Background of the Study

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

There are many benefits of reading literary works. Moral value, social life, and historical background can be learned through literary work. It will give more understanding to the reader throughout the content in literary works. The way the author views the world, the idea and the ideology are presented through literary works. So, literary works can be said as the representation of the way the author views the world. It is a fact that for centuries women are treated unequal. They are trapped in male domination where men gain more power than women. Women are limited in many aspects of life such as social aspects, political aspects, economic aspects, legal aspects, etc. It seems to be culturally conditioned. Ashley Montagu in The Natural Superiority of Women stated that “In most of the cultures of which we have any knowledge, women are considered to be a sort of lower being, a creature human enough, but not as quite so human as male; certainly not as wise, nor as intelligent […] ” 1953:27. Those stigma for women, make them like a second class creature that have lower ability than men. This condition creates strict stratification between men and women. Their inferiority makes their roles in society are limited. Men are considered as bread winners whereas women are care givers. Ashley Montagu in the same book stated that “Woman’s place is in the home, and man’s place is in the countinghouse and on the board of directors” 1953:23. Furthermore, she also stated that: Women bear children and nurse them, they are forced to be much sedentary than men. Woman is the cricket on the hearth; man is the eagle on the wing. Women stay at home to nurse and care for their children, to prepare food. Men leave the hearth for the hunt 1953:28. From the quotation above, the discrimination between men and women become clearer. Realizing this subordinate condition to men’s power, there is a term called feminism. Feminism is a weapon to fight men’s domination in society. It fights men’s domination in order to release women from inferiority. Maggie Humm in The Dictionary of Feminist Theory stated that: A fundamental goal of feminist theory is to understand women’s oppression in terms of race, gender, class and sexual preference and how to change it. Feminist theory reveals the importance of women’s individual and shared experiences and our struggles. It analyses how sexual difference is constructed within any intellectual and social world and builds accounts of experiences from these differences 1990: x. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a novel which consists of many parts. At the first glance, this novel is like a collection of short stories. But actually each part of the novel is connected each other. Ellen McCraken in Breaking Boundaries Latina Writing and Critical Reading stated that “The book has been classified as a novel by some because, [….], there is character and plot development throughout the episodes” 1989:63. In this thesis, the writer will primarily focus on finding feminism value in this novel. In order to reach deep understanding, it is necessary for the writer to review at the social background. In this novel, Esperanza is a protagonist and also the narrator of the story. She is a Mexican-American girl Chicana Chicana refers to a woman who embraces her Mexican culture and heritage, but simultaneously, recognizes the fact that she is an American. It is a self- selected term that usually applies to those Mexican-American women who acknowledge a dominance of males in society, and a history of discrimination and neglect in both the household and the workplace. www.umich.edu~ac213student_projects07...whatisit.html From the quotation above, Mexican-American women or so called Chicana embrace the Mexican culture and heritage. They acknowledge the domination of men in society, whereas a Mexican-American man is called Chicano. Harry H. L Kitano in Race Relation stated that “At the present a great number of terms are used to refer to persons of Mexican descent. […] The most commonly used term currently is Chicano, which refers to a multiracial group with Spanish and Indian roots” 1985: 164-165. The pattern of Mexican-American family allows the men to have more authority than women. The father’s duty is to work and protect his wife and daughters, whereas wife’s duty is to manage everything related to the house hold matter such as cook, raising children, and serve the husband. The traditional family is arranged hierarchically: the father occupies the top, followed by the sons; together they shelter and protect the wife and daughters. The women are expected to cook, raise the children, and serve the needs for the men. Male and female roles tend to be clearly proscribed; masculinity machismo is a great of importance, even outside marriage 1985:172. The reflection of the social facts above can be seen in this novel. Esperanza is a young Chicana who observes women and girls in her society. She lives in a patriarchal culture in her society that allows men to have more authority and domination toward women and girls. She discovers that many girls and women in the novel do not have intention to defy the male domination. In this thesis, the writer will show the attitude of Esperanza as a young Chicana who responds the male domination portrayed in her society that confronts her idea. The story begins when she and her family have moved in many places by renting a house before finally they decided to live in Mango Street. She lives with her mother, father, Carlos, Kiki, and her sister Nenny. Mango Street is a poor Chicano neighborhood. In this neighborhood, men are more superior to women. They have authority toward women because of practicing patriarchal culture in the neighborhood. Male domination is the manifestation of the patriarchal culture in this novel. The dominant form of male domination that is portrayed in the novel is violence. Women and girls are limited in the house hold sphere and often get violence from men. Furthermore, they often get the violence in the neighborhood either. From the beginning of the story until the end, Esperanza faces many experiences that show male domination to the women and girls. They are treated differently in Chicano society. She proves that as a young Chicana, Esperanza has attitude toward male domination. She is different from the other Chicana girls in this story that are unable to defy the male domination. She is aware and conscious that many women and girls in this novel are subordinated and treated unequal. Later, Esperanza has her own attitude to defy the domination. Her attitude toward male domination is shown with her response. Later in the analysis, the writer will show that Esperanza’s response to male domination reflect feminism value.

B. Problems Formulation