than men. Repairing a car is an

activity which is related to men, while repairing clothing is an activity related to

women.

Studying gender will also lead us to the understanding of the stereotypes of

women and men. Gender stereotype consists of “beliefs about characteristics or

activities appropriate to men or women” (1996:168). Women and men have their

separate areas of influence. For women, the influences are home and children,

while for men the influence factors are work and outside world.

Men and women are having large essential differences. It is proposed that

social experiences produce differences in learning and thus in their behavior.

From this view, social learning, biology, forms the basics for the gender

differences. “The different behaviors between men and women are influenced by

their surroundings” (1996:465). Women and men make different choices about

important facet in their lives. Social expectations push each toward different

options and thus toward different lives.

Since gender study criticizes not only femaleness but also maleness, it

investigates how women and men view the terms such as ethics, definitions of

truth, personal identity, and society. “Women will also view things differently

from men” (Bressler, 1994:270). It is believed that women and men can redefine

who they are, what they want to be, and where they want to go by themselves.

Since gender is engaged in social processes therefore it also signifies that it is

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4. Theory of Society

The theory of society is needed because it is having the relation with the

symbol in the preceding explanation. Society is a “number of people who have

lived together long enough to become organized to some degree and who share a

common culture” (Landis, 1971:39). Studying a society means studying a culture

of that society. Culture it self is “the complex set of learned and shared beliefs,

customs, skills, habits, traditions and knowledge common to the member of

society” (1972: 39). According to Kluckhon, culture represents the distinctive

way of life of a group of people.

The concept of culture is very important because culture is learned by the

society and its members. It is also learned through a socialization processes.

Through this process of socialization, the members of a society will learn about

the norm, custom, and many things that existed in their society. from that

socialization process, people will also learn how to behave and therefore they will

also learn about behaviors through the society.

In defining gender, we will also deal with society and of course, its culture.

Anderson explains this phenomenon as follow,

The many different processes by which the expectations associated with being a boy (and later man) or being a girl (later a woman) are passed on through society. (1997:19)

From that explanation, it is clearly seen that through the society, we can also

see that the process between being a man and being a woman is different. As it is

stated before that studying society means studying the culture, Anderson also

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Culture is a pattern of expectations about what are appropriate behaviors and beliefs for the members of society; culture provides prescriptions for social behavior. Culture tells us what we ought to be, and what we ought to expect of others. (1997: 20)

Therefore, to understand society will also be meant as to understand the

culture. From this society, we can understand many things that are existed in the

environment where people live.

5. Review of Chinese Society and Culture

To review the Chinese society and culture in this part is necessary because

this research deals with Chinese and the symbols that live in society and culture.

Therefore, this part is needed to get the deeper understanding about Chinese.

5.1Chinese Society

Chinese society is a patriarchal society. Eastman in his book stated that “in

China throughout the imperial period, men and woman were not created equal”

(1988: 19). Bell also explain in The Two Chinas that

A woman was always in theory subject to a man – first to her father, later to her husband, and when he died, to her son. For a woman the greatest shame was not to produce sons to carry on her husband’s family. (1967:24)

In this part, it is really clear that in Chinese society, woman’s position is under

the man’s. There is an old folk says that “when a baby boy was born, he was laid

on the bed, and given jade to play with, but when a baby girl was born, she was

lain on the floor and given tile to play with”.

In Chinese society sons would help the farm work, support their parents in the

declining years, and after their parents’ death they will perform the required

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was seventeen years old or so, and then when she became old enough to help in

the house of field, she would expense to be married and to be given in a marriage

to a stranger’s family.

In Chinese society, as stated in Eastman’s book, “too many daughters were

regarded as a curse, especially for poor families” (1988: 21). From that

explanation it is clear that Chinese society is a strong patriarchal society in which

women are inferior to men.

5.2Foot-binding

Girls are suffering so much from the custom of foot-binding. “it is the most

painful stage of transition to adulthood began on the day that their mothers bound

their feet” (Eastman, 1988: 22) this tradition was originated among dancing girls

in the palace during the late Tang or the five Dynasties period. The dancers

achieved artistic effect by lightly binding their feet. Eastman explains the process

of footbinding as follow

Footbinding was crippling. Using a bandage some 2 inches wide and 10 feet long, the four small toes was first forced down and under, so that they folded against the sole of he foot (the large toe was not bound). Then the bandage was brought back around the heel so tightly that the front and the back of the foot were drawn in toward each other, forcing the instep the food to arch upward. Progressively, the binding was tightened; the pain was unremitting, and blood and pus soaked the bandages (1988: 23).

Foot binding began at about age 4 to 7 on young Chinese girls. This

process took anywhere from three years or longer to complete. The result of

this process was a deformed "tiny" foot (about three inches long).

Sexual allure was a major reason why women bound their feet. Men were

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feet are called “golden lotus”. Women who have their feet bound are usually

coming from higher social status. “Those who retained their natural feet were

usually from the lowest social classes” (1988: 23). Miles in her article said that

Women who had their feet bound were less independent and more able to be controlled. This was a way to ensure that women did not travel away from that control because literally the pain was too great and debilitating to allow them the freedom to be free. Another theory is that the smaller the woman's feet the more desirable she would be in marriage.

(http://www.angelfire.com/ca/beekeeper/foot.html)

From that explanation, it is clear that women are having limited freedom in

compare with men. Woman with bound feet cannot work harder than those who

are not having bound feet. This also shows that bound feet woman is useless since

they cannot work hard. They are seen to be beautiful but they cannot work harder,

and therefore men would see them as dependent women. Small feet were not only

objects of beauty, but also symbols of style, social class, and proper upbringing.

Women with unbound feet did not easily find quality husband. Footbinding is a

means of subjugating women and ensuring male dominance.

5.3Concubinage

Concubinage is a “stage of cohabitation that lacks the sanction of marriage”

(http://departements.kings.edu/womens_history/concubin.html). Concubinage has

a long history and was common through the early 20th century. The origin for men to hold a concubine were for sexual pleasure and to ensure numerous

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The man who took a concubine, whether to gain male heirs or for his own pleasure, acquired an added increment of prestige, because concubines were luxury items usually affordable by only the upper classes (1988: 31).

From that explanation, it can be seen clearly that a man who is having

concubines means those who are having higher social status.

For the Chinese it was quite common for a poor father to sell a daughter to a

rich man to be a concubine, to get money to take care for the rest of the family.

The position of concubine is inferior to the master’s first wife. Having a

concubine or a mistress is accepted as part of the culture in Asia. Latourette stated

in The Chinese: Their History and Culture that “a man can only have one legal wife. But, he might take as many concubines as he wished and could afford”

(1951:672). This also shows that concubinage strengthens the idea that men are

superior in Chinese society.

C. Theoretical Framework

In order to answer the questions in the problem formulation to get the idea of

the major characters’ different perspectives in perceiving gender-related symbols

in society, the writer tries to relate those questions with some theories that will

help the writer to explain more about this study.

The first problem is about the characteristics of the major characters in the

story, therefore the theory on character and characterization will be used to answer

the first question. The next question is about the gender-related symbols in society

that are found in the story and how the major characters perceive them. To answer

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review of Chinese culture and society will be used to answer this second question.

The last question is about what can be inferred from the different way of

perceiving those symbols. Therefore, the theory of gender and society will be

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of the study for this research is a novel written by Pearl S. Buck

entitled The Good Earth. This novel was published in 1931 by Metheun & Co limited, London. It is divided into 34 chapters and it consists of 344 pages. This

novel tells about the life of peasant family in China. By reading this novel we can

learn the life of Chinese society, its culture, and also the relationship between men

and women in the society, father and children, and also husband and wife in

family. The two major characters, O-Lan and Wang Lung are the representation

of the relationship between man and woman in Chinese society because they are

characterized as husband and wife in the story.

For this novel, Buck received the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 and the William Dean

Howells Medal for Distinguished Fiction in 1935. She was an American woman

who lived in China until she was seventeen years old. Buck in this novel

committed to describe the Chinese people she knew and to present her American

audience with the details of Chinese society, customs and attitudes.

This novel tells about the life of a peasant family, the Wang Lung family.

Through this family we can understand how the relationship between the members

of the family is, how the Chinese culture is perceived by the society, and also how

the society treats each other. This novel tells about the life of traditional peasant

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B. Approach of the Study

In analyzing literary work, it needs a deep understanding toward literary work

itself. Therefore, the writer needs an appropriate approach that can help the writer

to analyze the literary work.

This study concerns with the different perspectives between man and woman

in perceiving the gender related symbols that are existed in the society, therefore

the writer uses gender approach to analyze the story. This approach is needed to

describe the man and woman who live in society. Bressler in Literary Criticism:

an Introduction to Theory and Practice 2nd Edition stated that

Gender studied broadens traditional feminist criticism to include an investigation not only of femaleness but also maleness. It continues to investigate how women and men view things in society (1994: 270).

From that quotation, the approach can be seen as the study of both man and

woman. By applying this approach in this study, the writer can also see the

different perspectives between these two different sex creations.

The writer should understand some elements in the story in order to answer

the question in the problem formulation. This approach helps the writer to have a

deeper understanding toward the story. By using this approach the analysis toward

the character and the different perspectives between man and woman in

perceiving the symbols in society can clearly be seen and analyzed.

C. Method of the Study

The method of the study that is used in this research is a library research. It

means that all the data, both primary and secondary data, were obtained from

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while the secondary data are all collected from the books, critics, undergraduate

theses, and also the reviews.

In order to answer all of the questions in the problem formulation, the writer

used the data collected from both the primary and secondary sources. In this step,

the writer employed the gender approach that was explained by Bressler in his

book Literary Criticism: an Introduction to Theory and Practice 2nd Edition to analyze the study. This approach was used because the writer could see that there

were different perspectives between the major characters, here man and woman,

in perceiving the symbols that exist in the society. There will be some different

view between man and woman.

The writer tried to answer the first problem formulation by using the theory on

character and characterization written by Abrams in A Glossary of Literary

Terms, M.J Murphy in Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and English Novel for Overseas Student, and Holman & Horman in their book A Handbook to Literature. By using those theories, the writer tried to find the characters and then characterized the characters based on clues that Murphy and

Holman & Horman have proposed.

The second problem was solved and divided in two ways. The first way was

by finding the gender related symbols in society that are found in the novel. This

problem was solved by using the theory of symbols proposed by Turner in British

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Change in China’s Social and Economic History 1550-1949 were necessary to get the deeper understanding of the symbols that existed in Chinese society.

After finding the gender related symbols in society that were found in the

story, the writer tried to answer the second problem by using the second way. In

this part, the writer tried to answer how the major characters perceive those

symbols found in the story. Therefore the theories of gender proposed by Pilcher

& Whelehan in Fifty Key Concepts in Gender Studies and Brannon in

Gender:Psychological Perspectives were needed in answering and explaining the second part of the second problem. Besides the theories of gender, the theories of

society were also needed in answering this problem. By using the theories of

society proposed by Landis in Sociology: Concept and Characteristics and by

Anderson in Thinking about Women: Sociological Perspectives on Sex and

Gender 4th Edition, the writer could see that the perspectives between man and woman were also defined by their society with its culture and tradition.

After answering the two questions in the problem formulation, the writer tried

to answer the last question. The question was about what can be inferred from the

different way of perceiving the symbols. To answer this last question, the writer

used the theories of gender proposed by Pilcher & Whelehan in Fifty Key

Concepts in Gender Studies and Brannon in Gender:Psychological Perspectives. Therefore, by using those theories, the writer could answer the last problem in this

undergraduate thesis.

Finally, after the three problems were answered, the writer tried to draw a

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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

The focus of this study is finding the gender-related symbols that existed in

Chinese society that are found in The Good Earth so that we can see the different

perspectives between the major characters in perceiving those symbols. This

chapter will be divided into three parts. In the first part, the writer wants to

analyze the description of the two major characters, Wang Lung and O-Lan, in

order to see their characteristics in the story. In the second part, the writer wants to

analyze the gender-related symbols in society that existed in the story and to see

how the two major characters perceive the symbols. In the last part, the writer will

analyze what can be inferred from the different way of perceiving those

gender-related symbols in society.

A. The Characteristics of the Major Characters in The Good Earth

Finding the characteristics of the major characters in this part is important to

see the contribution of each character so that the writer can analyze it deeper to

see their different view toward some gender-related symbols that are existed.

1. Wang Lung’s Characteristics

The writer chose Wang Lung as one of the major characters because he is one

character who is described in depth. Wang Lung here is described as a farmer

from the north of China and he is married to a slave girl named O-Lan. The

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characteristics, the writer can have a deeper understanding on China, its society

and its people.

a. Responsible

Wang Lung is responsible for his family. He is responsible for his father,

wife, and children. To his father, he always serves him and he tries to obey him.

He prepares boiled water and breakfasts every morning since the death of his

mother six years ago. He is the one who takes care of his father.

He had lit the fire, boiled water, and poured the water into a bowl and taken it into the room where his father sat upon his bed, coughing and fumbling for his shoes upon the floor. Every morning for these six years the old man had waited for his son to bring in hot water to ease him of his morning coughing (p.3).

It is clear that Wang Lung is very responsible to his father. He takes his

father’s duty and tries to do his best for his father. He does those things because

he understands that he should obey the older one and try to serve him well.

Since Wang Lung is obedient toward his father, he will please his father with

his attitude in obeying of whatever his father said to him. He does not have

experience with woman, so he obeys his father’s suggestion to marry a slave

woman who is not beautiful although he wants the beautiful one to marry with

because marrying a beautiful woman is a pride for every man so that everyone

will congratulate him. In the other hand, his father’s opinion is different. For him,

a woman who is not beautiful will tend the house and work in field which the

beautiful one cannot do.

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From that quotation, it is clear that a woman is not only to be a wife, but she

will also help her husband to work on field. Wang Lung obeys his father’s

suggestion to marry a slave girl because having a woman in the house means

giving rest for the two men.

Now father and son could rest. There was a woman coming to the house. Never again Wang Lung has to rise summer and winter at dawn to light the fire (p.3).

For Wang Lung, it is better to obey his father because what his father said to

him is beneficial for him. Obeying his father means trying to please and honor

him.

Wang Lung is also responsible for his wife although he does not want to have

a woman with no beauty like her. He gives her his attention when she is going to

bear a child from her womb. He said to her that he wants to have someone to help

her when the time of bearing the child is coming.

When the hour for birth drew near he said to the woman: “we must have someone to help at the time – some woman” (p.31).

Wang Lung tries to be a responsible husband for his wife when the day of the

birth is coming. He has argued it, but the wife does not want to have someone to

help her in the birth of her child. What he has done is the way he gives his

attention toward a woman of him.

Not only to his father and his wife does he become responsible, but he also

has his responsibility toward his children. When the famine occur in his village,

he decides to move south with all of his family because he has nothing more to be

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We will go south! There are everywhere in this great land people who starve. Heaven however wicked, will not at once wipe out the sons of Han (p.75)

“I have my old father and these three small mouths and another to be born. We must go lest we forget our nature and eat each other as the wild dogs do.” (p.75)

It can be inferred that Wang Lung is responsible for the members of his

family. He does not want to let them die in hunger if they are still in the land. He

decided to go south in order to save the life of his family. He does those things

because he was born to be a real man who will be responsible toward his life and

the life of his father, his wife, and his children.

b. Hard Worker

Wang Lung is a hard-working man. He works in the field everyday. Even

more, when there was no woman in his house, he prepared for his father first early

in the dawn before he went to the land.

In reality he worked as he had always worked. He put his hoe upon his shoulder and he walked to his plots of land and he cultivated the rows of grain, and he yoked the ox to the plough and he ploughed the western field for garlic and onions (p.26).

He is a really hard-working man. He is also careful of whatever he has. From

his hard work, he can bring his family into a good time when the harvest brings

them fortune.

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By his hard work, he can get his fortune and bring a good living for his

family. They will never lack of food to be eaten since they have good harvest. His

work hard also bring him into wealthy step by step.

His fortune on land is not for long. There is no rain for the land, therefore the

famine come. When the famine comes, he brings his family to the south to keep

them alive. He does not want to let them die because of the great famine in the

village. When they are in south, he works hard as a rickshaw puller to keep the

family alive.

He found a place where a jinrickshaws were for hire, and he went in and hired one for the day for the price of half a round of silver to be paid at night, and then dragged the thing after him out of the street again (p.96).

Wang Lung is born to be a hard worker. He does what he can do in the south

city where he knows nothing about it. When some one told him that he could pull

a rickshaw, he did it and he got some money to buy food for his entire family

member.

c. Full of Love to his Land

As a farmer, Wang Lung loves his land more than anything. When the famine

occurs in his village, he does not want to sell his land for any reason as the

provision to go south. What he sells is the furniture in his house. Since he does not

want to sell his land, he does not sell his hoe and the plough too.

“I will not sell my land”, he said (p.81).

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It is clear that in whatever condition of his life he will never sell his land, not

for any reason. He did so because he has the belief that all life depends on earth.

The land is the most precious thing for him.

It was true that all their lives depended upon the earth (p.63).

Even when he is in south, where he can have another job in the city not to be

a farmer anymore but a rickshaw puller with his family, he always wants to go

back to his land in north. His memory is still in his land. He wants to earn more

money so that they can go back to the north to come for the land.

But at night, when he counted all of his money in his hand he had only a penny above the rent of the rickshaw, and he went back to his hut in great bitterness, saying for himself that for labour of a day in a harvest field he had earned only one copper penny. Then there come flooding over him the memory of his land (p.97).

“If I had anything to sell I would sell it and go back to the land” (p.110).

His love to his land is so deep until he cannot have another thing to be

thought in his mind. What he wants is just to have his land because the land brings

him fortune.

“If I had the gold and the silver and the jewels, I would buy land with it, good land, and I would bring forth harvests from the land” (p.116).

Wang Lung is the true farmer. It is seen from his love to the land. His love

toward the land is so deep until he will do many things so that he can get to his

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d. Selfish

As Wang Lung becomes a rich landowner, he begins to be a selfish man. he

forget about his father, his children, and even more his land. What he thinks is just

the pleasure he gets from the tea-shop in the city.

And if any spoke to him, his wife or his children, or if Ching came to him and said, “The waters will soon recede and what is there we should prepare of seed?” he shouted and said:

‘Why do you trouble me?’ (p.173).

The fortune that he got from the land changes everything. He started to be

extravagant with all the money and silver he had. He starts to be another man who

ignores those who are near him.

Wang Lung wants to be in the tea-shop where he can find a woman named

Lotus whom he adores everyday. He gives her everything that she asks, even for

the pearls that O-Lan keeps for herself. Wang Lung becomes a very different

person and becomes a very selfish man until he takes O-Lan’s pearls and gives

them for Lotus.

‘There is no use in keeping pearls for nothing’ then she said slowly:

‘I thought one day I may have them set in ear-rings,’ and fearing his laughter she said again , ‘I could have them for the younger girl when she is wed.’ And he answered her loudly, hardening his heart: ‘Why should that one wear pearls with her skin as black as earth? Pearls are for fair woman!’

‘Give them to me – I have need of them!’ (p.177).

All what he does in the tea-shop is showing his selfishness toward his own

family. He does some stupid things only to please the woman in the tea-shop and

forgets about the family and even about the land that he loves so much. Wang

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He forgets about his duty toward his family and just knowing of having some fun

with all the money he has.

2. O-Lan’s Characteristics

O-Lan is the wife of Wang Lung whom he took from the House of Hwang

where O-Lan has worked as a slave there since she was a child. And here is her

physical appearance described:

She had a square, honest face, a short, broad nose with large black nostrils, and her mouth was wide, a gash in her face. Her eyes were small and all of a dull black in color, and were filled with some sadness that was not clearly expressed (p.18).

O-Lan is not a pretty woman. There is no beauty in her face, she is just a

common creature who just becomes a slave in the House of Hwang and at last

becomes the poor farmer’s wife.

a. Obedient

O-Lan is an obedient woman. She always obeys whatever Wang Lung wants

since the first time they meet. She does those things without any complain,

although it is a hard work for her as a woman.

Here is the box and this basket,” he said gruffly

Without a word, she bent over and picking up one end of the box she placed it upon her shoulder and staggering under its weight, tried to rise. (p.18)

O-Lan is a woman who always obeys of whatever her husband wants her to

do, although she knows that those things are difficult and hard for a woman like

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She is described as a woman who will obey what her husband said to him.

She does everything that Wang Lung asks her to do including serving his father in

his cough

The old man’s cough raise querulously out of the dusky dawn and he said to her:

“Take to my father first a bowl of hot water for his lungs” (p.24).

O-Lan will obey everything that her husband said to her. One day when they

are already rich, Wang Lung asked her for the two pearls she had saved for her.

Although at first she did not want to give them for him, but at last she gave them

all for him just to obey him.

“Where are those pearls do you had?”

And she answered timidly, looking up from the edge of the pool and from the clothes she was beating upon a smooth flat stone.

“The pearls? I have them”

And he muttered, not looking at her but at her wrinkled, wet hands: “There is no use in keeping pearls for nothing”

then she said slowly:

‘I thought one day I may have them set in ear-rings,’ and fearing his laughter she said again , ‘I could have them for the younger girl when she is wed.’ And he answered her loudly, hardening his heart: ‘Why should that one wear pearls with her skin as black as earth? Pearls are for fair woman!’

‘Give them to me – I have need of them!’

then slowly she thrust her wet wrinkled hand into her bosom and she drew forth the small package and she gave it to him and watched him as he unwrapped it (p.177)

She has just given all the pearls that she has for Wang lung to buy land. Only

two of them that she keeps for herself. But when her husband asks for it, she

gives them for him although at first she does not want to give them to him, but at

last she obeys what her husband want. Her obedience can sometime please Wang

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was a child and work as the slave of the Hwang who will always obey on

whatever her Lord says to her. This is what she has to do as a woman in her

society. When she does that, she is regarded as a good wife and a good woman.

b. Diligent

O-Lan is a diligent woman in her simplicity. She will help her husband

everyday on the field. She will finish her work at home first before she goes to the

land to help him. She will help Wang Lung in his work although she is not being

commanded to do those things.

One day when Wang Lung was hard pressed with the swelling wheat and was cultivating it with his hoe, day after day, until his back throbbed with weariness, her shadow fell across the furrow over which he bent himself, and there she stood. With a hoe across her shoulder (p.28).

She takes care of Wang Lung’s father, helps Wang Lung on the farm, and

many more. O-Lan changes the life of Wang Lung. She does many things in order

to obey her husband. She is so diligent and never has the time for herself because

she spends most of her time to work

In the afternoon she took a hoe and a basket and with these upon her shoulder she went to the main road leading into the city where mules and donkeys and horses carried burden to and fro. These things she did without a word and without being commanded to do them. (p. 26)

She does everything in respect. Her diligence way of doing things can also be

seen when she has born her first child. She keeps working as usual one day after

she bore her child, and she did it well.

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