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’
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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,
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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
