METHODOLOGY Theories of Racial Discrimination

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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS

This chapter is divided into two parts. Each part answers each question that is stated in problem formulation in Chapter I. The first part will discus the conflict in the novel and this part will be the base to answer the second problem, that is how confli cts in Alice Nannup‟s When The Pelican Laughed reveal racial discrimination.

A. Conflict in Alice Nannup’s When The Pelican Laughed.

This part will discuss the conflict in the novel. The discussion focuses on the conflict between Alice, an Aborigine, and the white people. In Alice Nannup‟s When The Pelican Laughed, Alice is the main character of the novel. Alice is an Aboriginal girl who is born from Aboriginal mother and a white father, and Alice‟s grandfather is an Indian. Alice mentions that she is an Aboriginal, English, and Indian, a real international person p.20. When Alice is young, she is taken away from her family. Then she lives from one white„s house to another, working as a servant. After that, Alice faces many problems in her life. Alice faces some conflicts with Miss Ryan, Lady Dugdale, a worker man, a white MC, a man who owns a hotel, Mr. Hawke, and with an unnamed man. There is also a conflict between the Aborigines and the Chief Protector of Aboriginal. All of them are white people. All the conflict that are analyzed in this thesis are external conflict. As what has been stated in Robert Stanton book, An Introduction to Fiction, “External conflict is a kind of conflict happens when a character argues or has some problems with other character, between a character and nature or others characters” 1965:16.

1. Conflict between Alice and her boss’ niece, Miss Ryan.

The first conflict between Aboriginal and a white person is seen in the conversation of Alice and Miss Ryan, a white lady: Miss Ryan wanted to wash her hair. She carted this water through the house and spilt it on the floor. Just right after I had finished polishing it mind you. I heard her sing out to me, „Alice, bring a cloth and wipe up this water.‟ „What water?‟ I asked. „In the passage.‟ „But,‟ I said, „I‟ve just finished polishing in there.‟ „Look, there‟s water there – wipe it up‟ „Well, how did it get there?‟ „Oh,‟ she said, „It just spilt. I want to Wash my hair.‟ „You wipe it up,‟ I said to her. „No, that‟s your job. You wipe it up.‟p.102. The conflict happens when Alice just finished polishing the floor, Miss Ryan spills some water to the floor. Then Miss Ryan tells Alice to take some cloth and wipe the water, but Alice refuses because Alice thinks that Miss Ryan is the one who spills the water, so she is the one who should wipe the water. Miss Ryan insists that Alice is the one who should wipe the water. The conflict continues when Miss Ryan hits Alice with hair brush and Alice grabs the brush off Miss Ryan‟s hand and throws it to her.

2. Conflict between Alice and a lady police, Lady Dugdale.

After Alice throws the hair brush to Miss Ryan, Miss Ryan goes to a lady police and reports about Alice. The lady police, Lady Dugdale, comes later: Lady Dugdale told me, „You mustn‟t ever do this to your mistress.‟ I was really upset. I said to her, „What about me, look at me. She broke Mrs. Larsen‟s brush on me.‟ „You know, you people, you let your temper run away with you,‟ she said. „Yeah, well I work hard here. I‟ve got more jobs to do than one. I‟ve got right to get cross,‟ I told her. „Yes, well, look, I‟ll take Alice out there and I‟ll give her a good trashing,‟ she said. I was really frightened then, and angry too. I said to her, „Lady, you better not, you better not Miss, because if I get that whip off of you, you‟ll get it too. You touch me and I‟ll get Mr. Larsen. You better talk to Mr. larsen first.‟ „Will you apologise to Miss Ryan?‟ she said. „You make her apologise first. I didn‟t start the trouble.‟ p.103. The conflict is between Alice and lady police, Lady Dugdale. Lady Dugdale insists that Alice is the one who is wrong and will get the punishment. Alice does not agree with it because Alice works hard in there and works lot of work and Alice speaks for herself that after working hard, she has the right to refuse it. Alice says that if the lady police wants to punish her, lady police has to report first to Mr. Larsen, the boss. In the end, the lady police asks Alice to apologize to Miss Ryan, but then again Alice refuses it and tells that the one who should apologize first is Miss Ryan because Miss Ryan is the one who starts the trouble. Miss Ryan agrees and apologizes to Alice.

3. Conflict between Alice and a white male worker.

The conflict happens when Alice just arrives in Wyalkatchem at night. Alice waits for her boss, Mr. Cashmore, to pick her up in the waiting room. Then the white worker men approach her: …one of the blokes saw me there in the waiting room. He was a new Australian, and he said to me in broken English, „What you doing here?‟ I was a bit scared of him and said, „I‟ve just come back from Perth. My boss was supposed to meet me but he went without me.‟ „Who your boss?‟ he said. „Mr. Cashmore.‟ „Well,‟ he said. „You no stop here. You get from here, cos if you don‟t…I‟ll kill you‟ When this bloke threatened me I got the shakes, I was really frightened. I just looked up at him and said, „But where am I going to go?‟ He got a bit closer to me and he said, „That your problem, just get, go on, get out of here‟ p.125-126. The quotation explains the conflict between Alice and a man who insults her. It happens when Alice comes to the town at night by train. When she arrives, her boss does not arrive yet to pick her up, but then she sees that her boss just pass the station and leave her behind. Alice then waits in the waiting room till some worker men come to her and one of the man tells her to leave. Alice does not want it. She tells that there is no place she can go, but then the man tells that he does not care and threatens to kill Alice if she is not leaves. Alice is afraid and takes off from the station.

4. Conflict between Alice and an MC of Canadian Barn Dance.

Another conflict happens when Alice, her husband and her children move from Wiluna to Mullewa in 1934. The conflict is between Alice and a white MC of Canadian Barn Dance: Because this was a dance for white people only I wasn‟t allowed into the hall, so I just stayed out on the ramp and looked in. After this particular dance was over the MC came out to me and said, „Can I help you?‟ „Oh no, I‟m just watching the dancing,‟ I said. „Well, now that it‟s finished,‟ he said, „I want you to leave, because you‟re not allowed to be here you know.‟ I felt very hurt – I‟d been quiet so as not to disturb anyone. „But I‟m only just watching, I‟m not doing any harm,‟ I said. „Yes I know that, but still, you‟re not allowed.‟ p.160. The MC forbids Alice to come to the dance and tells her to leave, but Alice refuses it because she actually does not enter the dance room and she is just watching from outside. Alice tells the MC too that she will be quiet and not disturb anyone so no one can know her. Still the MC forbids her to stay and ask Alice to leave.

5. Conflict between the Aborigines and the Chief Protector of Aboriginal,

Mr. Neville. Another external conflict is between Aboriginal people and Mr. Neville, the Chief Protector of the Aborigines, in Geraldton town. Mr. Neville builds some reserve that has housing on it, so the Aborigines who live in Geraldton have to move out and live in the reserve. It is because the city council wants to build a new suburb for white people. When Mr. Neville is in town and tells about the reserve for the Aborigines, lots of the Aborigines resist the forced exile. They do not take any notice of Mr. Neville. Although lots of Aborigines against it and do not want to leave, nearly everyone is moved to another place p.167. In the end, Alice is moved to the reserve that is provided by Mr. Neville.