the formal independence of a country has been gained. Thus, just as Said takes on power relation in postcolonialism, Thiong’o conceptualizes decolonizing of the
mind. To sum up, the above concepts are significant in postcolonial theory to
reveal the ongoing effects of colonialism through colonial discourse implanted in Hirata’s works. Loomba and Sutrisno’s theory on modern colonialism help to
identify the kind of inequality that is produced by modern colonialism. Colonial discourse is used to analyze the colonialist thinking, particularly European
thinking with its power to construct the natives, as conceived by Said’s Orientalism concept. Othering and hybridity highlight the relationship between
the colonizers and the colonized, which influence the natives’ view and attitude on perceiving and representing themselves as an indivual and their relation to the
world. To highlight the colonial domination on the natives’ mind, the work of Thiong’o is important to identify how colonialism has imposed its control through
culture. It helps to reveal how people perceive themselves as an individual and their relation to others.
D. Theoretical Framework
As theoretical framework, postcolonial theory used in this study is modern colonialism as conceived by Loomba and Sutrisno which shows
inequality as the product of modern colonialism through restructuring the economic of the colonized and constructing the natives’ attitudes. This theory is
supported with colonial discourse theories. Orientalism by Edward Said is one of the colonial discourse which underlines Western thinking that construct a
discourse about the East. Said’s Orientalism is supported by Tyson’s concept
about colonialist ideology, that argues about the way colonialist thinking is expressed. This study also sharpened by Spivak and Minh-ha’s theory of othering
and Bhabha’s concept of hybridity to highlight the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized, to reveal colonialist ideology manifests in the
colonized’s mind. Next, Thiong’o’s decolonisation theory completes the analysis, especially on how people’s culture has been universally dominated by the
European thinking.
CHAPTER III PORTRAYAL OF INEQUALITY
IN THE LASKAR PELANGI QUARTET
This chapter seeks to find the answer to the first research question, namely how does the main character in The Laskar Pelangi Quartet portray inequality in
relation to modern colonialism practice? It refers to the definition of modern colonialism from Loomba who states that modern colonialism is not only about
occupying countries’ region but also restructuring the economies of the colonized and takes them into a complex relationship within themselves.
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This study uses Loomba and Sutrisno’s concept of modern colonialism. In the light of these theoretical concepts, the inequality that is produced by modern
colonialism and the influence of class system to the natives’ attitude will be revealed from the quartet. Therefore, to ease the discussion this chapter will be
divided into two sub chapters: first, economic restructure, which examines how modern colonialism restructures the economies of the colonized that produces
inequality; second, constructing the attitude of the natives, i.e. scrutinizing how the natives are depicted in the quartet confront with inequality.
A. Economic Restructure
Before the Dutch discovered tin and built the tin mining company, mostly Belitung people were fishermen and worked in plantation. They also delivered the
iron products to Java, such as knives and hatchets.
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The occupation of the Dutch with the intention to exploit the tin was to support the growth her capitalism and
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See Loomba, p. 9.
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Mary F. Somers Heidhues, ‘Company Island: A Note on the History of Belitung’, in Indonesia, Vol. 51 Apr., 1991, p.2 http:www.jstor.org Accessed: 28102011 , 07:38
