Data Analysis Data Trustworthiness

abuses. It turns out that her mother is the woman behind the scene. Her mother has already known the sexual abuses Tess receives but still sends her to the punters continuously. „Don‟t you get it, you little cow? I want you to do this. If you don‟t, God will punish me for being a bad mother. I must be a bad mother if my own child won‟t do what I want.‟Stevens, 2008: 43. Tess‟ mother also psychologically abuses Tess by terrorizing her. Terrorizing could be defined as the act of threatening a child Howe, 2005: 94- 96. Her mother orders Tess to be involved in crime by stealing in the grocer‟s, although Tess refuses because she knows that it is wrong and against the law. Then her mother threatens Tess by telling her that her mother would be punished by God if her mother‟s wish is not fulfilled. A similar threat is also received by Tess when she is playing games in her room with her siblings. As us girls started to cry, Mother spoke. „There‟s one thing you can do to help me,‟ she said. „What, Mum, what? We‟ll do anything.‟ „You can all keep quiet for the next hour. Then God might take pity of me.‟Stevens, 2008: 41. In thi s scene, Tess‟ mother psychologically abuses Tess and her siblings by ordering them to be quiet while being locked in the room. The children are not allowed to make any noises since it could disturb mother‟s party. If the children do not obey her, mother will lie on them by saying that God has sent a punishment to her since she cannot manage her children Stevens, 2008: 41. Her mother gives the fear to the children by assuring them that God had made her face appear like a monster, and by obeying her is the only solution to cure her since God might take pity of her. This psychological abuse could be considered as a combination between terrorization and isolation. The reason is because in doing the terror, she keeps the children locked in the room most of the time and told them to not make much noise. She also isolates Tess in her room most of the time. We crept home, and from then on, all weekend, we went about on tiptoe, speaking in whispers. Any job we were told to do, we did it double quick. Mother locked us in the room for most of the day, and you‟d never know we were in there. Could we be quiet enough, though? Stevens, 2008: 33 Tess‟ Mother tries to control Tess and her siblings in order to make them quite when they are locked in the room and to make them do the things mother orders more quickly. She would punish her children by sending them to the house for naughty children if they do not fulfill her wishes. Due to this fear, they are forced to obey their mother. When Tess grows up, she finds that the house for naughty children is not like the one described by her mother. It is actually a dance studio, a place where she desires to go.

2. Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is the second abuse experienced by Tess. She suffers from the sexual abuses committed by the punters, her step-father, and her mother. Tess is mostly being abused by the punters. It could be seen from the quotation below Then he started stroking my hair, looking at me all the while. His hand moved to my chest and I thought, This is it. Sure enough, he started to undo the buttons, but slowly. Soon they were all undone, and he was slipping his hand inside my vest, feeling my boobs. Oh well, just like before. As Mother had said so often, men like boobs, they‟re beautiful. The one part of me that was . While he was busy, I kept my eyes fixed on the wall opposite, trying to count how many different dresses I could see. If I could just keep my mind on that, I didn‟t have to take much notice of what this man was doing. Soon he was breathing more loudly, and suddenly he was pulling up my skirt and sticking his hand up my knickers, touching the most private part of my body. Now this I could not, would not, take. „Oh‟ I cried out, pushing his hand away. „You mustn‟t I‟ll tell my mum‟ No good. He pushed me off the sofa on to the floor and his knees were either side of me. He fumbled with his trousers and pulled out his willy. It was all stiff, and now I was hysterical with fear. I struggled and struggled, hitting him with my fist on his head and shoulders, but he just held me down with his other arm. He was so heavy. Now he was breathing harder than ever and his face was red. He suddenly jerked, and all this white stuff came out from his willy, splattering over my face and my vest. I was crying so hard I thought I would never stop. It was like being trapped in a nightmare. Stevens, 2008: 130 Tess is told by her mother to accompany the punter in his house. In the punter‟s house, Tess is being abused sexually. From the quotation above it could be seen that the sexual abuses she receives vary. First, her breasts are being squeezed by the punter. It is described that the punter moves his hand towards her chest and unbuttoned the buttons, after that he touches her breasts. Tess seems not to worry too much since she has experienced it several times previously. Her mother‟s words also soothe her; mother says that men like breasts since they are beautiful. It means that Tess‟ breasts are her uniqueness, and this makes her proud of her self. The second sexual abuse that she receives from the punter is by being touch in her genital area. The punter pulls her skirt up and sticks his hand up her knickers and touches Tess‟ private part. Tess dislikes this treatment, so, she tries to keep the man away from her. The third sexual abuse that she receives from the punter is being exposed to opposite sex‟s intimate organ. From the text above, it could be seen that the punter pushes Tess off the sofa on to the floor. After that, this sexual abuse occurs. The punter shows his intimate organ in front of Tess who is still underage.