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CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
The conclusions and suggestions are presented in this chapter. The first section presents the conclusions of the analysis in the previous chapter and contains
the answer to the problem formulated. The second section presents the suggestions for further research and the implementation of teaching by using this novel in Basic
Writing class.
5.1 Conclusions
Islam is a religion which speaks about equality. Hence, it is ironic that the discrimination of women in a certain Islamic country like Egypt still exists. This
issue becomes the background of my study on the novel entitled Woman at Point Zero
which was written by a famous Egyptian writer namely Nawal El-Saadawi. In this study, I use the psychological and the sociocultural-historical approaches. In
this study, Firdaus’s motivation in seeking freedom is analyzed. Human motivation is a part of human psychology which can explain more about motivation behavior.
Therefore, the psychological approach is needed to be applied to answer the problems formulated in this study which is related to a psychological field. The
sociocultural-historical approach is needed to analyze the background reasons related to her society in why Firdaus wants to get her freedom. How the societys
condition and the society’s treatments toward women at that time are parts of sociocultural-historical element which can be explained deeply through this
approach.
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72 The novel portrays the twentienth century Egyptian society as a patriarchal
society. This can be seen from the dowry system which is found in the novel. As a patriarchal society, men have more chance to power while women have to be
dependent on men’s power. The superiority of men is socialized and educated since they early age. The death of a son means losing something worthy while the death
of a daughter means nothing. Therefore, men are considered as the first importance while women are second importance in the society.
The novel mentions about social classes that exists in Egyptian society. There are three classes in Egypt. They are the upper, middle, and lower class. The
upper classes are those who are wealthy while the middle classes are those who are well educated. However, the lower classes are those who are poor and uneducated.
The social classes are very important in Egyptian society. It determines someones accessibility to power and have a great position in the society. The higher level of
the social classes, the greater position in a society. The greater position in a society, the more respect he or she will have.
The society treatments toward women can be seen from Firdaus’ experiences. Unfortunately, throughout her life Firdaus has experienced bad
treatments from men around her. As a daughter, Firdaus is raised with the belief that a son is more important than a daughter. As a wife, Firdaus is asked to obey
and serve her husband well while her husband is allowed to treat her badly. As a female employee, Firdaus is treated unfairly, discriminated by men and transferred
unless she agrees to offer her body. After being a free prostitute, Firdaus feels that she becomes a different woman who finally can live her own life and enjoy the
high class’ life style. She becomes more respectable and highly valued by men.
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73 There are several reasons why Firdaus searches for freedom. The first
reason is the strong domination of men on her society. Mens domination toward Firdaus in her society as a patriarchal society allows them to control her life. As a
second importance, she has to be dependent on them and even she has no right to decide and choose based on her own will. Firdaus wants to live her own life
independently so that she searches for freedom. The second reason is the society’s bad treatments toward women. As a woman, Firdaus is only considered as men’s
slave so that she is treated badly by men around her. She is sexually abused, discriminated against, experiences domestic violence, and raped by men while she
is guileless to defend herself. The bad treatments that Firdaus receives from men lead her into her hatred toward men. For her, all men are criminals. The bad
treatments she receives, her incapability to defend herself, and her hatred toward men lead Firdaus to search for freedom. For her, freedom can make her superior
than men. The next reason is Firdaus apathy of love. According to Firdaus, love causes her to fail for getting her freedom. Men create and use love to mislead a
woman like her as they force her to fall so low, bind them in marriage and then ask her to serve them for life, or insult her. Firdaus wants to be free so that she believes
in love no more. These reasons then lead her into her need of freedom. Firdaus searching for freedom is shown in many ways. They are by
becoming a prostitute, killing her pimp, and accepting the death sentence. By being a prostitute, Firdaus can live independently and are respected by men. However,
her decision of becoming of prostitute is based on her own will. Therefore, she believes that she is finally able to control her own life and to choose what she
wants to do. By kiling her pimp, Firdaus realizes that even a woman, she can be the
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74 master. She feels more superior rather than men because she can finally raise her
hand and do the violence which men do to her. At the end, Firdaus refuses to sign an appeal to the President asking for the forgiveness for killing her pimp. For
Firdaus, she is free to choose whether she wants to live or not. She is the one who decides her death, not the President. She prefers to die by her own decision.
5.2 Suggestions