From those explanations above, prejudice means having bad opinion about some groups. It can be the negative opinion of their attitude, physical, intelligent
etc. Such negative belief not only for one person but also for all members. In this case, the member of African American women.
Racism can develop segregation. Segregation is a process of spatially isolating members of an ethnic subpopulation in areas where they cannot have the
same access to valued resources as do people who are not isolated Jr. Adalberto Aguirre and Jonathan H. Turner, 2011: 7-8. In other words, segregation means
the difference space between minority and dominant groups. The difference space can be happen in occupation, education, and housing, health etc. Frazier also
shows the patterns of racial segregation to be in residential area, in educational,
recreational, and other public institutions, in quasi-public institutions or privately operated institutions under public control, such as railroads,
steamship lines, streetcar and bus system, and hospitals, in private business establishments such as hotels and restaurants under customary or
legal mandate to prevent racial contact on a level implying social equality or permitting social intimacy, in other private commercial and professional
services, such as department stores, undertaking establishments and
doctor’s offices even in church 1957: 281- 283. From the theory above, we can see that segregation makes limit in daily life of
African American women to discover their lives because it happens in every aspect.
3. The Relation between Literature and Society
Literature is work of art, such as novel, poetry and prose etc. Literary works is one media to express and to discuss about many things such as the
cultural or the historical in society. Society makes the story alive. Therefore,
literature is closely related to society. Rene Wellek and Austin Warren in their book Theory of Literature state that
Literature has usually arisen in social institutions and has a social function that cannot be purely individual. But literature is not a reflection of the
social process, but the essence, the abridgment and summary of all history. Much the most common approach to the relation of literature and society
is the study of works of literature as social documents, as assumed pictures of social reality. Used as a social document, literature can be made to yield
the outlines of social history. For example is social picture of American life
1956: 94-103.
From the explanation above, the writer sees what happened in society in 1960 can
be revealed from literary work, such as novel. Although, the society in the novel is not always same as the society in real life. It means that the author is not make
the content and the detail of the novel same with the real life.
4. Theory on Adaptation to Prejudice and Discrimination
When people face difficulty in life especially discrimination in this case, they try to seek the best way to respond in order to suvive. According to Aguirre
and Turner in their book, American Ethnicy, state that Prejudice and discrimination force their targets to respond and adapt.
Assimilation, or the elimination of ethnically distinct characteristics and adoption of those of the superordinate ethnic population, is one method of
adaption. At the other extreme are rebellion and revolt against superordinate ethnic groups, with the goal being redistribution of power
and, hence changes in the patterns of discrimination. Another response to discrimination is organized protest, often arising out of or even prompting
acts of rebellion, in which ethnic groups and their allies organize to change patterns of discrimination. Yet another response is withdrawal and self-
segregation of the subordinate ethnic group in order to isolate itself from the discriminatory acts of others. Members of an ethnic group may choose
to accept their position passively, or they may participate marginally, finding narrow niches in which they can secure resources 2011: 30.
Aguirre and Turner want to say that every one has its own ways to face difficulty in life especially the member who receive unfairly treatment of racial
discrimination. Those ways brings them to still make the best in various situation.
C. Review of the History of African American in the 1960s
The story of African American was unforgettable one. In beginning, African Americans were brought to United States as slaves. As Black women, the
beginning history was very difficult. Angela Y. Davis in her book Women, Race and Class states:
Black women were women indeed, but their experiences during slavery- hard work with their men, equality within the family, resistance, floggings
and rape- had encouraged them to develop certain personality traits which set them apart from most white women 1983: 27.
From the quotation above it is known that the position of black women and black men were same in during the slavery. As time passed, women also did resistances
to get their rigths. Interestingly, the position of women to struggle for black rights was
strong because the Black woman’s sense of community was a powerful force in this time of crisis Hine and Thompson, 1998: 268. There were more women
in the movement than men in the years before 1964. Some of women were inspired to join the community because of their friend or family around them. In
other words, community holds an important role to their resistance toward racial discrimination at that time. Such difficult and worse thing brought them to make
black community. This community makes them together to face all crucial things to get their rights.
Black women in the 1930s and 1960s knew how to organize, were accustomed to working together, and felt a strong kinship with members of
the community beyond their immediate families, the church and
