Singapore`s history and the feminist movement in Suchen Christine Lim`s novel fistful of colours.

ABSTRACT

ARDYADMOKO, MACEBI. Singapore’s History and the Feminist Movement in Suchen Christine Lim’s Novel Fistful of Colours.Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.

Singapore is founded with different cultures and races, the diversity survived through centuries. Chinese became the dominant race throughout the country, therefore this thesis examines the life of chinese woman named Suwen in her development in the conflict of past and current basic social contruct within the diversity of Singapore’s society. Through this undergraduate thesis, the individual movement is analyzed to reflect one of many aspects that becomes the foundation of Singapore’s history.

This undergraduate thesis has three main problems.The first problem is about Suwen’s characterization and characteristic as described within the novel. The second problem iswhat kind of society that Suwen faces, it is depictedwithSingapore’s society’s basic social construct. The third problem is about how Suwen’sstruggle is reflected in the novel, whether rejecting or accepting the basic social construct in the society’s influence.

The method of the study in this thesis is library research. The main data is taken from Suchen Christine Lim’s novel Fistful of Colours. The writer takes the Multicultural, Global and Postcolonial feminism from Rosemarie Tong’s book about Feminist Thoughtas the theories. Another theories are taken, such asthe theory of character and characterization from Glosary Literary Terms by Abrams, and the theory of patriarchy from Bailey and Bell Hooks.Psychoanalytic approach from Peter Barry Literary books about Beginning Theory is used as the approach of the study.

The undergraduate thesis unveils Suwen’s characteristic to be stubborn, lack of confidence, butfully potential and talented artist.Through those characteristics Suwen fightsthe possible oppression in basic social condition of Singapore’s society from patriarchal practices until gender oppression. Suwen cleverly develops herself to be more independent in the artificial art after having complicated relationship with family and her own friends.Thus, the solved conlict put Suwen into herbasic foundation so it can be used to strenghten her faith in pursuing her dreams,such as painting the Singapore’s society and finding her family roots in Singapore.

ABSTRAK

ARDYADMOKO, MACEBI. Singapore’s History and the Feminist Movement

in Suchen Christie Lim’s Novel Fistful of Colours.Yogyakarta: JurusanSastraInggris, FakultasSastra. UniversitasSanata Dharma, 2015.

Negara Singapura dibentuk dari keanekaragaman suku dan budaya, keanekargaman tersebut bertahan selama beberapa abad. Bangsa Cina menjadi suku yang mendominasi di Singapura, oleh sebab itu skripsi ini akan membahas perkembangan hidup seorang wanita keturunan tionghoa yang bernama Suwen dalam keberagaman suku dan budaya yang ada di masyarakat Singapura. Melalui skripsi ini, hasil analisa dari dinamika kehidupan seseorang dapat menjadi sebuah cerminan sendiri akan sebuah sejarah negeri Singapura.

Skripsi ini memiliki tiga pokok permasalahan. Pokok permasalahan yang pertama adalah pembentukan dan sifat watak Suwen seperti yang dijelaskan dalam novel. Pokok permasalahan yang kedua adalah situasi atau kondisi masyarakat yang Suwen hadapi, yang tergambar dari norma-norma dasar masyarakat. Pokok permasalahan yang ketiga adalah perjuangan Suwen seperti yang dijelaskan dalam novel, melawan atau menerima norma-norma dan pengaruh masyarakat.

Metode penelitian dalam skripsi ini adalah metode kapustakaan. Bahan analisa utama diambil dari novel Suchen Christine Lim Fistful of Colours. Penulis mengambil teori multicultural, global dan poskolonial feminism dari Rosemary Tong. Teori-teori lain juga akan digunakan, seperti teori karakteristik dan karakterisasi dari buku Glosary Literary Term oleh Abrams serta buku teori patriarki dari Bailey serta Bell Hooks. Pendekatan psikologis dari buku Peter Barry yang berjudul Beginning Theory akan diaplikasikan dalam skripsi ini.

Skripsi ini mengungkap sifat atau watak Suwen yang keras kepala, kurang percayadiri, namun seorang seniman yang potensial dan berbakat. Dengan sifat atau watak itu, Suwen berjuang untuk melawan segala bentuk penindasan yang berakar dari norma-norma dasar masyarakat, seperti praktek patriarki dan penindasan jender. Suwen berhasil mengembangkan dirinya sendiri menjadi pribadi yang bebas dalam menuangkan karya seninya setelah mengalami konflik dengan keluarga dan teman-temannya. Penyelesaian masalah-masalah itu menjadikan dasar pondasi bagi Suwen untuk meyakinkan dirinya sendiri dalam mengejar mimpi-mimpinya seperti menggambarkan kondisi rakyat Singapura dan menemukan jati diri yang utuh dalam silsilah keluarga Singapura.

SINGAPORE’S HISTORY AND THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT

IN SUCHEN CHRISTINE LIM’S NOVEL

FISTFUL OF

COLOURS.

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

Macebi Ardyadmoko Student Number: 104214053

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2015

SINGAPORE’S HISTORY AND THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT

IN SUCHEN CHRISTINE LIM’S NOVEL

FISTFUL OF

COLOURS.

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

Macebi Ardyadmoko Student Number: 104214053

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2015

Unbent,

unbowed,

unbroken.

Dedicated for...

Both of my beloved parents

And ...

Fransisca, my queen of love and

beauty ...

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deepest grattitude to Jesus Christ, my saviour for keeping me resolute when all hopes seemed lost. No words can define His blessing upon me and my work so that I can finish the thesis and I fought the good fight of doing this thesis.

I would like to thank A.B Sri Mulyani, M.A.,Ph.D, my advisor and Dr. Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, M.Hum as my co advisor for the guidances through many steps so that I can accomplish this thesis. Your motivations and guidance will always be my inspiration, through many obstacles that will come in the future.

Hello mom and dad, I give all my best effort to this thesis and I thank for every support, guidance, and patience. The thesis is presented for both of you and highly dedicated for you. Mbak Dewi and Mbak Nana, here I am. Thank you for entrusting this task to me and I hope I do not disappoint you.

I also would like to thank my thesis friend – companion, Dimas, Icha, Michael, all english letter department friends, and all those who performed an effort to me. At last to Fransisca Julia Pratidina, my queen of love and beauty, thank you for cheering me on.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ... ii

APPROVAL PAGE ... iii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE ... iv

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH ... v

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ... vi

MOTTO PAGE ...vii

DEDICATION PAGE ...viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... x

ABSTRACT ... xii

ABSTRAK ...xiii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ... 1

A. Background of the Study ... 1

B. Problem Formulation ... 4

C. Objectives of the Study ... 4

D. Definition of Terms ... 5

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ... 6

A. Review of Related Study ... 6

B. Review of Related Theory ... 8

C. Theoretical Framework ... 15

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ... 17

A. Object of the Study ... 17

B. Approach of the Study ... 18

C. Method of the Study ...20

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ... 23

A. Description of Suwen’s Characteristic ... 23

B. Kinds of Singapore’s Society that Suwen Encounters ……... 26

1. Men’s Oppression as Attached in Suwen’s Experience in Fistful of Colours ... 26

a. Men’s Oppressionin Suwen’s Family... 26

b. Men’s Oppressionin Suwen’s Friends ... 31

2. Women’s Oppression as Attached in Suwen’s Experience in Fistful of Colours ………... 37

C. The Description of Suwen’s Life and The Process of Her Development in The Middle of Society’s Diversity ... 41

1. Suwen’s Way of Life and Her Development in Her Relationship With Family ... 41 2. Suwen’s Way of Life and Her Development in Her Relationship

WithNica, Janice, and Mark Campbel ... 46 3. Suwen’s Way of Life and Her Development, as Reflected in Her

Painting ... 50 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION... 55 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...59

ABSTRACT

ARDYADMOKO, MACEBI. Singapore’s History and the Feminist Movement

in Suchen Christine Lim’s Novel Fistful of Colours.Yogyakarta: Department of

English Letters, Faculty of letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.

Singapore is founded with different cultures and races, the diversity survived through centuries. Chinese became the dominant race throughout the country, therefore this thesis examines the life of chinese woman named Suwen in her development in the conflict of past and current basic social contruct within

the diversity of Singapore’s society. Through this undergraduate thesis, the individual movement is analyzed to reflect one of many aspects that becomes the

foundation of Singapore’s history.

This undergraduate thesis has three main problems.The first problem is about Suwen’s characterization and characteristic as described within the novel. The second problem iswhat kind of society that Suwen faces, it is depictedwithSingapore’s society’s basic social construct. The third problem is about how Suwen’sstruggle is reflected in the novel, whether rejecting or accepting the basic social construct in the society’s influence.

The method of the study in this thesis is library research. The main data is taken from Suchen Christine Lim’s novel Fistful of Colours. The writer takes the Multicultural, Global and Postcolonial feminism from Rosemarie Tong’s book about Feminist Thoughtas the theories. Another theories are taken, such asthe theory of character and characterization from Glosary Literary Terms by Abrams, and the theory of patriarchy from Bailey and Bell Hooks.Psychoanalytic approach from Peter Barry Literary books about Beginning Theory is used as the approach of the study.

The undergraduate thesis unveils Suwen’s characteristic to be stubborn, lack of confidence, butfully potential and talented artist.Through those characteristics Suwen fightsthe possible oppression in basic social condition of

Singapore’s society from patriarchal practices until gender oppression. Suwen cleverly develops herself to be more independent in the artificial art after having complicated relationship with family and her own friends.Thus, the solved conlict put Suwen into her basic foundation so it can be used to strenghten her faith in pursuing her dreams, such as painting the Singapore’s society and finding her family roots in Singapore.

ABSTRAK

ARDYADMOKO, MACEBI. Singapore’s History and the Feminist Movement

in Suchen Christie Lim’s Novel Fistful of Colours.Yogyakarta:

JurusanSastraInggris, FakultasSastra. UniversitasSanata Dharma, 2015.

Negara Singapura dibentuk dari keanekaragaman suku dan budaya, keanekargaman tersebut bertahan selama beberapa abad. Bangsa Cina menjadi suku yang mendominasi di Singapura, oleh sebab itu skripsi ini akan membahas perkembangan hidup seorang wanita keturunan tionghoa yang bernama Suwen dalam keberagaman suku dan budaya yang ada di masyarakat Singapura. Melalui skripsi ini, hasil analisa dari dinamika kehidupan seseorang dapat menjadi sebuah cerminan sendiri akan sebuah sejarah negeri Singapura.

Skripsi ini memiliki tiga pokok permasalahan. Pokok permasalahan yang pertama adalah pembentukan dan sifat watak Suwen seperti yang dijelaskan dalam novel. Pokok permasalahan yang kedua adalah situasi atau kondisi masyarakat yang Suwen hadapi, yang tergambar dari norma-norma dasar masyarakat. Pokok permasalahan yang ketiga adalah perjuangan Suwen seperti yang dijelaskan dalam novel, melawan atau menerima norma-norma dan pengaruh masyarakat.

Metode penelitian dalam skripsi ini adalah metode kapustakaan. Bahan analisa utama diambil dari novel Suchen Christine Lim Fistful of Colours. Penulis mengambil teori multicultural, global dan poskolonial feminism dari Rosemary Tong. Teori-teori lain juga akan digunakan, seperti teori karakteristik dan karakterisasi dari buku Glosary Literary Term oleh Abrams serta buku teori patriarki dari Bailey serta Bell Hooks. Pendekatan psikologis dari buku Peter Barry yang berjudul Beginning Theory akan diaplikasikan dalam skripsi ini.

Skripsi ini mengungkap sifat atau watak Suwen yang keras kepala, kurang percayadiri, namun seorang seniman yang potensial dan berbakat. Dengan sifat atau watak itu, Suwen berjuang untuk melawan segala bentuk penindasan yang berakar dari norma-norma dasar masyarakat, seperti praktek patriarki dan penindasan jender. Suwen berhasil mengembangkan dirinya sendiri menjadi pribadi yang bebas dalam menuangkan karya seninya setelah mengalami konflik dengan keluarga dan teman-temannya. Penyelesaian masalah-masalah itu menjadikan dasar pondasi bagi Suwen untuk meyakinkan dirinya sendiri dalam mengejar mimpi-mimpinya seperti menggambarkan kondisi rakyat Singapura dan menemukan jati diri yang utuh dalam silsilah keluarga Singapura.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Singapore was once a small port located in Sumatera Peninsula, a port for the distribution and market of local comodity in the third century, raided and ruled under the Sriwijaya Kingdom before becoming one of the most influent countries in the world. In 1819,under British rule, Singapore‟s standard of life and economy grew quickly. During the British reign, Singapore became the busiest seaport in the eastern countries, a strategic port used for global‟scomodity trading activity.

During that time Singapore, by virtue of its free trade and its geographical position at the entrance of a bottle-neck, became the busiest seaport of the Far East. (Williamson, 1956:363)

On the opposite side, Singapore‟s social economy rapidly went poor under

the occupation of Japanese imperial army in the World War II. The aspects of life such as social - economy and culture were governed by the Japanese to support the political issues for the war course, all life stocks were also taken and delivered to Japanese imperial army to ensure the victory over the war.

Singapore consisted of many races and cultures and Chinese were dominant over another races, such as Indian and Malay. The Singaporean Chinese itself is divided into many sub-races, such as Hokkien, Cantonese, and Hakka. In the early of 1819, Chinese migrated from their homeland along with their diversity of culture and started a new life in Singapore since there were civil war, natural disaster, human rights violation, women and children abuse, and human

trafficking. However, the fortune of life in different place didn‟t guarantee the better luck, diversity of race and culture caused numerous social conflict and British government often did terrible things to the people of Singapore which led the social injustice happened within the society.

Their public services were corrupt, they were cruel to prisoners and false to theirs promises, and their justice was a farce which often led to the torture and execution of innocent peoples. (Williamson, 1956:365)

The Chinese is known with the obedience toward the ancestral cultures which crafted within their mind and one of those culture is that men have full authority rulling the matters inside the family, according to confucian beliefs men are associated with primary leader and decision maker in the family, thus, puttingz fathers and sons take prominance over mother and daughters.

Life in the diveristy of culture in Singapore and British colonialization drown the individual into the conflict realm of society. Many representation of literary works became the representations of the issues of it, therefore through this undergraduate thesis the writer took Fistful of Coloursby Suchen Christine Lim that observed the relationship between ethnic idenitity of a human being and colonialism. Fistful of Colourswas written by portraying the history of Singapore through many perspective of Suwen‟s life in the relationship with family and her friends.

Through family histories, the novel weaves a rich tapestry which celebrates the multi-ethnicity of Singapore and the socio-political milie of her early immigrants. (Lim, 2003: Cover page)

This undergraduate thesis is written to achieve the understanding of the

thesis itself would be on the process of character‟s behaviour and thought development whether accepting or rejecting the society‟s influence. There are so many characters described in the novel, each of them embraced their own ideological thinking toward the issues that matter in the society thus, the writer took Suwen to be the representation of it.

Suwen faces molestation and betrayal, which drives her to paint a controversial picture, and to leave Singapore for the small Malaysian town where her dream of becoming an artist first took root. (Lim, 2003: Cover page)

The quoatation above has become the indication on why Suwen is chosen, because of her unique behaviour and thought was expressed with medium awareness of the life time – fulfillment in the high tense of social conflict between her family and friends. The response of Suwen‟s psychological preferences towards the issues in the society would be analyzed; this undergraduate thesis is

set to give woman‟s personality development process by examining the inner

strength within human being‟s psyche that always be the solution which

connected the idea of self desire and public interests

Suwen‟s way of living in the diversity of race and also colonialism is included in the framework of feminism, it can be traced with many critical approaches and principal theories that examine the human rights in the term of women liberation which were developed with many events and conflicts for many decades. The ideas were still growing and flexible, because of the development and the growing civilization itself. Every social conflict in Suwen‟s life as derived in the Fistful of Colors becomes a phenomena which gives us an interest of

valuable education to study and debatable, an important study to reveal the effect of history towards the development of women‟s movement in feminist behaviour and thought in Singapore, the condition and the environment gave oppression and maintained it in the term of many aspects of life. The diversity of ethnic became “the specific cultural elements and historical condition that serve to maintain women‟s oppression.” (Lindsey: 2010: 16)

The topic of this undergraduate thesis is important to study because by conducting this thesiswomen are expected to invent their uniqe way to express their language against anything that will put them down again, breaking the regulations and norms within the society. Through this topic, women are expected to break their limitation, from within and outside themselves. The process of gaining individual‟s desire and dream is one of the most admirable thing that deserves to study, throughout their process, we can learn something beyond school of thought, we can study a lot of things from their struggle upon many difficulties that they have to face, especially women.

B. Problem Formulation

1. How is Suwen‟s characteristics described?

2. What kind of society does Suwen encounter?

3. How is the description of Suwen‟s life and the process of her development

in the middle of society‟s diversity in Singapore?

C. Objectives of the Study

The first objective of the study is to describe the characteristic of Suwen within Fistful of Colours. The second objective is about what kind of society

Suwen encounters in Singapore‟s diversity. Third objective is to analyze Suwen‟s behaviours and thoughts development in facing the social construct and society‟s diversity in Singapore.

D. Definition of Terms 1. Criticism

According to Abrams, criticism is kind of term to study the works of literature in particular ways, such as defining, classifying, interpreting and evaluating.

Criticism is the overall term forstudies concerned with defining, classifying, analyzing,interpreting, andevaluating works of literature. (Abrams, 1999: 50)

2. Symbol

Symbol is the kind of sense of representation that signifies something in words or phrases that has reference beyond its object. It has indirect meaning but it contains thousands of meanings in the single or particular object.

In discussing literature, however,the term "symbol" is applied only to a word or phrase that signifies an objector event which in its turn signifies something, or has a range of reference, beyonditself. (Abrams, 1999: 311) 3. Tension

Tension is the term in condition that refers to portray the serious and the ironic pattern of resolved stress and shows the harmony of every opponent tendencies.

Other critics use "tension" to characterize poetry that manifests an

equilibriumof the serious and the ironic, or "a pattern of resolved stresses," or aharmony of opponent tendencies. (Abrams, 1999: 316)

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Study

Resistance and Oppression in Suchen Christine Lim’s Novelsby

SanthiMathyRamdas is to study the gender oppression in Lim‟s numerous novels, such as A Bit of Earth, Fistful of Colours, Gift from the Gods, and Rice Bowl. Under his study, Ramdas would like to highlight the resistance in female characters in the concepts of “subjugation”, “alienation”, “separatism”, “confrontation”, and “escapism” in gender oppression and patriarchal practices

(2010: 97). Ramdas‟ study on Gender Oppression and Resistance aimed to

resolve the confusion of the idea of patriarchy. The notion of men„s presence were the only things that created sickness to women‟s life in the social setting, thus the notion of patriachal practices lead another issue which caused women to oppress another in many manners without knowing condition. Such condition is called, gender oppression.

Those ideas were much detested concept by feminist because it embodies all the ill that men can bestow upon women. the area, however, provides the forte from which patriarchy or social construct has recruited women to be agents of in oppressing another women in any manners. (Ramdas, 2010: 97)

Through Ramdas‟ study, he observed that Suchen Christine Lim portrayed the chinese women to be the contrary version of “obedient, unassuming, yielding, timid, respectful, reticent, and unselfish in character” (Ramdas, 2010: 96). He also stated the characters within novel experienced the depression; loneliness (2010:

96), the depressed characters were depicted to alienate themselves from the outside world and living with their imaginary world. However, during the oppression, the characters experienced the humiliation which caused Suchen put a psychological effect which driven the characters to experience “the high spirited and resistant” to the social construct of gender oppression.

In adverse pyschological effects Suchen Christine Lim has developed the characters, projecting them as high – spirited and resistant to the stereotypical portrayal of the female as weak. (Ramdas, 2010: 96)

The high spirited character caused themselves to confront the oppressor by using the radical feminist term “escapism, confrontation, separatism, silencing, subjugation, and alienation” (2010: 96). According Ramdas‟ study, the characters set themselves apart from the oppressor and started to live as new human and independent beings, leaving and forgetting their past.

The writer agreed that women had the lack of capability showing their emotion, behaviour and thought within the presence of men however they were showing the resistance toward those who oppressed them. Despite the standing point of agreement with Ramdas‟ study, the writer also noted that there were missing point that writer wanted to complete, unlike the previous study from Ramdas, the writer wanted to elaborate the essence of society‟s influence in the psychological preferences of the chosen character with the different theories and approach but using the same terms, such as “alienation”, “escape” and

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Character and Characterization

Theory is served to reveal the characteristic of Suwen deeply in the novel. Based on the theory of character by Abrams, the meaning of character are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being edowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say - the dialogue - and what they do - the action (1999: 32). The representation of character through their dialogue and actions lead the character‟s description, therefore the characterization be asserted.

To establish the characterization, the characters in the literary work are delivered with narration, the characters in the narrative are showing and telling the motives and dispositions that lie behind what situation they encounter in the literary works. (Abrams, 1999: 33)

Besides the establishment from narrative, the author also implies the characterization based on the action, speech, and character‟s inner thoughts, feelings, and responsive to events (1999:34) thus, those kinds of method can give the idea of the qualities of character. By considering those aspects or methods, the characterization can be determined and judged with objectively.

2. Theory of Patriarchy

There are many definitions of patriarchy in some terms or literary text works, but all of them conducted the same perspective or point of view about men‟s dominant or full authority within the society. The term patriarchy often considered men as the government who rulled the society, the concept of patriarchy refers to the dominion of men with priveledged authority that implies

men have more agencies than women in the society ( Bailey, 2014: 1). The same concept occurs, according to Bell Hooks, the patriachy itself is the politcal system where domination of men are superior and everyone seemed to be weak, especialy females. The rest of the society are forced to follow with men‟s dominance through various forms of object and considered to be a violation.

Patriachy is a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological

terrorism and violance.

(http://imaginenoborders.org/pdf/zines/UnderstandingPatriarchy.pdf) The patriarchy occures as one of the political system which achieved during the maturity of our childhood, gender roles as the main causes assigned us to deliver the continual guidance to fulfill the gender roles within the society and family therefore patriachy as the system to force boys into the rule of dominance and deny their feelings. (Hooks, 2004: 1)

Patriarchy system is built with the foundation of repressions of all feelings, destructions of individual will power, and the repression of thinking, and it departs from the authority figure‟s way of thinking. This system was built within the family and delivered by our mothers, it is considered as the principal and moral value that embrace the way of our live and shape us into the perspective of male and female in gender roles.

Patriarchy system requires men as the dominator - following the gender role and stresses the notion that all of men were all powerfull and women became the victim or object of the violances, therefore this kind of condition supports the

idea of masculinity that attached within the system are fully shaped and reshaped by men. (Bailey, 2014: 4) The continue of men‟s dominant over women in the society becomes the legitimation that shift the culture in corporate, political, and economic power.

However, Connell also argues that while men continue to dominate corporate,political and economic power, there has been a seismic shift in

culture: „what hascrumbled, in the industrial countries, is the legitimation

of patriarchy. (Bailey, 2014: 4)

The notion of masculinity is opposed by women thus they put all the

blames “the perpetuation of sexism” (Hooks, 2004: 2) only to men so these

women can express their feelings and thoughts and maintain it. This kind of condition leads to the allegiance to patriarchy system, their lust of power driven to oppress the other and causes gender oppression.

3. Multicultural Feminism

Multicultural feminists emphasized the understanding and notion of diversity within society. The notion of diversity has been a complex idea since there were many differences in culture, race, and gender that contribute various of different thought and personality development of human being.

Multicultural, global, and postcolonial feminists push feminist thought in the direction of both recognizing women‟s diversity and acknowledging the challenges it presents. (Tong, 2009: 200)

Based on the differences, people treat another people with their way of thinking in the various representation of cultural norms, traditions or system, and gender representation. Those various representation unveiled the system of patriarchy which led to gender oppression.

Multicultural feminist was set to defend the oppressed and to redeem the fragile condition within the conflict of social construct of patriarchy system, this kind of criticism recognized the differences and the diversity by respecting all the races and social elements to live in harmony through differences of many levels.

Defenders of multiculturalism claimed that “we should learn to think of our (society) as consisting not of a majority and minorities but of a plurality of cultural groups. We do not all have to look, act, speak, and think alike to be American, they said. Instead, we need to cultivate mutual tolerance, respect, and knowledge of each other‟s cultures. (Tong, 2009: 204

The oppression is one of the tools in patriarchal practices that regenerating the system of subjugation within the society, therefore it holds the continueity of\ terror toward those who begins to revolt against the oppressor thus could not be elimanated before the elimanation of the others, it meant that the oppression that heads temporaly from the oppressor was cut off from their role towards their subject.

Oppression is a many-headed beast capable of regenerating any one of the heads temporaly severed from its bloated body. The whole body of the beast is the appropriate target for those who wish to end oppression‟s reign of terror. (Tong, 2009: 206)

Multicultural feminist, AudreLorde stated that she rejected all kinds of oppressor by considering the essential meaning of being different to be unique rather than superior and inferior while “the oppressors stabilized their position and eluded the given task for their own actions, there‟s a decreased energy which was used in reassigning women and contriving the realistic idea and movement” (Tong, 2009: 209) for another alternative to the better life development in the present and building the new future.

Lorde‟s point of view concluded the notion which taken very well, women derived the feminist movement by approaching another women‟s experience, in another words, women learned each other to achieve their rights, through the togetherness of friendship. The experience with the others connected with essentialism of being unique rather than different in the term of inferior (Tong, 2009: 207)

Following the expalantion about the diversity of race and culture within the society, the multicultural feminist stated that race was typically consctructed and deconstructed in social, when it turns out to be like this, the individuals would choose their race depending on their own priorities which given them a lot of values where they live it.

4. Global and Postcolonial Feminism

Global and Postcolonial feminists explored the relationships between first world nation and third world party that motivated and reduced women movement in the third world. Through that relationship, the feminists tended to set their focus and interest toward the issues of sexuality, reproduction, economic and political aspects, thus the feminist movement was often considered as a dynamic rather than static school of thought.

The right of women to freedom of choice, and the power to control our own lives within and outside of the home. Having control over our lives and our bodies is essential to ensure a sense of dignity and autonomy for every woman. (Tong, 2009: 216)

The quotation above is one of the goal that the feminist has been trying to embrace, by relating the issues that emerged from the social construct, piece by

piece, layer per layer until the solutions have become able. The freedom of speech and the power to legitimate their position in the society, and having the quality time by controling their own lives without the outer hands come to interfere, also the sense of honor and social justice have become the Global and Postcolonial feminist broader concern for fighting the patriarchal practices and elimanate them to the lowest level.

The removal of all forms of inequity and oppression through the creation of a more just social and economic order, nationally and internationally. This means the involvement of women in national liberation struggles, in plans for national development, and in local and global struggles for change. (Tong, 2009: 216)

Global and Postcolonial feminist urged that women‟s development through the liberation of human rights was one of the components to provide the better state of condition to the development of world itself. As one of the part of world development, women‟s liberation and development were provided and supported, the feminists used the term “sisterhood” to strengthen the basic foundation of human rights, such as togetherness, women could achieve their feminime through the relationship with others, experiencing the same fate of being oppressed and desires to fight against the oppression.

However the togethernes in the term of sisterhood could not guarantee the feminism until the others recognize their work and admitted their presence. The term sisterhood was threatened with the term manyness because of the diversity of culture and race that emerged when a feminist comes into a group with different feminists, with this implication, feminist AudreLorde emphasized that manyness was the inability of feminist to forge an alliances to create a better world.

Global and postcolonial feminist used the term of oneness to solve the conflict between the term of sisterhood and manyness. Even though there were a lot of differences in the women‟s dream, “oneness” tied and united women to fight the oppressor, thus the people can be themselves without potential conflict occured from outside and within the society.

I want my daughter to take part in what is taking place in this country. If she gets married now, she will never particiapte in the change. I don‟t wat her to be like me. I am married to a good man. As you know about 40% of Cape Verdian men are labourers in Europe, and my husband is in Holland. That house over there that we are building brick by brick right next to this little cabin is being made with the money he sends home. Every two years

he gets one month‟s vacation, and comes home to meet the baby he mad

the last time, and to make a new one. I don‟t want that for my daughter. I‟ve heard the it is possible to prevent pregnancy by knowing the calender. Please teach our girls how to count the days so that they can control pregnancies. (Tong, 2009: 218)

In the issue of reproduction, feminists emphasized that women must have priviledge control over their own body, for example it would be the best decision if women decided by themselves on how many children they would have without ruining their health and ability to work outside the household. Besides, they also emphasized that mothers have the right control over their own children, especially daughters to experience the better state of condition than their mother.

In the era of World War, the colonizers had pulled themselves back to their country, bringing lots of benefits that had been exploited from the colonized countries such as human resourses and natural resources, the abandoned countries rapidly went poor and forced to borrow money and all the supporting financial stuffs to empower their economy and political support, therefore the notion of patriarchy system and gender oppression that attached within both relationship of

colonized and colonizer meant to be ethically rejectable ideologies and they only mean bussiness.

The relationship between colonized and colonizer is based not on any measure of partnership bur rather than on the latter‟s coercion and violence in its dealing with the former. This relationship is in fact the secret of unlimited growth in the centers of accumulation. If externalization of all the costs of industrial production were not possible, if they had to be borne by the industrialized countries themselves, that is if they were unternalized, and immediate end to unlimited growth would be inevitable. (Tong, 2009: 226)

As long as there is desire of possession of material goods and human relate it to their own happiness then there will always be a competition which leads this world into another conflict and once again women will be set against another women in global and against the society in the end.

C. Theoretical Framework

Theory of character and characterization were used to answer the problem

formulation number one which explains Suwen‟s characterization on the novel.

Theory of Patriarchy used to answer the problem formulation number two which questioning the Singapore‟s society decription in the Fistful of Colours. Multicultural, Global and Postcolonial feminism would directly answer the

problem formulation number two and three which explain the society‟s condition

and the process of Suwen‟s feminist behaviour and thought development.

The writer used the theory of character and characterization to reveal

Suwen‟s character in the novel, this theory would become the basic foundation for

the writer to unveil the psychological process within Suwen‟sself awareness. Throughout this undergraduate thesis, theory of Patriarchy was used to explain the

condition or social construct on how and why this kind of practices occured in Fistful of Colours.

Multicultural femininst was set to deliver the explanation about the social condition or basic social construct and the distribution process of human rights between men and women in the society depending on race, religion, education. The theory would give us a broader view about the social justice and injustice that happened in the diversity of race and culture in Singapore such as patriachy and gender oppression.

Global and Postcolonial feminism was used to emphasize the conflict that occured in the pre – colonialization of British and after the invasion of Japanese imperial army. This theory developed the essence of struggle of the oppressed which caught in the middle of war and basic social construct – as explained by the multicultural feminist.

Some terms that attached in Ramdas‟ study such as alienation and escaping were applied on this undergraduate thesis, basically those terms were derived from the radical feminism and the writer used the psychoanalytic approach to elaborate the psychological effects from the society toward the

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study

Fistful of Colours, a novel by Suchen Christine Lim was published by SNP international, Singapore in 1993 and awarded the inaugural Singapore literature prize in 1992.

The story is built up layer by layer. The present is built on the past and the present is an indicator of what the future might be. The author is able to bring in the story of the forefathers of Singapore around the turn of the century, the ordinary people responsible for the shaping of Singapore. (Lim, 2003: Cover page)

The object of this undergraduate thesis was developed from the layers of various stories and perspectives that have been built by the society of early Singapore. Besides, the object of the study were also covered through the eyes of young generation, Suwen‟s family and her friend‟s historical background, despite the perspective of young generations, the writer also would like to take the history boundary of nations builders as the object of the study too since the focus of this thesis is to analyze the process of influence of society in the Singapore‟s history

towards Suwen‟s feminist behaviour and thought. There were the Chinese coolie,

malay writer, and Indian doctor. Fistful of Colourscovered broader issues, from the ethnic diversity, the relationship between art and history, until the pursuit of personal artistic freedom.

A Singapore novel fiction in english had truly attempted to explore the complexity of Singapore‟s diversity in race and culture, a complicated fight that

faced by women to fulfil their inner self manhood. The characterization was readable and reflect multicultural concerns, the book is packed with flavour of the past and reflect the coming future.

Fistful of Colours is an elegant, multi layered reflection of what it means to be Singaporean, through a single day in the life of Suwen and her family history, uncovers the many hopes and trials of singapore‟s early immigrant community. Through Suchen Christine Lim‟s masterful of storytelling and vibrant language, the Singapore of yesterday and today converge. (Lim, 2003: Cover page)

B. Approach of the Study

The writer used the psychoanalytic approach to analyze the process and

the development of human behaviour and thought within Suwen‟spsyche whether

accepting or resisting the society‟s influence. As stated by Freud, that the human‟s

pyschewas divided into the conscious and the unconscious which driven and

awakened by desire, pleasure, and dreams ( Barry, 2002: 97) ). Suwen‟spsyche in

the unconscious realm would be developed into three levels of personality, id,which consists of dreams and self desire, egoas the reality principle, andsuper-egoas moral principle.

Freud‟s point of view about the feminism is constructed rather than natural

given, this case supported by Mitchell‟s Psychoanalysis and Feminism in 1974

which concerned on the feminism, “something learned or acquired, rather than

„natural‟” (Barry, 2002: 130). Freud viewed men‟s dominant authority to become the notion of penis envy that concerning the biological factor as the emblem of social power within the society especially women.

Thus the argumen runs, the notion of penis envy need not to be taken as simply concerning the male physical organ itself (what ever might have been Freud‟s intentions), but as concerning what organ as an emblem of social power and the advantages which go with it. (Barry, 2002: 131) The notion of penis envy unveiled the condition where women had no authority or concern toward their own body and social life, therefore the condition is called social castration, “which signifies women‟s lack of power” (Barry, 2002: 131), place and time also influenced on how feminism shown the condition of being shaped.

According to Freud, the unconscious has taken a great contribution in the development of human‟s behaviour and thought beyond the reach of human‟s conscious, the unconscious is determined from human‟s social experience, such as repression, desires, conflict. The development of the unconscious was built within the stage of social parenting in the family, driven by desire, pleasure, fear of loss and repression. Fear and desire are condensed into a single dream which connected human behaviour and thought in the frame of conscious mind. The purpose of dream and condensation above is to put the materials of desire to be modelled into something which images, symbols, and metaphors can representate it and tranlate it into languages.

The purpose of devices like displacement and condensation is two fold. They fashion this material into something which can be represented in a dream, that is, into images, symbols, and metaphors. (Barry, 2002: 99) Freud believes that dream is an ultimate desire which representates safety condition, memories, and fears all of them and wrapped and covered in the shadow of conscious mind, with such condition like that dream is related to the

dressing style of human unique thought to behave more like someone else. The feeling of desire, being afraid, experience is difficult to take down, the only way to get through with it, is by eliminating it from the conscious mind and strenghtening the faith of dreams or desires. However it will remain in the unconscious thought and there is always a return of those feelings which are repressed.

The representation of characters and events are proven in literary ways, both of them are made to comunicate each other, avoiding indirect meanings and representing the essence of meanings from the time, place, and person applied. The Freudian interpretation is seen to be more rational rather than simply things, interpretation tends to elaborate the sexual conotation in the objects and transforms it into the representation of images and dreams.,

A final example of important Freudian terminology is the dream work, the process by which real events or desires are tranformed into dream images. (Barry, 2002: 98)

C. Method of the Study

The writer developed the procedure of undergraduate thesis‟ analysis into three steps of order. The first one was about the statement whether the study was library research or field research, the second was about the primary and secondary resources which supported the object of the data, and the discussion about the theoritical order to be taken into the analysis was discussed in the third or final step.

In the first step, this undergraduate thesis was considered to be a library research, the writer had considered this because all the findings of theories, critical approaches, and the data could be discovered briefly in the written textbook.

The second step was about the primary and secondary resources which were used as the basic principals of criticism, related studies, related theories, and novel as the object of the study. Based on the object of the study, the novel that the writer had examined was Fistful of Colours, a written novel by Christine Suchen Lim, to be the material of the object. The related studies about Gender Oppression and Resistance was derived from the study of Ramdas. The writer also used The Feminist Thought, third edtion by Rosemarie Tong and it had contained the theory of Multicultural, Global and Postcolonial criticism. The theory of patriarchy was mainly delivered from The Will to Change; Men, Masculinity, and Love by Bell Hooks and Understanding contemporary fatherhood: masculine care and the patriarchal deficitby Jemimah Bailey. The theory of character and characterization was taken from Glosary Literary Terms by J.J Abrams. Psychoanalytic approach was derived from Beginning Theory by Peter Berry which emphasized the cope of framework of this thesis.

The final step discussed the orders taken to analysis. First, the writer took the sample of object of data that explain Suwen‟s characteristic. Second, the writer took the evidences or descriptions of Singapore‟s society‟s life condition

which attached in Suwen‟s family and friend‟s historical and present background

Third, the writer moved to the analysis which examined the process of

development of Suwen‟s feminist behaviour and thought,the writer divided the

third step into three subchapters or smaller sections that would explain Suwen‟s development through the relationship with family, friends, and the painting.

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

A. The Description of Suwen’s Characteristics 1. Good and Talented Artist

The project of her painting that Suwen desired, contained the perfection of society‟s unity in its content, however the perfection of unity had a different meaning, life was free and fluid and she sketched the painting according to her own mood.

Suwen had tried to capture them in her sketchbook. But each time she tried, she had failed miserably. They never came out the way she saw or heard them inside her head. How to translate that which was inside into something which she could show to the outside world was her constant struggle (Lim, 2003: 103)

The painting that Suwen produced was the result of several times of failure and painful sketches. Suwen was educated with British education system, the

painting consisted of the solidity of one‟s colours, pigments and brush strokes,

and connection between lines and dots, light and shadow piercing the notion of serenity. As the writer said for several times, Singapore was built with various cultures and races, the large immigration had happened long time ago. Started from China, India, British, and Malay. The painting that Suwen sketched became the symbol and the representation of diversity in the multicultural society, each line and dot told us different story and angle point of view toward the issues that happened in the early Singapore.

As emphasized by Abrams, Suwen‟s characterization of talented artist was derived from the narrative text in the novel. Beside that, the characterization of Suwen came out from her own action that stated in the canvas, Nica‟s speech and thought. Also the society‟s action or response toward Suwen‟s way of painting gave the basic foundation to Suwen‟s characterization.

2. Stubborn

When Suwen reaches her age, she is decribed as stubborn girl who rejects

her mother‟s persuasion in many terms. Suwen claims that she has her own

problem to solve but her mother binds her to stay close to her, she dared and confronted her mother about the reasons on why chidlren should be tied forever to the mess of their parents made (Lim, 2003:13), as emphasized by Abram on the theory of characterization, the character of Suwen was derived from the actions as described in the novel.

During Suwen‟s performance on painting the society, Nica urged Suwen to use another object beside her own race. According to Nica, a Singapore artist must dare to travel beyond his/her ethnic group and paint the society as a universalit object, without choosing the side of particular race. However Suwen insisted to paint only what she could feel and see, the lack of confidence toward her identity also driven herself to paint the society based on her narrow perspectives.

As Suwen struggled to paint the society and to find her roots, she determined to kept painting even though the feeling of lack of confident still became her image that came to surface.

It had been niggling her all week, chipping away at her self-confidence. What she dreaded most, however often she tried to push the thought away, was returning to her former state of emptiness and the feeling that she had been abandoned liker in her first year in England (Lim, 2003: 179)

3. Lack of Confidence

Though Suwen‟s dream or desires driven her to paint the society, Suwen is desribed to be so unconfident toward the manners that she would like to perform in the canvas, the lack of confident travelling her outside race in the painting driven the result of the painting to be considered as the void of universality, as Nica thought. The artist must dare to perform her artistic freedom in universality, painting the society without doubts, on the other hand, the lack of certainty of Suwen‟s identity and race driven her to by shy to move beyond her ethnic group. Besides the lack of confident in the painting.

Suwen also found her doubt to move out from the her mother‟s oppression. The characterization of Suwen is derived from the other character, Nica‟s speech and thought, as supported and emphasized by Abrams in the theory of character and characterization.

Suwen had lacked the guts to walk out on her mother and away from the ong mansion, compared with the likes of nica and jan, she was just a blob of jellyfish, flapping on the beach, dreaming of freedom riding the waves but had no ability to move on her own accord. (Lim, 2003: 128)

Through this description of Suwen‟s behaviour in the narration, Abrams, once again emphasized the characterization to be judged objectively with seeing both side of speech and action.

A critical tendency has been to consider "telling" a violation of artistryand to recommend only the technique of "showing" characters; authors, it

issaid, should totally efface themselves in order to write "objectively," "impersonally,"or "dramatically." (Abrams, 1999: 34)

B. Kinds of Singapore’s Society that Suwen Encounters.

Suwen lived within the diversity Singapore‟s society. According to the multicultural feminists, the society‟s diversity caused some problems or conflicts since each race tried to live their lives with personal ideological thinking. The main problem is the practice of oppression among the races.The writer decided thatthere weretwo main or basic possible oppressions, the oppression from men and the oppression from women.

1. Men’s Oppression as Attached in Suwen’s Experience in Fistful of Colours

Patriarchal practice was delivered as the situation where men had the full authority to govern the society without considering the essence of human rights, it was found inFistful of Colours. In Fistful of Colours the writer also found out that there was the situation where women oppressed another women as direct spin-off from the patriarchy system. Suwen, Nica, and Janice‟s family tried to survive according to their ancestral culture that was built through their veins and flesh, therefore there was a gap that caused the conflict among races and cultures, as emphasized by the Multicultural feminist that patriarchal practice was the product of diversity in the conflict of multi ethnic in Singapore.

In Fistful of Colours, Suwen lived within the authority of figure of her step father and grandfather,OngTay Luck and Ong Ah Buck, both of them were depicted as the representation of patriarchal practices within the household. Trace back to the old time, Ong Ah Buck once had a name, Lim Ah Buck. Ah Buck came from China after being sold by his neighbor, since his family was broken. Then he lived in Pagoda lane where TowkayOng found him and raised him as his own son and the only son.

He was sinkeh living in Pagoda Lane. You would find him hidden among the numbers and digits in the record books of the colonial immigration ofice, a dot among thousands of other dots: young chinese male, aged seventeen or thereabouts. (Lim, 2003: 39)

Suwen‟s step grandfather, Ong Ah Buck was picked from the dark side of

the corner of Pagoda lane and adopted by TowkayOng since Towkay‟s mistresses and concubines didn‟t give him a single son but worthless girls to bear the surname. In the Chinese household, surname became one of the parts of family future which determined how the luck or family‟s destiny would move, whether good or bad. As emphasized by Bell Hooks about patriarchy system, the adoption of Ong Ah Buck to Towkay Ong was the process of education to prepare and ensure the fortune of the Ong family. The education itself was considered as a violance toward its subject, Ah Buck was forced to obey the Towkay Ong patriarch, the repressed feeling and desire had lost with his own masculinity and intergrity as free man and Pagoda Lane became the representation of the system of education where it was harsh and brutal.

The Pagoda lane itself was considered to be one of the most brutal places in Singapore, harsh and brutal. The lane itself was dominated by men‟s full

authority, made up from immigrants of Malays, Chinese, and Indians. In Pagoda lane, everything that was built in that place was man‟s made

Pagoda lane belonged to the Chinese male. Life in Pagoda lane, pre war Singapore was harsh brutal and short. And the colonial police made up mainly of Indians and Malays, were fearful for their own lives and limbs. (Lim, 2003: 36)

Also, after seeing the values of the Chinese family‟s fortune which was attached in the surname, the writer took the theory of Global and Postcolonial

feminist‟ point of view in the field of sexual reproduction to understand the notion

of surname in the household, man was the only one who could bear the surname.As emphasized by Bell Hooks, this kind of system required Ong Ah Buck to be the agent of the oppression.

Patriarchy requires maledominance by any means necessary, henceit supports, promotes, and condones sexistviolence.(Hooks, 2004: 2)

The survival of a son in the family was paramount importance, the

surname that contained the honour and the fortune of the family‟s future must be

passed down to the next generation of male.

Based on the Chinese tradition, men should carry the honor of family. They have the family name that will decide the fortune of the family life. The continuity of the surname must be passed down to son and not daughter (Lim, 2003: 44-46)

Within Suwen‟s family, Mistresses were forced to give a birth of son

rather than daughter and if they failed, their husband would take another wife who could give him a birth of a son therefore those mistresses had had no private authority toward the concern of their own body. Assuming the patriachy system, Bell Hooks emphasized that Ong‟s mistresses always became the victim and

considered women to be weak within the political system of patriarchy within the household.

The patriarchal practice that happened in Suwen‟s family was commonly found in the on-going business of Ong family. Suwen‟s step great grandfather, TowkayOng had created the business to ensure the stablelity of life in his own family, following the old tradition of Chinese where men must continue the reign of its predecessor in the family, TowkayOng adopted Ong Ah Buck since none of his mistresses bore him a single son to continue the family line. The business ran well under the reign of Ong Ah Buck until British colonialization was forced to leave the Singapore by Japanese imperial army in the World War II, the Japanese had impressed with outgrowing business of Ong Family. They urged the Suwen‟s family company to support the material for the war cause and for the return the Japanese imperial army would provide the Ong family with full resources of livestock, rice and pork. The relationship between Ongcompany and Japanese imperial army was emphasized by Global and Postcolonial feminists, there was a relationship between the colonizer and the colonized country in the term of social economy and politic. The Japanese colonized and took the nature and human resources in Singapore to expand their own economy by invading and occupying weaker nation.

The authority of the family passed down to Suwen‟s step father OngTay Luck, however the business was going to drain because of Ong‟s lack of leadership. He lost the concentration of focus in the business and chose to leave the matters to the sons he fathered all across the Southeast Asia.

Ong May Lan, sister of OngTay Luck tought that the contribution of Ongproperity company to the Japanese imperial army had driven the jealously of the public and to be considered as the act of betrayal to the peasant of Singapore and agent of the capitalist. Therefore the relationship was only viewed to be the economic matters rather than ideologies.

But to his sisters, ong may lan, the act of eating “Japanese-contaminated

rice” was tantamount to an act of betrayal. She would be betraying the lives of thousands of Chinese and non Chinese who had fought and died to defend their motherland and this island. (Lim, 2003: 234)

The patriarchal practice inFistful of Coloursthat happened in the Ong business was men institution for rulling the matters of family among the diversity of ethnic in Singapore. The business was defined as the symbol of Ong‟s authority where the mistresses held less concern to it, using the Freudian interpretation on the sexual motivation that was rejected by another psychologists, the writer identified Ong Patriarch as the male who became the emblem of social power in the household.

The notion of penis envy need not to be taken as simply concerning the male physical organ itself (whatever might have been Freud‟s interpretation), but as concerning that organ as an emblem of social power and the advantages which go with it. (Barry, 2002: 131)

As emphasized by Freud and Lacan, the Ong patriarch showed the condition of sexuality had took a great role in the development of social government, the term of sexuality that was developed proved it to be natural construct and resulted the Ong‟s mistresses behaviour in the resistance toward the others, natural construct in the term of sexuality was also emphasized by the confucian beliefs that attached within the chinese family culture heritage.

The argument in favour of Lacan and of Freud, is, again, that it shows sexual identity to be a „cultural construct‟, gives a detailed series of

„insider‟ accounts of how the construction takes place, and shows

examples of this conditioning being resisted. (Barry, 2002: 132)

The writer used Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar‟s psychological criticism to identify the effect of patriarchy itself, it caused the lack of power in the side of the oppressed or mistresses or daughters to the contribution of social development in the society, their roles were pressed down in the shade of Ong patriarch, this kind of condition in the patriarchal practices of Ong family was called social castration.

Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar use the idea of „social castration‟, which amounts to the same thing, for this term signifies women‟s lack of social power, this lack being represented, by means of the word „castration‟, as male possession, though not a in any sense a male attribute. (Barry, 2002: 131)

Due to the patriarchal practices that occured in the background, Suwen lost self – identity within her own family and the society. Therefore, this kind of situation led Suwen to live with the uncertainty of her identity within Ong household.

Owing to these patriachal practices, chinese women suffered loss of identity within their family as well as within the comunity. They were referred to as the mother of ther son, or the wife of a man. They live the life of an outsider or virtual slave and this essentially is due to cultural and religious beliefs. (Warren, 1993:2)

b. Men’s Oppressionin Suwen’s Friends

Beside her family, Suwen also found the patriarchy system outside her

race in Singapore‟s diversity. The same practice or system was found within

colourof Singapore‟s history and molded the present and future that developed the civilization in the Singapore‟s society which influenced the development of

Suwen‟s feminist behaviour and thought in Fistful of Colours.

Suwen‟s friend, Nica lived within the high tension of authority of her own

father, Dr. Sivalingam so it made her to be difficult to express her ideas as a member of family within the household. Dr. Sivalingam had urged Nica to pursue the career in medicine and she chose to follow her own desire in the art instead. During Nica‟s childhood, at the age of seven she had been taught with dozens of herbs, tonics, and fuss in the family by her grandmother.

Nica told suwen that she grew up in a household where the air of oppressive authority had made it difficult for her to breathe so that, as a child, she was asthmatic and sickly all the time. A weak constition and the fact that she was the youngest of five children had made her redoubtable. Sri langkantamil grandmother keep her at home to be dosed with herbs, tonics, and fusss. By the time she was seven, all her older sisters had been sent away to exclusive convents in new delhi. She was brought up as an only child, with all the drawbacks of such a position. (Lim, 2003: 58) Bell Hooks once again emphasized that the patriarchy system was basically the process of education whithin family, Nica was introduced and delivered the patriarchy system by her grandmother. Nica and her family had lived through termendous time in Pagoda lane, where men and all the social forces had driven them not to interfere the social economy and political issue in the place where they lived, the long time of oppression had influenced them to stay in the line.

His family had lived through tumultuous times in a land which was predominantly hindu, and the young sepoy was filled with the angry righteous of men long oppressed and suppressed by social forces which

they did not fully comprehend, but nonetheless strongly left (Lim, 2003: 74)

Nica stated that they had lived in the multicultural society and diversity of various races from all the corners of the world. The patriarchal practice that was fully conducted in the society was supposed to introduce the stability of new future of Singapore. The authorities wanted to mold the Singapore into another set of atmosphere where diversity of ethnic could live in harmony.

We‟re living in an age of cultural lobotomy. Forget about your Cantonese, teochow, and hokkien. Think mandarin, drop the dialects. That‟s what the

authorities want. It‟s a kind of sculpting. They want to sculpt a new kind

of Singapore chink. Dialects belong to the peasants. Mandarin is the language of the educated Chinese. You betray your peasants roots if you speak dialects. (Lim, 2003: 79)

As the writer stated before, Suwen‟s feminist behaviour and thought was also influenced by the feminist behaviour and thought of Nica and Janice, the writer had decided to include the process of Nica and Janice‟s feminist development, therefore we could see how the development of their feminism affected the feminist behaviour and thought of Suwen. Using the pyschoanalytical approach which analyzed the human pyschethat was developed and fully covered

in the unconsciousness by Freud, Nica‟s unconscious in the realm of her superego

took the great contribution which was processed from the social conflict inside the

family and her friends. Driven by her own desire, Nica‟sid, started to move on

from the influence of her father by pursuing the interest in art rather than being obey to be forced to study and work in medicine, in the end, Nica‟ssuperego decided to work as an artist who sculpted the society as a universality in her rights of freedom. The writer took the Freud‟s explanation about the father that held the

majority of role in the household, father is the term that was associated with male‟s dominance in social forces which kept the society according to the norm and political issue. The term escaping had been used by Nica in order to survive her own ultimate desire, she chose herself to achieve her dreams by expanding the social life with the persons, who had the same experience in the past, therefore the influence that was poured out from his father‟s mouth would have slowly gone

missing. According to Freud‟s interpretation of dreamer and the process of

personality development, the writer concluded that Nica was depicted with young adult who wanted to break the influence of her father therefore she could live the adult life to the fullest, breaking the chain of authority of her own father.

Let‟s say the dreamer is a young adult still under the thumb of an authoritian father but wanting to break away from his influence, and experience adult life to the full. (Barry, 2002:59)

The writer concentrated the focus on another Suwen‟s friend, Janice. Janice‟s family lived in the era of World War 2 where the Japanese took the control over British in Singapore, the Japanese imperial army prohibitted the social norm and culture to be fully conducted and every life aspect should be done and devoted to the preparation of Japanese imperial army war logistic. Mr. Wong was Jan‟s father and Mrs. Wong was Jan‟s mother.

Joseph Wong Weng Choy was an impatient and disappointed salesman. He managed the process of his own behaviour and thought in the development of his own psyche, giving a gapbetween his own feeling of anger or desperation and the protection toward the family, in order to escape the confession of the failure he once made, so that he could move on and find a new job.

Joseph Wong Weng Choy was an impatient and disappointed man, hiding his sense of failure behind his anger. Before the war, he had been a sales clerk with good prospects in a British trading company. His wife, Martha,

was a nursing assistant in St Andrew‟s Hospital. (Lim, 2003: 150)

The Geylangstreet was the place where Jan‟s family had lived, the place was quiet and peaceful in diversity of multi ethnic before the war came. Mr. Wong worked as a sales clerk in British Trading Company and his wife was a nurse in St. Andrew‟s hospital. The Japanese came and British left, the situation was clearly changing, many people became jobless because the outbreak of war.

I was jobless after the war. I am not ashamed to admit it. Times were bad then. Everybody jobless. The British left and there were no jobs for people like me. But i was responsible family man. I saved every scent I earned in Hong Kong. I shared a room with four men. We slept on the floor. We cooked and mended our own clothes! To this day she thinks I was having a gala time over there. What more does she want from a husband? I wanted her to bring up our two children properly. But did she? Did you Martha?

You, bitch, you! “stop your bullying dad!” Jan rushed out of her bedroom.

“it‟s not Mum! It‟s me, your daughter! Scold me! (Lim, 2003: 155)

Mr. Wong migrated to Hong Kong to sustain the life of his own family‟s economy, working each day and night. According to the theory of patriarchy system from Bell Hooks, the writer emphasized that patriarchal Mr. Wong were reliable person, he was assumed to be imprissoned within his own political system (Hooks, 2004: 4) thus it led Mr. Wong‟s emotional became and remain unstable, which cause the violance toward the others.

Mrs. Wong felt the difficult position, where she felt the oppression of her own husband, she was beaten and bullied in front of Janice‟s own eyes while Mr. Wong felt the pressure of the surrounding in the society, the horrible condition of war where people went missing by sudden. The failure of Mr. Wong‟s career in

Hong Kong led him to bully and beat his own family and Mrs. Wong missed the figure of a man who protected the assurance of family‟s safety in the middle of war. Mrs. Wong stayed loyal toward the obedient of a wife to her husband, waiting and hoping the everything would turn better.

What can I say? What does he want me to do? Mrs. Wong was sobbing. “every night I can‟t sleep. He scolds me. Keeps me awake the whole night

long. What can I do? She winned. “when he was in Hongkong, I was left

alone here. No money. No news even. Just the two children and me. I worked shifts at the hospital to make ends meet. I let the ammah go. Not enough money. I had to everything myself. And now, he blames me.” (Lim, 2003: 154)

The writer took the example of Freudian interpretation to analyze the role of Mr. Wong and Mrs. Wong in the Janice‟s life, they were the representation of Roman soldier that depicted of both love and protection. However the term “love” was done by Mr. Wong in the extreme ways.

The Roman soldier might also represent this person, the envisaged lover; perhaps the cliched phrase „Latin lover‟ might have prompted this. Thus, both the feared father and the desired lover are condensed into single dream figure of the Roman soldier. (Barry, 2002: 99)

Mr. Wong went to Hong Kong in order to feed his family since there was no job to be found in Singapore, but he was considered missing by Mrs. Wong because there was no information or even news about him, while Mrs. Wong stayed in the house while taking care of her two children and all of them were dying in the middle of war.

Putting aside the matters of the patriarchal father, Janice used the notion

„escape‟, leaving everything behind to conduct her own life in the new era of

the Janice‟s idof dreams and desires, she had chose herself to leave the matters of her own family and decided to be fully devoted to Zul‟s family.

2. Women’s Oppressionas Attached in Suwen’s Experience in Fistful of Colours

Beside the patriarchal practices in the family and friends, Suwen also encountered the direct or spin-of result from the patriarchy system, which called gender oppression. The oppressed of patriarchy system, driven the themselves to fight each other in order to get their own ambition, dreams, and goals. Suwen‟s mother and her old mama, Ah Siew Liew became the representation of gender oppression.

SiaLiew was the old mamah of the Ong, for 50 years older she had been with the family, ever since the birth of OngTay Luck. SiaLiew was once a bondmaid but raised as one of the mistresses in the Mansion by, Ong Ah Buck, SiaLiew was bought from a ship captain. In the chinese society, having a daughter would only give another mouth to be fed, SiaLiew was sold for not being considered of giving contribution to the family (1993: 31).

SiaLiew became the maid of Madam Geok Neo, in the household SiaLiew was seen as the badluck or the bearer of misfortune in the Ong family. The young concubine was to serve the master and mistress in any condition and various time, she was beaten by Madam Geok Neo because of her stubborn behaviour however she obeyed the tasks which would have been given up to her,

Suwen by herself, went away to the Malaysia peninsula so that she could trace down her family roots before she was able to conduct the painting of Singapore, confidently. When the situation turned to be like that, Suwen would choose the race where she could gain some values toward her goal or priority.

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

The undergraduate thesis has concluded that the multicultural ethnic was one of the complicated matters in the diversity that occured in Suwen‟s life. Patriarchal practices and gender oppression became the social background in the Fistful of Coloursand Suwen had to face them all in order to evolve her sense of awareness so that she could achieve her life time fulfillment.

Suwen was generally depicted as middle age woman who fought silently against the Singapore‟s society.She chose to be independent while she was surrounded by the society who would shape her idealistic thinking. Despite her stubborn characteristic, the writer also concluded that Suwen lacked of confidence travelling her outside race, she only lived and fought in the realm of her own chinese culture. Suwen hadn‟t dare to travel beyond her ethnic group, however she proved herself to be the talented artist as she painted the society with vivid and vibrant colour.

Patriarchal practice was depicted in the literary ways, and attached within Suwen‟s mother and her step family, Ah Siew Lay. Besides the family representation to the sort of practices, Suwen‟s friend, Nica, and Janice had came from the same environment. All of them had been oppressed by men‟s authority, Nica and Janice were oppressed by their own father, dreams and desires of the authority molded their lives and the way they thought and behaved.

Each minor character who had the influenced on Suwen‟s way of feminism embraced the unconscious to fight themselves in the realm of consciousness. Nica chose to break away the bond with her father therefore, she decided to live as the artist as she desired most rather than being forced to study the medicine as her father would like to do with her. Janice escaped from the reality and leaving anything behind so that she found the true happiness in the new family where she gotless in her own family. Inside Suwen‟s family, Ong Ah Buck and OngTay Luck became the few samples of the great patriarch in the household, they often dominated and intimidated another family member so that the business matters in the family could run well in the occupation of British and Japanese imperial army.

Therefore, the writer concluded that patriarchy system provided male violance and insanity to the society, the basic root that created the illness toward the development of characters within the society. However, men could not take all the blames as the psychological processs which happened, driven the men to be imprissoned with their own political system.

Gender oppression became the direct spin-off of patriarchal‟s effect, women oppressed another women to get the first authority rulling the house matters, as depicted by Ah Siew Liew and Suwen‟s mother. Ah SiewLiew model encouraged Suwen to strengthening her faith in dreams and desires in the complicated situation. Suwen‟s mother, Mrs. Ong awakened the high spirit of the oppressed feeling within Suwen‟s state of awareness.

Through this undergraduate thesis, the writer concluded that hard experience from the past or traumatic event driven Suwen to keep herself calm in the realm of unconsciousness and leaving the foggy realm of consciousness. Suwen had evolved her state of awareness from timid little girl until became an independent woman, moving with her own idealistic freedom, escaping the interference from the society so that she could move with her own dreams and desires. Suwen had evoked herself to be fully developed among the conflicts in the diversity of Singapore‟s society, each historical background from the society that presented in her present life was resisted and blocked with her own dreams, pursuing the roots of her own family. Most female character who had lived in the diversity of Singapore‟s society chose to separate themselves in order to gain their own time for expressing their feminist behaviour and thought, the term alienation, escape, and resistance had been used by the most female characters, such as Nica, Janice, and especially Suwen.

Suwen embraced the battle between the conflict of her ideological thinking and the society‟s term and condition. The undergraduate thesis had proved the society‟s role to be developed in the character of Suwen‟s mother or family, and the relationships of friend that she had made. The painting that Suwen sketched was the only media that she had chose in order to develop her feminist behavior and thought. Throughout the analysis that was developed, the writer concluded that Suwen had successfully developed her sense of full achievement in doing her feminist framework because she had successfully encountered the problems of the

escaped from the realm of consciousness and deliberately running away from the problem to seek a better state condition, motivated by her own dreams and desires, painting the Singapore‟s society so that Suwen could trace down her family roots.

Throughout the analysis Suwen‟s way of resistance was actually driven another serious concern from the writer. The writer thought that Suwen should face the oppression by giving them a direct prove with real evidences of fighting with her own idealistic thinking, fighting over and over again until the society realized and understood with standing point of Suwen‟s way of feminism, in the end Suwen had just escaped from the reality and ignored everything behind however the writer would like to take this matter into another concentration which included the psychological process of the character itself, which meant to be unique and deconstructed rather than naturally constructed. In the end, Suchen Christine Lim‟s Fistful of Colours through the representation of Suwen, delivered us the notion of woman liberation to be successfully performed through many difficulties in the diversity of multi ethnic in Singapore.

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