The role of modernity in the maasai society as seen in Henry Ole Kulet`s Is it Possible? - USD Repository

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  THE ROLE OF MODERNITY IN THE MAASAI SOCIETY AS SEEN IN HENRY OLE KULET’S IS IT POSSIBLE? AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

  Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

  Irina Peni Virgiastuti Supolo

  Student Number: 084214114

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS

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  Be who you are don’t compare your self to others (onizuka) Have faith in our strength, have courage in our hearts (bleach) When you are up high, all the stuff that looks confusing and messed up... suddenly becomes crystal clear (Bleach:memories of nobody) We are all lke fireworks. We climb, shine and always go our separate ways and become futher apart. But even if that time comes, let ‘s not disappear like a firework and continue to shine forever (Bleach) TO BE SATISFIED WITH A LITTLE, IS THE GREATEST WISDOM, AND HE THAT INCREASETH HIS RICHES, INCREASETH HIS CARES, BUT A

CONTENTED MIND IS HIDDEN TREASURE, AND TROUBLE FINDETH IT NOT

  (Akhenaton, king of EGYPT, 14TH CENTURY BC)

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  This thesis is dedicated to ALLAH SWT My Beloved Parents

  Djoko & Ponirah Supolo My Beloved Sister Esca

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ACKNOWLEDMENTS

  First I offer my thanks to Allah SWT who has blessed and loved me for every minute of my life. Without His guidance I could not have done this undergraduate thesis. So I thank Him very much. This thesis is dedicated to my beloved parents Djoko and Ponirah supolo who have raised me since birth and given me everything to reach the end of this university time. I thank my little sister Esca for her prayers and company. I also want to thank my big family in Jakarta, Ungaran and Kulonprogo for their prayers and support. I also want special thanks to Mr. Fredrick Ndelimo who have help given me information for my thesis.

  I also want to give big thanks to my advisor, Dr. F. X Siswadi, M.A.for being patient enough to guide and help during my thesis writing process.I thank Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum who became my co-advisor for her support and suggestion. I would also thank all of the lecturers and the staff of English Letters Department, Sanata Dharma University. I thank them for their help during my study.

  The presence of my friends plays an important part in my thesis writing as well.I thank my best friends, Frida Rana Pandoyu, Sisilia Triana Dewi and Selvia Megahsari for being my best friends, best family and great supporter in my thesis writing process. I also thank Julian Trilidanti, Monica Imanuela Bendatu and Hanna Maria for their support. I would also thank the 2008 students whose names

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  I thank the people that support me directly or indirectly, I thank Eeng for his wonderful suggestion during the writing process of my undergraduate thesis. I thank Emmanuel Kiiza, Charles, Abel and Ntuli for the night chats in facebook that helps me smile and raise my spirit I love you guys. I thank my basketball team (UKF) and coach for supporting me and giving a great time at the court you guys are the best. I also thank the crew from Beauty and the Beast, for their prayers and support during my writing process.

  Irina Peni Virgiastuti Supolo

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIK

  Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Irina Peni Virgiastuti Supolo Nomor Mahasiswa : 084214114 Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul: The Role of Modernity in the Maasai society as seen in Henry Ole Kulet

  ’s Is It

  Possible?

  Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau medialain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

  Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal : 7 January, 2013 Yang menyatakan (Irina Peni Virgiastuti Supolo)

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  This thesis entitled “ The Role of Modernity in the Maasai society as seen in Henry Ole Kulet’s Is It Possible?” is purely made by the thesis writer. In other words, all ideas, all phrases, and all sentences, unless otherwise states, are ideas, phrases, and sentences of the thesis writer. The writer understands the full consequences including degree cancel ing if she took somebody else’s ideas, phrases, or sentences without proper references.

  Yogyakarta, January 7, 2013

  IRINA PENI VIRGIASTUTI SUPOLO

  

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE

  ………………………………………………………....... i

  APPROVAL PAGE

  ……………………………………………………. ii

  ACCEPTANCE PAGE

  ………………………………………………... iii

  MOTTO PAGE

  …………………………………………………………. iv

  DEDICATION PAGE

  ………………………………………………….. v

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ……………………………………………… vi

  LEMBAR PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH

  ………… vii

  STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ………………………………....... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………............................. x ABSTRACT

  …………………………………………………………….. xii

  ABSTRAK

  ………………………………………………………………. xiii

  CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

  ……………………………………… 1 A. Background of the Study……………………………………. 1 B. Problem Formulation………………………………………… 5 C. Objectives of the Study……………………………………… 5 D. Definition of Terms………………………………………….. 6

  CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW

  ………………………….. 7 A. Review of Related Studies………………………………….. 7 B. Review of Related Theories………………………………… 9 1.

  Theory of Characterization................................................. 9 2. Theory of Modernity........................................................... 11 3. Postcolonialism................................................................... 13 C. Theoretical Framework……………………………………… 15

  CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

  …………………………………... 16 A. Object of the Study…………………………………………. 16 B. Approach of the Study……………………………………… 17 C. Method of the Study…........................................................... 18

  CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS

  …………………………………………… 19 A. The Character and Characterization in Is it possible?….......... 19 1.

  Lerionka..................................................................................19 2. Kariankei.................................................................................24

  2. The Belief in Progress............................................................ 34 3.

  The Rise of the Individual and Freedom................................37 4. Self Expression and Identity.................................................. 40 5. Control....................................................................................43 6. The Private Sphere..................................................................45

  CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION

  ……………………………………….. 49

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  ……………………………………………………… 53 APPENDIX..............................................................................................

  56 Summary of Henry Ole Kulet’s Is it possible................................ 60

  

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ABSTRACT

  IRINA PENI VIRGIASTUTI SUPOLO. The Role Of Modernity in The Maasai

  

Society As Seen In Henry Ole Kulet’s Is It Possible? Yogyakarta: Department

of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Santa Dharma University, 2013.

  Is it possible?, written by Henry Ole Kulet is a novel about a young

  Maasai boy named Lerionka who is sent to school agai nst his father’s wishes, an order issued by the colonial government that every family must send one son to go to school.

  The boy’s father can see no benefits in being educated and is afraid that his only son lose his identity as a Maasai. Two worlds clash, modern and tradition ways of life, the modern world is dominating while the traditional world is struggling from being extinct.

  There are two objectives in this thesis. The first objective is how the main characters are characterized. The second is how modernity reveal by the main characters of the novel.

  In order to support this analysis, the data and theories are collected using the library research method. The primary data were taken from the book, Is it

  

possible? . This study used the theory of characterization, theory of modernity and

Postcolonialism.

  The first analysis of the study shows that Lerionka is a young and determined Maasai who is willing to do anything to go to school. On the other his father Kariankei does not want his only son to go to school. He is afraid that he will be lost. Luckily for Lerionka, Livingstone an educated Maasai is willing to help Lerionka to get him to school. In the beginning of the novel, Lerionka had to face many obstacles from his father and the pressure from the Maasai village. Later at the end of the story Lerionka finally completed his education and his father accepted the importance of education. Based on the characteristics and the theories used, the writer concluded that through the character’s behaviour the writer can reveal the Modernity of each characters. Each characters have unique behavior and thus through them the writer knows how modern the characters are. Being modern does not mean that people know more than other people, it is when a person can move forward and not forget where they belong.

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ABSTRAK

  IRINA PENI VIRGIASTUTI SUPOLO. The Role Of Modernity in The Maasai

  

Society As Seen In Henry Ole Kulet’s Is It Possible? Yogyakarta: Jurusan

Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2013.

  Is It Possible? yang ditulis oleh Henry Ole Kulet adalah sebuah novel

  yang bercerita tentang seorang pemuda massai bernama Lerionka. Lerionka diharuskan untuk bersekolah dikarenakan undang-undang yang dibuat oleh pemerintah kolonial tetapi ayah Lerionka melarangnya. Sang ayah menganggap pendidikan tidaklah penting dan berakibat buruk bagi anaknya. Sang ayah takut jika Lerionka menerima pendidikan, dia akan melupakan identitas aslinya sebagai orang Maasai. inilah yang menyebabkan masalah timbul di kehidupan Lerionka. Kedua dunia, modern dan tradisional, saling bersaing untuk lebih unggul daripada yang lain.

  Ada dua tujuan yang ingin dicapai dalam skripsi ini. Tujuan pertama adalah untuk mengetahui karakteristik yang dimiliki oleh masing-masing tokoh. Tujuan kedua adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana masing-masing tokoh memiliki sifat modernitas di dalam diri mereka.

  Untuk mendukung skripsi ini, data dan materi-materi dikumpulkan menggunakan metode penelitian pustaka. Data utama diambil dari buku Is It

  

Possible ? skripsi ini menggunakan teori karakteristik, teori modernisasi dan

postkolonialisasi.

  Analisis pertama dari studi ini menunjukkan kepribadian kuat yang dimiliki oleh Lerionka yang akan melakukan apapun agar bisa bersekolah. Sedangkan ayah Lerionka sangat menentang keinginan anaknya untuk bersekolah. Dalam usahanya, Lerionka dibantu oleh Livingstone salah satu orang Maasai yang juga menempuh pendidikan. Pada awalnya Lerionka menemui banyak hambatan dalam usahanya untuk dapat bersekolah, baik hambatan yang berasal dari ayah maupun penduduk desa Maasai. Tetapi pada akhirnya Lerionka dapat mengatasi semua hambatan itu sehingga mampu menyelesaikan pendidikannya terlebih lagi dia juga mampu meyakinkan sang ayah bahwa pendidikan itu akan berguna bagi masa depannya. Berdasarkan karakteristik-karakteristik dan teori yang dipakai dalam studi ini, penulis mampu menyimpulkan bahwa modernitas dari setiap tokoh dapat ditemukan dengan cara meneliti setiap perbuatan yang dilakukan oleh masing-masing tokoh. Penulis mampu menemukan seberapa besar modernitas yang dimiliki oleh para tokoh karena masing-masing tokoh memiliki sifat unik. Menjadi modern tidaklah berarti kita menjadi lebih pintar dari orang lain melainkan bagaimana seseorang dapat bergerak maju tetapi tetap tidak melupakan tempat asal mereka.

  .

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the study This undergraduate thesis analyzes a novel entitled Is it possible? written

  by Henry Ole Kulet. Henry Ole Kulet is a Kenyan novelist, he won the Jomo Kenyatta literature award in 2009. He was born in 1947 in the Maasai land in Kenya. His books greatly talk about realism of African culture. He has published a number of novels, which has been translated in to various languages. Books like

  

Daughter of Maa which has great humors, Is it possible? of 1971 which is an A

  level book in Tanzania, To Become a man of 1972 which is translated into German, French and Swedish, Bandits of Kibi of 1999, Moron no More, The

  

Hunter and Blossoms of the Savanna published in 2008

  February 22, 2012). He has had his books accepted in Kenyan education system. Henry Ole Kulet grew up in a conservative Maasai community. His father was a famous

  (

  escapade in his youth as a moran http://business.highbeam.com/438419/article-

  1P3-123066851/1-1-narrative-mirror-fictional-autobiography-and-problem, April 30, 2012).

  The novel is about a young Maasai boy named Lerionka who is sent to school against his father’s wishes, because an order issued by the colonial government that every family must send one son to be educated. The boy’s father

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  2 identity as a Maasai. The story seems to concentrate more on this young Maasai boy’s journey for the novel invites the reader to study more about the Maasai culture and the modernity of education in this society.

  According to Mbogo Expedition, the Maasai society is described as people who wear red garments, necklaces, unique hairstyle, drinks blood and milk from cow as their main meal. They practice male circumcision in which men becomes warriors, to show their bravery they demonstrate by killing a lion. The true symbols of the Maasai people are a spear and a shield http://www.mbo goexpeditions.com/maasai_people.htm, April 30, 2012.

  From the description above the Maasai society are unique and fierce. They are pastoral people because they have a deep love for their livestock and cattle and they are considered as food and source of income in addition of religious symbol.

  This intriguing society have been here for centuries, unlike other societies the Maasai have been loyal to their way of life. The traditional ways of life, are sacred their ancestors brought down their ways of life from generation to generation. When asked how these traditions were brought down to them, they did not have a clear answer. They do not temper with the tradition and do not ask why they have to follow the ways of the Fore Fathers.

  During the colonial Era, the Maasai people are unpopular for their hostility because they turned their backs on prizes and temptation from the westerners. Nevertheless, they are great people; they manage to preserve their

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  3 Postcolonial era, they were a threat to the Government. The Government with a new law took away the land of the Maasai and ordered the Maasai to be educated.

  Thomas Kibutu in his article modernity versus manhood said, “Colonial and Post colonial policies in Kenya have combined to strip Maasai men of their sense of place in society and, indeed of their manhood-as defined by their own social values. As part of civilizing process of natives, Maasai men have had to adjust their values as modernit y has invaded their lifestyle.”http:/innovation- report.com/2012 The Maasai were forced to change their lifestyle by the

  Government.

  To most Maasai education has not been important ever since the colonial era the westerner wanted the Maasai to be educated. The westerners considered the Maasai as a primitive society that needs to be taught about westerns lifestyle. Education is very important; it is the duty of a parent to make sure that the children get proper education so that the children can understand and development of the world. According to

  Encarta Webster’s College Dictionary education is the

  knowledge or abilities gained through being educated (Soukhanov, 2001:457) Modernity refers to various characteristics, it transforms both the structures and relationships of the world, and transforms the way people see the world and learn. People have the ability to make decisions and speak their mind about what we see of the world.

  According to the book The Consequences of Modernity by Anthony Giddens states that:

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  4 subsequently became more or less worldwide in their influence. (Giddens, 1990: 1) From the above statement, modernity has been in Europe for a very long time and now it has left its characteristics in hid somewhere.

  The reason why the writer is motivated to do this study is that Maasai are unique and interesting people. Many Asian people may not know about their existence. They have survived through the colonial era, manage to preserve their tradition until today. Now they are fighting to resist a new threat that is modernity.

  To find a better understanding about the role of modernity in the Maasai society, the characters in Is it possible? are a good example for understanding the role of modernity .One of the characters is Lerionka a young Maasai boy who is torn between two worlds, the tradition and modern. At first, he dislikes the idea of going to school but later in the story, he seems to enjoy it. In the novel, Lerionka is considered as a symbol where he can unite two worlds, he can still be a Maasai warrior and the same time holds a book. There are many other characters in the novel, each with his or her unique characteristic. That is why the writer chooses these characters of Is it possible? for the object of my study.

B. Problem Formulation

  1. How are the main characters characterized in Is it possible?

  2. How is modernity revealed through the characteristic of the main characters in the novel?

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  C. Objectives of the study

  The purpose of this paper is to study the modernity in the Maasai society through the characters in the novel. There are two objectives of the study. The first objective is to find out the description of the characters. The second objective is to find out how the modernity is reveal by the characters. Finally the writer tries to know the character’s awareness of modernity from the beginning until the end of the novel.

  D. Definition of terms

  There are some terms, which the writer needs to define in order to avoid confusion and differences in understanding about certain terms used in this thesis.

  1. Society

  In the book Cultural Theory: The key concepts, Society can be defined as an arrangement of institutions, modes of relationship, forms of organization, norms etc. Constituting an interrelated whole within which a group of human lives (Edgar, 2002: 367).

  2. Modernity

  Modernity can not be defined precisely and the term has been highly contested one. These are some definition of modernity which the writer has found and used for this thesis.

  In the

  Encarta Webster’s College Dictionary states that modernity is the

  state of being modern or up to date. Modern is defined as somebody living in the present period especially somebody whose tastes and attitudes are regarded as

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  6 In fact one of the greatest problems when trying to engage with the question of modernity is that means of understanding. Human assumptions about time, space, people, individuals, groups, histories, truths, facts, myths, superstitions and lies are always to a certain extent determined by the forces people trying to understand: modernity. Attitudes converning consciousness and unconscious,reason and irrational,sanity and madness and so on have been directed for human decided in advance and to an extent naturalized so these things

  

  are been to be beyond question by modernity /course/elljwp/lecture1.htm)

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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies The novel Is it possible? was first published in 1971 though It has

  received few criticisms, reviews, and analysis from various critics. Thus, it is crucial for the writer to state some of those analyze in this brief explanation in order to prove the urgency and the originality of this thesis.

  In the novel, the narrator plays an important role in the story because all details that are presented in the story are narrated by a Maasai, Lerionka who is the main character. By clear description of the location and condition of the setting the narrator shows the life of people during Postcolonialism in the Maasailand. As a new emerging country there are a lot of problems appearing. The conflict between the modern world and the tradition is the biggest problems revealed in the novel especially in the sense of education. In addition, those are the common problems that are faced by most of postcolonial countries.

  According Dorsey from the journal Silence of a Maasai Novel: Is it

  Possible? stated:

  By a standard of eduring popularity. Is It Possible? is an eminently successful novel. It is an engrossing and inspring story of vividly distinct characters and suspenseful episodes. It has a serious thesis which generally is demonstrated rather than preached. It is still optional reading in the secondary curriculum of two nations. It accords with the view which official Kenya and Tanzania hold regarding education among the

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  8 It is from conviction that the author appeals to Maasai to accept education and integration into the second world, and it is from conviction that he displays only placid aspects of Maasai culture to all others. (http://www.jstor.org/stable/521606) The above statement explain that the novel is very inspiring about the

  Maasai society. The idea is more understandable through action than words. It is optional reading for secondary school curriculum of two countries. These two countries have agreeded to educate the Maasai, the author of the novel wants the Maasai society to accept education and intergration to the modern world and he showed the Maasai culture to the modern world.

  There is a similarity between the main character of the novel and the author. Ole Kulet grew up in what he terms as an extremely conservative Maasai community. He was taken to school by force through the intervention of the colonial government whose requirement that all children be taken to school was met with resistance by the Maasai elders. It is these tensions that are captured in his first novel, Is it possible? Surprisingly, in this novel which Ole Kulet published at the age of twenty five, Lerionka becomes a novelist later in Daughter

  

of Maa (1987)

  . The story is based from the authors background and experience.

  The main idea behind the novel makes the newspaper online Arusha

  

Times brings the issue about whether or not Maasai youth could balance their

  community way of life and modern lifestyle. A review by Naseli Saseka states as

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  9 “Drought, Famine and other natural disasters have been killing livestock, the sole life line of Maasai people and this has prompted most youths from the pastoralist communities, to flee to urban areas in search of alternative way of survival.Education then becomes a stumbing block, as most of us are hardly past class seven, which is normally not enough for one to get a proper job. Maybe it is high time that Maasai youths stop relying on cattle and start getting proper education. We appeal to those who are already educated, to assist who aren

  ’t” (http:/ The writer comes to realize how important education is for Saseka, though its not enough to get a job from just passing elementary school. He wants

  Maasai youth to stop relying on cattle which they consider a main priority but get a proper education in order for them to survive in the urban areas.

  By focusing on the modernity and the characterization of the main characters, the writer aims to reveal the means of education which in this sense is modernity. This discussion is about the influence of western education towards the characteristics and the conflicts of the main characters. There are some changes about the characterization of the main characters after realizing the importance of education. Moreover, the writer wants to reveal the role of modernity by the main characters in the novel.

B. Review of Related Theories 1. Theory of Characterization

  Robert Stanton in An Introduction to Fiction states that the important evidence of all is the character’s own dialogue and behavior. Every speech or action is not only a step in the plot, but also a manifestation of character (Stanton,1964: 18).

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  10 presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities by inferences from what they say-dialogue and by what they do- the action” (Abrams, 1993: 23). Based on the definition, we can say that character is one element of novel, which guides the reader to know and understand the story and to get many values from it.

  Hugh Holman and William Harmon introduced two types of characterization. The first type is static. A static character is one who changes little if at all. Things happen to such a character without things happening within. Some times a static character gives the appearance of changing simply because our picture of the character is slowly reveal as we read the novel. The second type is dynamic, which is quite different the characters show changes by actions and experiences, and objective of the work in which the character appears is to reveal the consequences of these actions. (Holman, 1986:82)

  Hugh Holman and William Harmon also described characterization as the author presenting the characters of actual persons and revealing the characters of imaginary person. There are three fundamental methods of characterization; first, the explicit presentation by the author of the character through direct exposition; second, the presentation of the character in action; third, the representation from within a character without comment on the character by the author.

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  11 Barnet in his book Literature for Composition: Essays, Fiction, Poetry and

  Drama (Barnet, 1988:712) explain the way to understand the characteristic

  through:

  a. What the character says How the character says will help the readers interpret his or her characteristic.

  b. What the character does The readers or audience can learn the attitudes or behaviors of a character and they may guess how actually the author creates the characters.

  c. What the other characters says about the character A character interacts with other characters. They share their opinion and gives comments about the character. Such opinion and comments may reflect the characteristic of the character drawn.

  Based on the way of author’s characterization, the reader or the audience can know the characters by looking at the behavior of the characters or others who tells what the character is like. The author may present the characters by showing character’s action, or describe the characters by telling what they are like.

  Here the writer will use both these thories of characterization to analyze the novel.

2. Theory of Modernity

  According to Arvanitakis’s article understanding modernity there are some dimensions of modernity, they are important to understand because modernity transformed both the structure and relationships of the world.

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  12 .

  These are some dimensions of modernity are as follows: 1.

  Rationality The importatnt characteristic of modernity is that society should be organized under rational lines rather than according to tradition. Societies used to organise themselves according to tradition.

  2. The belief in progress Under the conditions of modernity, human beings and societies are believed to be evolving or progressing to a better state, which can deal with injustice, poverty and inequality.

  3. The rise of the individual and freedom It is the rise of individual and individualism, a move from traditional to modern life was the idea that you as an individual could make a choice.

  4. Self expression and identity The move from traditional societies to modern ones was also supposed to allow us the ability to for our own identities and express these the way we wanted to.

  5. Control In modern societies, we are meant to conrtol over our lives, but the issues is we cannot have too much choice because this threathens the stability of society. So choices exists but it is within boundaries.

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  6. The private sphere The gap between the public and private sphere. In modern societies we separate what is public and what is private though this is a division that keeps on moving.

  7. Postcolonialism

  In his anthology Postcolonial Discourses, Gregory Castle signifies the diversity of perspectives within the thematic approaches of Postcolonialism itself.

  He explains the Postcolonialism studies vary in its subject

• –matter, whether it is a political movement, a social condition, a literary text, or concepts like gender, nationalism, textuality and postmodernism ( Castle, 2001:xi).

  Charles E. Bressler in Literary Criticism: An Introduction to theory and

  

Practice also gives his crucial note on the heterogenousity of Postcolonial field of

  study (Bressler, 1999: 266). Likewise, Postcolonialism deals with many issues for societies that have undergone colonialism: the dilemmas of developing a national identity in the wake of colonial rule: the ways in which writers from colonial countries attempt to articulate and even celebrate their cultural identities and reclaim them from the colonizers; the way knowledge of subordinate people is produced and used; and the ways in which the literature of colonial powers is used to justify colonialism through the perpetuation of images of the colonized as inferior.

  In his book Colonization: A Global History, Marc Ferro analyzes Jacques Berque’s statement, which claims that colonization was an enterprise which had

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  14 exploit him, to supplant him in all the domains of social life-political, artistic, linguistic and casts over the other a veil of “opacity.” The Other is cut off from history, he loses his heritage and is constrained to seek the reconstruction of his identity in terms of the model imposed upon him by his ruler (Ferro, 1997: 181).

  In his eassy The Scramble for Post-colonialism sited in The Post-colonial

  

studies Reader Stephen Slemon explains that the forms of colonialism is different

  across cultural locations, and that the orders of oppression are always complex and multivalent (Ashcroft, 1995:52).

  In accordance with the diverse practice of Postcolonialism discussed by the preceding writers, it is also crucial to put in some explanations on the co- relation between colonialism and the involvement of material violence, capitalistic economy, and the military. Moreover, upon his analysis of Fanon’s The Wretched

  

of the Earth, Patrick Taylor in Rereading Fanon, Rewriting Caribbean History

  sited in Postcolonial Discourses and Changing Cultural Contexts: Theory and

  Criticism

  observes that “decolonization is easily transformed into neocolonialism with the emergence of new national elites dependent on metropolitan economic linkages” (Rajan. 1995:18)

  Additionally, in the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory:

  

Approaches, Scholars, Terms Jonathan Hart and Terry Goldie also explain the

  state of Postcolonialism. They assert that “Post-colonial theory is a term for a collection of theoretical and critical strategies used to examine the culture (literature, politics, history and so forth) of former colonies of the European

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  15 In summary, the major concern of Postcolonialism is to highlight the struggle that occurs when one culture is dominated by another and that what all postcolonialist critics emphatically state is that European colonialism did occur, and that the conquerors not only dominated the physical land but also the hegemony or ideology of colonized people (Bressler,1999:266-267). As Ania Loomba points out in her book Colonialism/Postcolonialism, postcolonialism should be flexibly thought as “the contestation of colonial domination and the legacies o f colonialism” ? (Loomba, 2000:12).

C. Theoretical Framework

  This study provides some theories to answer the problem formulation stated in the previous chapter, chapter I.

  The first is Theory of character is to know deeper about the character, how they look like and how they face the problems, which is in the story. It is to answer the first problem of this research and to describe the character of the book

  Is it possible?

  The second theory is the theory of modernity, helps to know how the character reveals the modernity. This theory related to the postcolonial theory, which helps us to see the social relationship within the society of the character and the identity of the characters.

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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study The object of the study in this thesis Is it possible? by Henry Ole Kulet,

  a Kenyan novelist. Is it possible? is an adventure novel consisting of 156 pages and being divided into 12 chapters. This novel was published in 1971 by Longhorn Publishers LTD Nairobi, Kenya.

  The setting of the story takes place in the Maasailand, where the Maasai people live in their traditional way, far away from modern life. He uses several people who have different personalities to show the condition. The whole content is to describe different reactions towards modern life in the Maasai society.

  This novel is among the most famous works in African literature, though it may not have won any awards but it is being studied in Universities and schools in Tanzania. The author Henry Ole Kulet weaves his autobiography and vivid narrative to create a story about life in the Maasailand. The story affirms and at the same time contests the possibility of combining Maasai culture with Western education.

  The story begins with a conversation between father and son under a big tree. Lerionka as the son and Kariankei as the father, they are talking about the future of their family. That Lerionka is to be the next head of his family according to the Maasai custom a father should talk to his son because Kariankei is getting

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  Lerionka was sent away to attend the cattles. An askari, a messager of the white people came to his village one day, with a message straight from the government that young boys must be sent to school. Kariankei does not like the idea of sending his only son away. Two worlds clash, modern and tradition way of life.

  One dominating and the other resisting from the ways of life.

B. Approach of the study

  In this study the writer will use the Postcolonialism approach. The writer believes this is the suitable approach to the problems.

  The Postcolonialism approach is defined as an approach that concerns itself particularly with literature that represents and concentrates on writings from colonized cultures, place and societies that were once dominated by outside of the white, male European cultural, political and philosophical tradition (Bressler, 1999: 265).

  Furthermore, Bressler expound that “postcolonial literature and theory investigate what happens when two cultures clash and when one of them with its accompanying ideology empowers and deen itself superior to the other

  ” (Bressler, 1999: 265). The writer will use the Postcolonial Approach because the approach enables the writer to deal the analysis from perspectives; to construct the coming across upon the novel’s particular characterization as part of a resistance toward the oppresser that is assessed by the Kenyan author Henry Ole Kulet toward the Western literary mainstream. By using the Approach, the writer’s state of mind would be solely directed towards the effect brought by colonization.

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C. Method of Study

  In conducting the analysis, the writer uses the method of research procedure by re-reading the literary work, which fuctions as the primary data or source. During this first step, the writer tried to interpret the novel and seek the interesting things within the primary source. After understanding the basic material of the issue, the writer then formulate the objective of the study.

  The second step is the library research. In conducting the library research, the writer collected some references relating to the object and the topic of the study. The writer then chose and studied the related books that goes with the topic of analysis, and those references would help the writer to find the answers of the problem formulation. Notes of any information that were being aquired from the reference books were taken by the writer to be used as the proof of the thesis statement. Other than conducting library research, the writer also browses the Internet to maintain more current information surrounding the novel and the topic chosen by the writer.

  The third step is arranging the references gathered and then analyzed them. The fourth step which is the main core of the thesis, that is analyzing the topic the writer used a piece of writing from the literary work, and added the references as proof of the arguments. The last step conducted by the writer was to go into conclusion of the analysis by answering the questions rose in the problem formulation.

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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS A. The Characters & Characterization in Is it possible? The analysis of this study is meant to explain the characterization of the

  characters that appears in the story of Is it possible?. Since the narration of the novel spans through several generations, the writer will take three characters that represent different generations. The writer will analyze the two features in a literary text due to the correlation they share.