20 The second place is Kediri. It is the city where the Bhisma meets Amba for
the first time. As narrated in the novel, Bhisma works as a young doctor in Sono Walujo Hospital, Kediri. Third place is Yogyakarta. It is the place where Bhisma
comes with Amba from Kediri to gather with their friends in CGMI and Lekra. In Res Publica, Yogyakarta they are separated each other for long time. After then,
Bhisma is imprisoned in Buru until he dies and Amba moves to Jakarta to begin her new life with his husband, Adalhard.
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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter consists of three parts. They are the object of the study, the approach of the study, and the method of the study. The first is the object of the
study which deals with the subject of the study. The second is Marxism and Katresnanism approaches which applied in this study. The last part is the method
of the study. It deals with all sources which are used to analyse the novel and the steps of process in accomplishing the study.
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is a novel entitled The Question of Red. This novel is a fiction novel with Indonesian historical background. It is one of the most
popular novels. This novel is the first novel written by Laksmi Pamuntjak, one of the Indonesian female writers. Laksmi Pamunjak was born in Jakarta, on 24
December, 1971. She graduated from Asian Studies, Politics, and International Studies, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia in 1993. She has written some
previous successful collections of poetry such as Ellipsis 2002, The Anagram 2007, Perang Langit dan Dua Perempuan 2006. Besides, she has writes some
short stories: The Diary of R.S.: Musing of Art 2006 and four editions of the award winning, Jakarta Good Food Series. The Question of Red is published by
PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama. The novel has 537 pages which are divided into
22 seven chapters. Basically, the plot in the novel is told using a narrator point of
view. This novel portrays some characters of people from a lot of backgrounds and areas in Indonesia, such as Yogyakarta, Kediri, Pulau Buru Island, and
Jakarta. It tells Indonesian history related to the 1965 tragedy which is covered through the love affair of Bhisma and Amba.
The story in the novel begins with the description of Buru Island in which Amba is attacked by a woman named Muka Burung, a woman who marries
Bhisma according to customary law. Her purpose of coming to Buru is to look for her lovely man, Bhisma. She is accompanied by Zulfikar, one of
Bhisma’s friends when they become political prisoners. In the ship to Buru, they meet Samuel who
later on always accompanies Amba in exploring the island to find Bhisma. Sadly, she finds the fact that Bhisma has passed away. However, Bhisma leaves her
some letters which she found through Manalisa’s guidance.
The story is back to the time when Bhisma and Amba in Kediri. At that time, Amba is working as a translator for Bhisma, who works as a young doctor in
a hospital. Then, they fall in love and go to Yogyakarta together. Bhisma has to heal his CGMI friend, as requested by Untarto
, while Amba returns to her aunt’s home in a horrible political situation of communist massacre. One day, Bhisma
invites Amba to come to CGMI’s meeting in Res Publica, the place for them to be
together. After Bhisma finishes his speech, there is a gunshot incident. Because of the incident which makes Bhisma separates from Amba forever.
Bhisma is then accused of being a communist and imprisoned in Buru Island. In contrast, Amba continues her life in Jakarta and marries Adalhard, an
