Yamauchi also shows how cultural imperatives brought on by American education influences Nisei children the children of issei and how their desire to
assimilate is depicted throughout the story. Generally, The Music Lessons tells us about the struggle of an issei widow
in the late 30s, Chizuko Sakata and her children. They live under poverty, therefore, they have to work hard in order to survive. Chizuko is a farmer and she
runs a piece of land to grow crops in an isolated area. Unfortunately, during their settlement in California, they have to face prejudice, discrimination and
segregation. They are limited in their opportunities for any kind of equal status contact due to laws and customs applied there. Issei, for instance, they are not
allowed to own land and to vote.
B. Approach of The Study
Since this thesis discusses how the idea of postcolonial feminism is carried b
y the main character in Wakako Yamauchi’s The Music Lesson, first, it is also important to know the concept of feminist approach in general. Feminist approach
is an academic approach to literary study that brings feminist perspective in the context of production and reception to analyze the literary works Goodman,
1996:XI. F eminist approach sees the literary text from women’s point of view
and it concerns with a culture constructed by patriarchal system that aims to silence and marginalize women in the favor of men.
Furthermore, feminism in relation with postcolonial theory, came out as a critique against western feminism which was shaped from the perspective of white
and middle class women. Postcolonial feminism uses women experiences as the main focus, it embodies some factors like ethnicity, class and culture. Since
women have different experience, it is somehow not possible to make generalizations regarding to all women. Postcolonial feminist approach attempts
to examine the relation between patriarchal culture which women live in and workings of colonialism. In the other words, it concerns on women who lived in
colonialized and patriarchal societies as marginalized parties. Postcolonial feminist approach is the most suitable to apply as this thesis conducts a research
on a Japanese woman immigrant living in a marginalized ethnic group in Imperial Valley, California. This approach helps the writer find out how the idea of
postcolonial feminism perceived through the main female character as a Japanese immigrant.
C. Method of The Study
The writer used a library research to do this analysis. The primary source that was used in this thesis was a play entitled The Music Lessons written by
Wakako Yamauchi. The secondary source is some website from the internet, theory books, essays and journals that related to this study as follows: A
Handbook of Critical Approach to Literature, How to Analyze Drama, The Beginning Theory: The Introduction To Literary And Cultural Theory, The
Feminist Reader, Feminist Thought,Race Relations, ColonialismPostcolonialism, Gender, Fifty Key Concepts in Gender Studies
.
