Background of the Study

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, “literature” used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works or poetry, drama, fiction and non-fiction. Taylor 1981:1 states, “Literature, like the other arts, is essentially an imaginative act of the writer’s imagination in selecting, ordering, and interpreting life-experience”. One of the most phenomenal literary works is play. A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. According to Wikipedia the free Encyclopedia, internet research, plays are performed at a variety of levels, from Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theater, to Community theatre, as well as University or school productions. Play is general and the subject of tragedy, comedy, and also social problems. One of the social issues that are often discussed in a play is gender equality. Some of plays that discuss gender issues are The Glass Menagerie, My Antonia and Riders to the Sea. In this paper, the writer wants to discuss about the gender equality in John Mellington’s Riders to the Sea. This drama was written in 1904, and performed in a play on February 25 th 1904. The play is centered on the theme of family starting with the mother of Cathleen and Nora, who is proud of her son, Bartley, rather than her daughters. After her son death, the mother Maurya feels so depress. But 2 finally, her daughters successfully make her proud. This play raises questions of duty and responsibility to your other family members, and for the most part in gender specific roles. Gender is a social construction with important consequences in everybody life. Social role theory proposes that the social structure is the underlying force for the gender differences. Social role theory proposes that the sex-differentiated behavior is driven by the division of labor between two sexes within a society. Division of labor creates gender roles, which in turn, lead to gendered social behavior. Gender equality is the state in which access to rights or opportunities is unaffected by gender. It refers to the equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities women and men and girls and boys. Gender equality is not a woman’s issue but should concern and fully men as well as women. Equality between women and men is seen both as a human rights issue and as a precondition for, and indicator of, sustainable people – centered development. Based on the description above, the writer feels interested to make a paper entitled A Description of Gender Found in John Mellington’s Play Riders to the Sea.

1.2 Problems of the Study