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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Studying culture is important.People can learn and finally understand about anything that isconnected with itlike ideologies, values, and people’s way of
life.As culture varies in people’s life and in different places,it has different characteristics or meanings. By studying cultures, hopefully people learn the
varieties of the culture and respect the culture differences. According to Perry 2007: 4, culture is about people’s customs and
beliefs.It is a product of collective human minds, but rarely has social and cultural patterns arisen as the direct result of conscious invention.According to American
anthropology in Tylor: 1, culture can be defined into two meanings. The first, it is about human’s capacity to classify and express experiences through symbols.
The second is the ways of people living in different places classified and represented their experiences.
United States is well-known for the varied cultures. It is called as the melting pot, the place where many cultures live together under the same nation.
These varied cultures somehow become the nation’s identity. These cultures are brought by the immigrants who come to the nation ever since the colonial era.The
tendency in migrating to America was because America was known as the new world where the chance to begin new life was still opened wide. Besides, America
was also known as the place of freedom.
As the place of freedom, it means America is the place wherepeople’s individual rights are appreciated. The concept of place of freedom is that people
live equally with each others. However, in the contrary of that fact, America also experienced a hard time in appreciating differences in the cultures. Racism is one
of the examples of it. Since the early history in the United States, the Native Americans, African-
Americans and European-Americanshave been known as different races. During the 19
th
century, races can be distinguished from the personal appearance, the fraction of non-White ancestry, and the social circle Perry, 2007: 2. The concept
defines the idea of physical appearance such as nose, head, or any other characteristics just to ignore the range of variation that exists in any
population.From this point, that conceptmakes people from different parts of the world feel different from the other parts, as the racial difference was strengthened
by theconcept. The history of the racial discrimination in the US began in the early 1600s
whenthe black people arrived in America. They were from Africaand wanted to find a new life in America. However, some colonial companies such as Virginia
Company and Massachussetts Bay paid their travel. In return of that, the companies wanted the immigrantsto work in some industries, such as cotton
industries. According to Fredrickson 73: 1999, at the beginning the work rules of the immigrants were agreed in contract system. After the contract expired,
tragically, the immigrants were kept by the companies. The immigrants were treated not like workers as they used to be because there was no written contract
system. Merely, the immigrants were treated as slaves because the landlord did not provide them with appropriate payments or proper living.
As the discrimination grew up, the black people in the US expected the Declaration of Independence. At first, this declaration wasdesignedas a manifesto
for human rights and personal freedom. This idea was supported by the black people who were oppresed by the white. They demanded to be free, and slavery to
be over. However, the discrimination kept going on. The black people were still treated as slaves. Thus, this condition led the separation of the country into South
and North. Both of the sides had their own ideologies. The north’s concept was to give the equal right for the black people. The north put an end to discrimination,
and they abolished slavery. However, the north’s idelogy was tried to counter by the south.The south’s idee was to legalize the slavery.
The southern ideology to legalize slavery was caused by the prospect of industry. In the 1800s, the southern cotton industry was in good condition, as the
industry could produce in a great number. Thus, they could also export the product to other countries. From this stand of point, the reason why the southern
legalized slavery was clear. The southern viewed slavery as having economic benefits. The plantation owners did not need to spend extra cash for the job, but
they could get maximal product. Frederikson 1999: 81 saidthat the southern idea to legalize slavery
wasreflected in many kinds of forms. One of them was by publishing a pamphlet written by William Drayton of South Carolina entitled The South Vindicated from
the Treason and Fanaticism of the Northern Abolitionists 1836. With that, the
southern presented the idea of a doctrine about proslavery. The pamphlet manifested an idea that the black peoplewere constitutionally lazy and prone to
vice; and that their mind were heavy, dull and not ambitious. Furthermore, according to the pamphlet, the Negro was destined to be slaves—that becoming
slaves is the natural consequence of the inferiority of Negro character. Clearly, the white people made a stereotype about the black, that the black is inferior to
oppress them. The white’s oppression toward the black was also reflected in Jim Crow
laws. With the laws, the racism in the US in the 1900s was very serious. Jim Crow’s laws were the segregation based on race in the south.The law dividedsome
public areas into two parts:for the white and for the black. For example, streets or restaurants had to be separated in two sides. With the separated places for the
black and the white, itforbade the black to cross the white line, and it was uncommon for the white to come in the black area.
According to the law of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 racism was banned. The law prohibited discrimination in employment, labor unions, and public
accommodations. In other words, the point was that the discrimination or racism ended with that law. However, in realitythe law was not strong enough to defend
the rights of the black people. The same as in American colonialism era, the black people were violated, murdered, and raped.The condition was worsened with the
existence of theracist group, Ku Klux Klan who violated the minority races. Ku Klux Klan is famouswith its burning crosses act when it comes to
provoke the other minority races. Their actions were aimed at the black people.
The Klan holds the value of white supremacy, that the whites are the most superior race among other races. Thus, they see the black people as the inferior so
that they can oppress them. Ku Klux Klan was established after the civil war by the Confederate Army in 1865.
Literature is the mimetic of the real world. It means that the world existed in literary work is based on the real world. The word ‘mimetic’ is meant that the
world in the literary work is existed because it is copied from the real world. Endraswara 1999 thinks that literary works are the reflection of the good and the
bad of society.Based on that, the matter of racial oppression also can be found in the literary works.
In John Grisham’s A Time to Kill the portrayal of slavery is not stated, but the discrimination in American South is clearly told. In the novel, the reflection of
the southern American society is truly reflected, such as with the existence of the racist group, Ku Klux Klan who violated the black people. Holding the ideology
of the pride toward their own white races, the Klan started to raise the tension between white people and black people in the south.
A Time to Kill is abouta black girl, Tonya Hailey, who was violated and raped by two rednecks men. Tonya’s father, Carl Lee, finally took his revenge
tothe rednecks by killing them. Car Lee’s action was seen by one of the relatives of the rednecks. Willing to do the fight back to Carl Lee, the guy invited the Ku
Klux Klan to begin their act. The Klan thought it would be fit for their kick start to begin the fight towards the black people again. However, the Klan’s target was
not only the black people, but also the white people who supported the blacks.
Given the name of land of freedom, the existence of racism in America actually becomes an interesting point to analyze. The matters of racism in the US
in the research are essentials to analyze. Racism has shaped the standard that outclassed the black people from having a proper life just like the whites. This
was reflected by the stereotype and the boundaryby the white people to limit the life of the black people. Racism also brings injustice to the black people’s life.
This is seen from the artifact of racism that can be traced in today society in the Southern US, such as the prejudice to black people. As a matter of fact, it means
that racism has put a long scar into the face of American society.
B. Research Focus
Kategori