Background of the Study

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the writer discusses background of the study, problem formulation, problem limitation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of terms. Background of the study presents a description of the topic and the reasons why the writer chooses the recent topic. It is also a place for the writer to convince the readers why the study is worth conducting. Problem formulation formulates the problems to be discussed or analyzed in the form of question word questions. Problem limitation describes the focus and the scope of the study, in relation to the formulated problems. Objectives of the study state the purpose of the study undertaken in relation to the research questions. Benefits of the study identify which parties will benefit from the conducted study. Definition of terms elaborates on the key words used in the study in order to avoid misunderstanding and misinterpretation. The definition presented must then be related to the study.

A. Background of the Study

So many literary works have been published discussing many aspects of life such as marriage life and its conflicts, political events, educational issues, sexual harassments and or sexual abuses, and cross- cultural issues. Among those aspects, the writer prefers reading novels which contain cultural issues because 1 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI basically the writer is interested in studying culture, especially cultures from certain exotic countries such as Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian and Indian. One cultural issue that the writer likes to discuss is about colonialism. Colonialism has caused many effects on both sides; the colonizer and the colonized. Most parts of life will change every time two different cultures are put together in the same place; the political rules, economic system, education system, and surely also the social system. There is no doubt that colonialism must bring suffers to the colonized as the defeated side. Wallbank vii, as he says in his book “The Partition of India”, states that differences of groups the colonizer and the colonized can change societies and political units of each other. A Passage to India, by E.M Forster, is one of the novels, which explains colonialism issues taken place in India. After reading this novel, the writer becomes more interested in the content of the novel, which is full of social issues that commonly happen in commonwealth country. Through exploring this novel, the writer can learn a lot about the social condition of commonwealth country, especially in India. The general story of the novel is about the British colonialism in India several decades ago. In this paper, the British ruled India around the eighteenth and nineteenth century. It is supported by a quotation from Wallbank’s introduction part: Out of the struggle for power that characterized eighteenth-century Indian political life, the British, in the form of the East India Company, emerged as the dominant force. The first important interference in Indian politics was signaled the battle of Plessey in 1757, which established the nominee of the East Indian Company on the throne of Bengal, and within a hundred years the British gained complete control of the whole subcontinent. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI This novel tells us about the life of Dr. Aziz, the main character of this novel and a Moslem Indian who makes a friendship with an English woman, Mrs. Moore. The setting takes place primarily in Chandrapore, which is described as a city along the Ganges River notable only for the nearby Marabar caves. During the colonial period, it is very uncommon for an Indian to make a relationship with the English because of the hierarchy system. At that time, as the colonizer, the English is always the superordinate to the Indians. The relationship between Dr. Aziz and Mrs. Moore becomes the first contradiction that drags him into so many problems onward. One of the effects is that Dr. Aziz has to be in prison because of this social issue. Dr. Aziz is being arrested on the charge of assaulting Miss Adela Quested, an English woman who is interested in the social life of Indians, when they have an expedition on one of the Marabar caves. The trial of Dr. Aziz is not merely a problem between two individuals from different countries, but seems to be a racial problem between the English and the Indians. Racism issue, therefore, dominates very clearly in this novel. Considering the content of the novel, which mostly exposes an important aspect that is the relations between the English and the native population of India during the colonial period in which Britain ruled India, the writer decides to emphasize or to focus her attention in analyzing this factor. It is said before that colonialism always has two opposite sides, the first is the colonizer, who has the power to control the government system and the other is the colonized, who is the one to be conquered. It is not easy for them to make an interaction one to another because of the social status differences. As a colonizer, the English has a power to PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI rule India, placing them in the first level of the society. On the lower level, the Indians, as the subordinate level is placed in the second place of every subject such as economy, politics, bureaucracy and education towards the English. This study contains an explanation of the relations that happened between the English and the Indians in India during British colonial period, helping the readers who have an interest of India’s colonialism to observe India’s social condition. It is discussing not only about the relations between the English and the Indians but also the perspective of each side, so that this study is a guide to learn more about the social condition during British colonialism in India.

B. Problem Formulation