Background of the Study

1

CHAPTER I I TRODUCTIO

This study intends to analyze the roles of family and women on Saudi Arabia tradition of marriage as revealed in the novel Rajaa Alsanea’s Girls of Riyadh. To illustrate what this study talks about, in this chapter I would like to present the background of the study, the problem that will be discussed, the objective of the study, and the definition of terms, which are necessary for the study. The background of this study which describes some important information and reasons about the subject matter is the first part. The second part is the problem formulation which presents the problem in the form of question. The third is about the objectives of this study that are undertaken related to research question. The next part is about the benefits of this study that identify which parties benefit from the study. The last part is about definition of terms in which the key words or crucial terms are explained in order to avoid misinterpretation.

A. Background of the Study

The word of novel may be is familiar to everyone, whether they love reading or not. In Dictionary of Literary Terms, Fittauer explains Novel is a fictional prose work of substantial length. The novel narrates the actions of characters who are entirely the invention of the author and who are placed in an imaginary setting. The fact that a so;called historical or biographical novel uses historically real characters in real geographical locations doing historically verifiable things does not alter PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 2 the fictional quality of the work. Nor does it qualify a work labelled a novel by the author as a historical text. Fittauer By reading the characters and conflicts on this novel, we do not only get pleasure and enjoyment, but also lessons that are valuable for our life. According to Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopaedia 2009, near the end of the first decade of the 21 st century, novel remained a powerful way to the authors to represent human experience both in the individual or societal level. Writers used novel to give insight into people’s actions, ideas, and aspiration Madden. In this study, I would like to analyze a novel written by Rajaa Alsanea with a title Girls of Riyadh. Originally, Girls of Riyadh or Banat alRiyadh, which reveals many problems faced by Muslim women in Saudi Arabia, was published in Febanon in 2005. This novel was immediately banned in Saudi Arabia because it caused many controversies in the Saudi Arabia society. Popular newspapers in Saudi Arabia like Al;Riyadh, Al;Watan and Al;Jazeerah were all buzzing, mirroring what happened in the society after this novel was published Alsanea. This novel is written in the form of weekly e;mail which is sent every Friday to her mailing;list group. On her writing, she tells a story about the tyranny of life and society experienced by her surroundings. In 2005 the novel was banned by Saudi Arabia government, and in June 2007 Penguin Books publisher published the English version of the novel. Girls of Riyadh presents an extraordinary story which is rich with life and moral values. This novel tells a story about four friends from middle upper families who lived in Riyadh. The main characters are Gamrah, Sadeem, Michelle PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 3 and Famees. All of them have similar problems related to their family and men. They try to overcome their problems and accept how their tradition control their lives. Unfairness of women’s right and position in Rajaa’s society is the main inspiration in writing this novel. Interviewed by The Times, Rajaa said: I wanted to become a writer when I grew up. When I was 18, I felt that I was ready to write something and felt I had this power to write about something that was never written before, and thats the life of girls in Saudi Arabia, and their struggle within the restrictions of tradition and families, and their rights, and the way they try to do everything they can within whats allowed and whats not allowed sometimes. MacFeod By reading this novel, I have enriched my knowledge and understanding. It gives me a new understanding about a country’s culture and tradition. It also opens my eyes that many women out there still have to struggle to get their rights and freedom. Different ideologies or culture that one country has will create different tradition in the society. In modern life, many societies have already known and understood the meaning of human rights and freedom. But on the other hand, some societies with their own culture and tradition restrict people from gaining their rights and freedom. This situation is similar to the story that Rajaa tells in her novel, when women’s rights are grabbed by their own society. In this discussion, I am interested to analyze about the roles of family and women as revealed in Rajaa Alsanea’s Girls of Riyadh novel, especially in marriage life in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 4

B. Problem Formulation