Stephen Kumalo`s struggles to solve his family problems in Alan Paton`s Cry, The Beloved Country - USD Repository
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STEPHEN KUMALO'S STRUGGLES TO SOLVE
HIS FAMILY PROBLEMS IN ALAN PATON’S
CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By Heribertus Martinus Moscati
Student Number: 041214135
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2011
STEPHEN KUMALO'S STRUGGLES TO SOLVE HIS FAMILY PROBLEMS IN ALAN PATON’S
CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY
A THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By Heribertus Martinus Moscati
Student Number: 041214135
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2011
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The great danger for family life, in the midst of any society whose idols are pleasure, comfort and independence, lies in the fact that people close their hearts and become selfish.
,
O Magazine, September 2002
Friedrich Nietzsche
This thesis is dedicated to:
My mother, father, brothers, lover, and best friendsv
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I would like to thank Jesus Christ and Mother Mary for enormous blessing and guidance for me to finish this work. Then, my gratitude goes to my sponsor, Rm. Lucianus
Suharjanto, S.J
. who had helped me with patience from the start. My thank is also for Ms. Caecilia Tutyandari, S.Pd. M.Pd., as the chairperson of English Education Study Program, who had accompanied me and other students to finish my study.
For the Head of Faculty of Teachers Training and Education of Sanata Dharma University, Drs. Tarsisius Sarkim, M.ED., Ph.D, I want to say my great thank for controlling me in my struggle to finish my study. For all of the lecturers in English Education Study Program, I want to say thanks for helping me in developing my knowledge and skill in English.
I want to say thanks for my parents, Titus & Maria, and my brothers, Claus & Hedwig. The greatest love has been given to me. Without their advice and support, I cannot finish this thesis. For my lover, Iin, I want to say thanks a lot for supporting me.
A lot of thanks I give for my best friends, Aldo, Tom, Mendra,
Rinto, Cecik, Leri, Joden, Tejo, Devi, Jefry, Nanek, Yani, Cici, Layang, Lana, Lil Chrizt, Lale, El Jhozz, Rino, Ito, Kele, Moriz, Rigit, Cepot, Engkozz, Astry, Candra, and etc
, who always being beside me all the time in my life. For all 04 crews in PBI USD, Gregg, Kucel, Yosan, Damar, Friska, Kadal, and etc , Thanks for being together in many struggles. Last but not least, thanks for all who have their own way to help and support me in finishing this thesis.
Heribertus Martinus Moscati
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TITLE PAGE ……………………………………………………. i APPROVAL PAGES ……………………………………………. ii STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
………………… iv
DEDICATION PAGE
…………………………………………… v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ……………………………………….. vii ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………… viii ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………… ix
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
1 A. Background of the Study ……………………………….. 1
B. Problem Formulation …………………………………... 5
C. Objectives of the Study ………………………………… 6
D. Benefits of the Study …………………………………… 6
E. Definition of Terms …………………………………….. 7
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
9 A. Review of Related Studies …………………………….. 9
B. Review of Related Theories …………………………… 12
1. Theories of Family ………………………………… 12
a. Definition of Family …………………………… 12
b. Kind of Family ………………………………… 15
c. Family Functions ……………………………… 18
2. Theories of Conflict ……………………………….. 19
3. Theories of Setting ………………………………… 20
4. Theories of Society and Class ……………………... 21
5. Relation between Society, Culture, and History vii
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with a Family in the Novel ………………………... 27
C. Theoretical Framework ………………………………. 30
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY
31 A. Object of the Study …………………………………… 31
B. Approach of the Study ………………………………... 33
C. Method of the Study ………………………………….. 36
CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS
39 A. Problems in Stephen Kumalo’s Family ……………….. 38
1. Racial Discrimination ……………………………... 40
2. Shame ……………………………………………… 53
3. Failure in Educating Family Members ……………. 55
B. Stephen Kumalo’s Struggles to Solve His Family Problems …………………………………... 60
1. Rebuilding Good Relationship between White and Black ………………………………….... 60
2. Facing the Feeling of Shame Directly ……………... 61
3. Reuniting and Rebuilding His Family ……………... 64
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
70 A. Conclusions ……………………………………………. 70
B. Suggestions ……………………………………………. 75
1. Suggestions for Future Researchers ……………….. 75
2. Suggestions for English Teaching and Education ……………………………………… 76
REFERENCES
78 APPENDICES
82 Appendix 1 (SUMMARY OF THE STORY) ……………… 82 Appendix 2 (THE BIOGRAPHY OF ALAN PATON) ……. 84 Appendix 3 (THE WORKS OF ALAN PATON) …………. 86 Appendix 4 (THE PICTURE OF ALAN PATON) ………... 87 viii
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Appendix 5 (LESSON PLAN) …………………………….. 88 Appendix 6 (TEST) ……………………………………….. 89
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ABSTRACT
Moscati, Heribertus Martinus (2011). Stephen Kumalo’s Struggles to Solve His Family Problems in Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country . Yogyakarta: Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Department of Language and Arts Education, English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis discusses family problems in Stephen Kumalo’s family. Alan Paton, as the author of the novel of Cry, the Beloved Country generally portrays social segregation between black and white people in South Africa that also influences Kumalo’s family life. In this thesis, there are two questions on problem formulation related to the topic of this thesis. First is about problems in Kumalo’s family. Second is about his struggles to solve those family problems.
To achieve the objectives of the study, the writer applied library research to get data. There were two kinds of sources that were used in this thesis. The first was primary source. It was the novel of Cry, the Beloved
Country itself. The second is secondary sources that were obtained from
books that are related to the topic. Other secondary sources were from internet source. The sociocultural-historical was used to get understanding about Stephen Kumalo’s family background as black family. The information about social life, culture, and political situation in South Africa were important to reveal the life experience of all characters in the novel. Some information about family through some theories was also very essential to recognize.
Those problems are racial discrimination, shame, and failure in educating family members, while Stephen Kumalo’s struggles to solve his family problems are rebuilding good relationship between white and black, facing the feeling of shame directly, and reuniting and rebuilding his family.
In the last part, there are conclusions and suggestions. Conclusions contain a brief explanation of analysis section. Then there are two suggestions. The first suggestion is for the future researcher(s) on the Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country. The second suggestion is to implement Cry, the Beloved Country in teaching English and Education in general.
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ABSTRAK
Moscati, Heribertus Martinus (2011). Stephen Kumalo’s Struggles to Solve His Family Problems in Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country . Yogyakarta: Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini menjelaskan tentang masalah keluarga dalam keluarga Stephen Kumalo. Penulis novel, Alan Paton menjelaskan pemisahan secara sosial antara orang kulit hitam dan putih di Afrika Selatan yang mempengaruhi kehidupan keluarga Kumalo. Dalam skripsi ini, ada dua pertanyaan yang akan dijawab berkaitan dengn topik. Pertama adalah pertanyaan tentang masalah-masalah dalam keluarga Kumalo. Kedua berkaitan dengan usaha-usaha Kumalo untuk menyelesaikan masalah- masalah keluarganya.
Untuk mencapai tujuan skripsi ini, metode pustaka diterapkan untuk mengumpulkan data. Ada dua sumber data dalam skripsi ini. Sumber utama adalah novel yang berjudul Cry, the Beloved Country itu sendiri. Sumber kedua berasal dari buku-buku yang berkaitan dengan topik. Sumber-sumber lainnya diambil dari internet. Pendekatan sosial kebudayaan dan sejarah diterapkan untuk mendapatkan pemahaman tentang latar belakang keluarga Kumalo sebagai keluarga kulit hitam. Informasi tentang kehidupan sosial, budaya, dan situasi politik di Afrika Selatan penting untuk mengamati kehidupan setiap karakter dalam novel. Teori-teori tentang keluarga juga perlu diketahui.
Hasil dari studi ini menunjukan bahwa terdapat beberapa masalah dalam kekuarga Stephen Kumalo. Masalah-masalah tersebut adalah diskriminasi ras, perasaan malu, dan kegagalan mendidik anggota keluarga, sementara perjuangan Kumalo untuk menyelesaikan masalah keluarganya adalah membangun kembali hubungan baik antara kaum kulit putih dan hitam, menghadapi secara langsung orang yang membuatnya malu, dan mempersatukan dan membangun kembali keluarganya.
Bagian terakhir adalah kesimpulan dan saran. Kesimpulan berisi penjelasan singkat berdasarkan analisis. Kenudian terdapat dua saran. Pertama berkaitan dengan peneliti novel Cry, the Beloved Country selanjutnya, dan yang kedua adalah penerapan novel tersebut dalam pengajaran bahasa Inggris dan dunia pendidikan pada umumnya.
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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Literature becomes an important thing in human life. It has many
contributions in human civilization. The human development from time to time cannot be separated with literature. With some of its genres, literature portrays human life in some aspects too. Human experience is an interesting part in writing a literary work for some authors. According to Mary Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods in Reading and Writing about
Literature , there are four modern literary genres. They are the short story,
the novel, the poem, and the play/ drama. Each genre has its own form (1971: 19). By these genres, it’s expected that readers can get some learning and values in human life, especially positive values. Novel is one of the literary genres. In this study, novel is the main source to analyze. Through reading the novel, the readers will focus on human living in social life.
Living in society and building a social relationship with other people in society is a part of human life. It is the essence of a human as a social creature. All members of the society are involved in the social interaction. A lot of literary works describe the society. Social life is a basic for some authors in writing their literary work, especially novel.
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Some aspects of human life in a society, such as birth, death, marriage, crime, kindness, friendship, love, and etc. become the interesting topic in writing novel. Graham Little stated in his book, Approach of Literature that literature functions “as a representation of the situation and thoughts happening in a certain setting time and place,” (1963: 1).
Elizabeth Langland, in her book of Society in the Novel, gave her opinion about society.
The way society is structured – how it is depicted, how its elements are organized – defines its formal role. So, when we speak of the formal role of society, we are speaking of the ways in which structural elements of a particular depiction are combined and evaluated to make society itself an integral part of a novel’s form, a significant element in the principles generating a particular work (Langland, 1984: 9).
So literature has an important role in helping us to understand about the social happenings, how people in society are treated, how they meet the problem in their life, and what their struggle to solve their problem.
Based on the discussion about the literature above, this thesis is going to analyze the novel of Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, one of the South African writers. Historical background of the writer became an essential part of this novel. Society in South Africa, especially the black people’s experience, is the focus in this novel.
Family is told in this novel. Every individual starts their social life from their family. Relationship and interaction among father, mother, and children in family are very important for every person. Before making interaction with other people in society, every person must experience
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living in a family. People can learn a lot of things in their family. So family is a smaller circumstances in a society in which individuals are able to learn social life. Family and society are related each other. The way of social life in family can also influence people’s way in living with other people in society.
Not only family is told in the novel, but also about family problem. Every person certainly has problem in their family. Every family also has their own problem. Family problems occur almost every day. It is common for every member in a family life. No one can avoid the problems. These problems can be different based on the age or position in a family. For example, parents’ problem is definitely different with children’s problem. Parents’ problem usually relates on their responsibility to get income for the family, while children problem is about how they get parents attention. The situation in the family can also be the influence of the problem in a family.
It is stated by Ross Stagner and Hjalmar Rosen in their book of
Psychology of Union-Management Relations that the first factor
influencing individual's personality is the family situation, namely the treatment received from parents, in terms of affection, authority, and discipline (1965: 48). Family problems can be both on the family itself and with other people from other families. The problem can also disturb a couple relationships beside parents-child problem. Problem in couple relationship is usually very complicated.
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There are some family problems that are very difficult or complex to solve. Sometimes there are multiple problems. While some of those family problems are not so complicated. Unlike any other social group, families are able to provide the close emotional support needed to produce self-confident and well-adjusted children and adults (http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/350/350-090/350-090.html). Lack of communications, closeness, sexual problem, or economical problem can be a problem for a family. The problems can be caused by members of the family itself, for example, a problem caused by parents or child. It can disturb and destroy a harmonic situation in family. Family relationship gets worse because of these family problems. Bad relationship in a family appears as the effect of the problem either in the family itself or one family with others. Separation and divorce are the worst risk of family problem.
There are some problems in this novel, such as racial discrimination in South Africa. It is a problem about different treatments between black and white people. It is also the problem that makes Kumalo separate with his son, brother, and sister. A separation between father and son, or a brother and sister is told in this story because of the racial discrimination. Social breakdown and racial injustice are described in this novel. Social problem in a community happens in the story. Black people in South Africa are always in bad situation. A big difference appears in their life. Treatments for black are worse than for white people there. For
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example, blacks are forced to leave their tribal villages, where there is no work, and go to the city. In cities like Johannesburg, white businesses depend heavily on black labor, for which they pay little.
There is an ironical thing about Kumalo’s position in his society. He is a kind, wise, humble, and generous man in his village, but his sister is a prostitute and his son is a troublemaker and murderer. He is also called Reverend by people in Ndotsheni. Failure in educating family members is also a problem for some parents. It is experienced by Kumalo himself. It is related to the role of parents to teach all good things for their children.
There are some interesting things for the writer from this novel. Topic about family problem of Stephen Kumalo's son and sister is chosen by the writer in the research. Based on the Kumalo’s family problem, the writer is going to research about what problem that is in Kumalo’s family and what Kumalo’s struggles to solve his family problems are.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the explanation in background of the study, the problems are formulated as follows:
1. What are the problems in Stephen Kumalo’s family, as described in
Cry, the Beloved Country ?
2. What are Stephen Kumalo’s struggles to solve his family problems as described in Cry, the Beloved Country?
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C. Objectives of the Study
There is also some interesting learning that is found in this novel by completely reading it. The writer will state the aims of the study based on both questions in problem formulation. The first objective of this study is to find out Stephen Kumalo’s family problems in his family. The writer is going to explain about what problems that Stephen Kumalo, as a protagonist character, must face and solve in his family relationship.
While the second objective is to find out Stephen Kumalo’s struggles to solve his family problems. The writer will find out how Kumalo struggles to solve his family problem although it is very difficult for him.
D. Benefits of the Study 1. It has benefit for the readers who are interested in family problems.
Family is an interesting topic to study.
2. The reader can learn many subjects like justice, racial problems, discrimination, and economic divisions in South Africa, based on social classes or backgrounds.
3. There are also some subjects like kindness, Christianity, and reconciliation between two fathers and their son.
4. It has benefit for the next researcher to research other side of the problem on this novel.
5. For the readers in general, it is expected that they will get some knowledge about literary work especially in Alan Paton’s Cry, the
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E. Definition of Terms
1. Family In his book of Structure, Sound, and Sense, Justin Pikuna states that family is an enduring social group based on marriage and blood relationship. As a primary group, the family with children is bound together by kinship and intimate relations marked by care, affection, and support, as well as mutual sharing in various activities and concerns (1974: 58).
2. Family problem In this story, Stephen Kumalo, as a main protagonist character, is told to have a problem in his family about separating with some of his family members. They are a part together as an influence of the situation in South Africa.
3. Racism It is experienced by black people in South Africa. They get some discrimination in many aspects of life. There is a big difference with black and white people in this novel. Stratification and inequality in social life of the characters in the novel show how racism happens in the novel and it is experienced by the characters.
4. Corruption It is also stated in this story. It appears in how some people influence the judge in court, and Absalom Kumalo becomes the
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Corruption is one the crimes that are told in the novel of Cry, the
Beloved Country .
5. Christianity Much of Stephen Kumalo’s time is spent in prayer. Symbol of church and the use of word reverend show it. He is also called
reverend from people in Ndotsheni. Amiram Gonen, in The Encyclopedia of the Peoples of the World
(1993), stated that: The Afrikaners are Christians, the majority of whom are members of one of the three Dutch Reformed Churches in South Africa; the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (c.70 percent of Afrikaners); the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk (c.16 percent); and the Gereformeerde Kerk (c.6 percent). The last is the most conservative of the three, and is also called the Dopper Church in analogy with the inverted cup (dopper) used to extinguish candles (1993: 22).
In the same book, it is also stated the Zulu are predominately Christian: about three-quarters of them have specific church affiliations (1993: 673)
6. Kindness In this novel, kindness is shown by Stephen Kumalo, James
Jarvis, Teophilus Msimangu, and Mrs. Lithebe. Stephen Kumalo is humble and generous man. Although James Jarvis’ son is murdered by Stephen Kumalo’s son, he is not angry about it; Msimangu helps Stephen Kumalo in looking for Kumalo’s son and sister. While Mrs.
Lithebe provides accommodation to Stephen Kumalo in his struggle to look for his lost family.
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CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE In this Review of Related Literature, there are four main parts. They are review of related studies, review of related theories, review of
social condition of South Africa, and theoretical framework. In the first part, review of related studies, the writer will attach what other researchers or writers have said about Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country and about his novels’ style. In almost all of his novels and writings, the racial inequalities become an important aspect. He was interested in writing about social experiences of South African, especially black people. In review of related theories, readers can read some theories about family and society, especially in South Africa.
This study applies sociocultural-historical approach, so it is important to provide review about social condition in South Africa, as the setting of the novel. The last part, theoretical framework, will explain the contribution and why those theories and reviews are needed and applied in the analysis.
A. Review of Related Studies Alan Stewart Paton is one of the South Africa’s greatest writers.
He was born on January 11, 1903 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Author Alan Paton was a white man in a country of oppressed blacks who
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fought for their freedom and believed in their worth. Meet the man who brought the world face-to-face and heart-to-heart with the problem of race relations in South Africa ().
Nelson Mandela, president of South Africa (1994-1999), had a comment about the film of Cry, the Beloved Country based on Alan Paton’s novel. He said:
Cry, the Beloved Country
, however, is also a monument to the future. One of South Africa’s leading humanists, Alan Paton, vividly captured his eloquent faith in the essential goodness of people in his epic work. A goodness that helped manage this small miracle of our transition, and arrested attempts by the disciples to turn our country into a wasteland.
) - Nelson Mandela commenting on the film Cry, the Beloved Country based on Alan Paton’s novel In Dominic Head’s The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English
(2006), it is stated that: Alan Paton is South African novelist and short-story writer. Born in Pietermaritzburg, he became principal of Diepkloof Reformatory, Johannesburg (1935-48) and gained the insights into segregated black living conditions which illumine his first novel,
Cry, the Beloved Country (1948) and Debbie Go Home: Stories
(1961; as Tales from a Trouble Land in USA, 1965). The novel pricked white South African Christian consciences and alerted world opinion to the country’s long-established racial inequalities. Altogether more accomplished, Too Late the Phalarope (1953) explores the tragedy of Afrikaner racial and political inflexibility. Other publications include: two substantial biographies, Hofmeyr (1964) and Apartheid and the Archbishop (1973); Knocking on the
Door
: Shorter Writings (1975); Towards the Mountain (1981), an autobiography; and Ah, But Your Land is Beautiful (1981), an uneasy combination of ‘experimental’ fiction and 1950s history. He was president of the Liberal Party in 1958-68 (2006: 855).
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Cry, the Beloved Country was published in February of 1948. This
novel was written by Alan Paton when he studied in penal institutions in Europe, the United States, and Canada. Racial themes concerned Paton in almost all of his novels and short stories. Social and political situation in South Africa influenced his literary works very much. It contributed much to Paton’s literary works. Paton used society's experiences as the basis for writing his novels. Meriam Webster said in her Encyclopedia of Literature that after it was published, Cry, the Beloved Country (1948) brought international attention to the issue of apartheid (1995: 864).
It is stated in the novel that before writing this book, Alan Paton wrote numerous articles on South African problems for national periodicals which he continues to do. In Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton wanted to show the figure of Stephen Kumalo with the problem of his family. The system applied in South Africa influenced his family problem very much. Cry, the Beloved Country is set in South Africa in the 1940s. Its story unfolds against a backdrop of economic and political tensions that have a lengthy, complicated history
Some statements or comments about the novel and its author, Alan Paton are also said on cover page of the novel.
‘Cry, the Beloved Country approaches the racial problems of South Africa with an intelligence, a simplicity and a compassionate sincerity which make its reading an absorbing and deeply and impartially and has put his heart into his subject, but he has made it bigger than argument or emotion; I don’t think you will soon
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forget the resigned sorrow of its closing pages’ – Observer ‘Mr Paton’s record of a simple Zulu parson’s search for his delinquent son in the maelstrom of Johannesburg is as moving in the biblical simplicity of its style and drama as it is imaginatively disinterested as an account of the problems of race relations. This is as remarkable a novel for its facts as for its truth’ - Guardian
By reviewing the studies on Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved
Country , the writer saw that the relation between the historical
backgrounds in South Africa with the characters’ experience in this novel of Cry, the Beloved Country was described by the author of this novel.
In this novel, it is told about family life in South Africa in their daily social life. Ross, in her book of The Support Network of Black
Families in Southern Africa , stated:
Family life must thus also be seen against the background of cultural diversity and extreme socioeconomic differences. Most families—primarily nonwhites—are poor and struggle to satisfy their daily needs. Contributing in complex ways to different types of family structures are traditional practices, historical events— especially the racially discriminatory and disruptive effect of apartheid laws, which placed restrictions on movement, provided inferior education and limited employment opportunities, and enforced compulsory shifting of families—and the demands of modern society (Ross, 1995)
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theories of Family
a. Definition of Family
David Cheal, in his book of Sociology of Family Life, wrote his opinions about family. Many definitions of ‘family’ have been proposed in the social sciences, but there is not complete agreement about any of them.
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There are challenging arguments to be made against each approach and social scientists will continue to debate how to define family (Cheal, 2002: 9). There are some definitions of family and family life. Cheal also states that a family is a group consisting of people who have close personal relationships which are believed to endure over time and across generations. Family relationships involve careful social construction of links between persons in the past, the present and the future (2002: 155). Family life is a way of living in which individuals seek to achieve personal goals they believe are important for their happiness and sense of well-being by actively participating in family relationships (2002: 156). Arlene S. Skolnick and Jerome H. Skolnick, in their book of Family in
Transition , state that the family is a human institution, not found in its
totality in any prehuman species. It required language, planning, cooperation, self-control, foresight, and cultural learning and probably developed along with these (1983: 40).
In Paul B. Horton and Chester L. Hunt’s Sociology, it is stated that family is the basic social institution from which other institutions have grown as increasing cultural complexity made the necessary. Therefore, family is very important in forming society in which it is the basic institution, which develops the society. Further, they say that family is very important in children rearing and to fulfill human needs. “Family is a kinship grouping which provides for the rearing of children and for certain other human needs.” Family must carry a lot of functions such as
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Besides, the members of a family have certain responsibilities toward one another (1980: 216).
While Edward Byron Reuter, in his book of Sociology, stated that a family is not a man and woman and their children, but the members and the set of relations that bind them into a unique unity (1941: 19). It is also said that the family as a social unity, as a reality apart from the legally enforced family coherence, and its part in the development of human nature and personality are receiving increased attention in the sociological literature (Reuter, 1941: 210). Wahlroos ever said that the greatest happiness and the deepest satisfaction in life, the most intense enthusiasm and the most profound inner peace, all come from being a member of a loving family (Wahlroos, 1983, p. xi). In William Haviland’s Cultural
Anthropology , it is stated that although the word family means different
things to different people, in anthropological terms it is a group composed of a woman, her dependent children, and at least one adult man joined through marriage or blood relationship (1993: 243).
In book of Bungai Rampai Sosiologi Keluarga, by T.O. Irhomi, there are three types of relationship in a family life. The first type is spouse relationship. It is a relationship between a husband and a wife. The second type is parents-child relationship, and the last one is sibling relationship. From the problem told in the story, the writer does not focus the analysis on the spouse relationship, but on the parent-child (son)
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problem, and sibling relationship between Stephen Kumalo with his sister, Gertrude Kumalo, and his brother, John Kumalo.
b. Kind of Family
According to Elizabeth Hurlock’s Personality Development, there are many kinds of family compositions. There are nuclear family and extended family. Nuclear family is composed of two parents and their children, whereas extended family consists of a nuclear family plus relatives who live under the same roof. The family members may all be singletons, or some may be singletons while others are multiple births twins either identical or nonidentical, triples, etc (1974: 365).
Peter N. Stearns, in Encyclopedia of Social History, stated that the inclusion of the family in social history research has meant that historians have had to find concepts to refer to familial groupings larger than the family household (1994: 333). It is also stated that social historians have generally used relatively few terms, such as “extended family” and “lineage” (1994: 333). Kinship or lineage can also determine very much in building a good relation and facing the problem in a family.
Based on the Henry Pratt Fairchild’s Dictionary of Sociology, nuclear family is the social group consisting of a married man and woman with their children, while extended family is a social group consisting of several related individual families, especially those of a man and his sons or a woman and her daughters, residing in a single large dwelling or a cluster of smaller ones (1975: 114). According to David Sills’
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International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences , it is stated that the term
“nuclear family” (or “elementary,” “simple,” or “basic”) is most frequently used to refer to a group consisting of a man, woman, and their socially recognized children (1968: 303)
There are two other kinds of family based on Fairchild’s Dictionary of Sociology . Those are paternal family and maternal family.
Paternal family is the type of family in which authority is formally vested in the father, or male head, with the relative subordination of the female spouse and offspring; while maternal family is the type of family in which the authority is formally vested in the mother, or female head, with some degree of subordination of the male to his wife’s kinsmen (1975: 114). Stephen Kumalo’s family in the novel is an appropriate sample of paternal family. He is a leader for his family. He has a bigger influence and responsibility than other members in his family. Most parts of the novel describe his fatherhood in building relationship in his family or solving his family problem.
In Encyclopedia of Social History, Stearns stated approximately 75 percent of African societies are patrilineal, 90 percent of which are virilocal with a general tendency to patriarchal organization. Women, however, have a great deal of initiative, particularly with regard to the family, and their importance is widely recognized. Further, in the give and take of life, rules and customs may be ignored; even though a society may
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practice virilocal marital residence, if there is good reason for a man to move to his wife’s village, he may do so (2006: 16).
There is a term of family structure. In Noller and Fitzpatrick’s
Communication in Family Relationships , it is stated that:
The first class of definitions is based on family structure. Most of us use the term family in at least two ways: (a) when we mean partners and children (family of procreation) and (b) when we mean relatives by blood or marriage such as parents and siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins (family of origin). Many singles and childless couples have families of origin, even when they do not have families of procreation, but they would be unlikely to live with other members of their family. A family of origin, then, is the extended family or any group of individuals that has established biological or sociolegal legitimacy by virtue of shared genetics, marriage, or adoption. A family of procreation, usually called the nuclear family, is further restricted to those living in the same house. Family structure definitions remind us about membership criteria and hierarchies based on sex and age (1993: 2-3). Family life must thus also be seen against the background of cultural diversity and extreme socioeconomic differences. Most families— primarily nonwhites—are poor and struggle to satisfy their daily needs. Contributing in complex ways to different types of family structures are traditional practices, historical events—especially the racially discriminatory and disruptive effect of apartheid laws, which placed restrictions on movement, provided inferior education and limited employment opportunities, and enforced compulsory shifting of families—and the demands of modern society (Ross, 1995).
In the novel, Kumalo’s family that is told in the story is extended family. It is told not only about his relationship with his wife and son,
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Absalom Kumalo, but also with her sister, Gertrude Kumalo and his brother, John Kumalo. Sibling relationship is portrayed here. So Stephen Kumalo, considered as a leader of their family, has responsibility for all of them in the story.
c. Family Functions
Cheal, in Sociology of Family Life, said that the structure of a family consists of a set of positions, or roles, within the family, and the patterned interactions between them (2002: 7). It is also stated that functional definitions of families focus on what people do together, and especially on what they do to support each other (2002: 7). One such definition states that a family is a group of people who assume responsibility for some of the following functions (Zimmerman, 1988; Vanier Institute of the Family, 1994):
1. physical maintenance and care of group members; 2. addition of new members through procreation or adoption; 3. socialization of children; 4. social controls over members; 5. production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services; and, 6. maintenance of motivation and morale through love.