PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

THE EFFECT OF AMERICANIZATION TOWARD NATIVE
AMERICANS’ PERSPECTIVE ON THEIR OWN IDENTITY AND
CULTURE AS SEEN THROUGH THE CHARACTERS IN
SHERMAN ALEXIE’S RESERVATION BLUES
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters

By
KARINA BUDIONO
Student number: 084214017

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2014

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

THE EFFECT OF AMERICANIZATION TOWARD NATIVE
AMERICANS’ PERSPECTIVE ON THEIR OWN IDENTITY AND
CULTURE AS SEEN THROUGH THE CHARACTERS IN
SHERMAN ALEXIE’S RESERVATION BLUES
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By
KARINA BUDIONO
Student number: 084214017

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2014
i

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

ii

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

iii

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH

UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertandatangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Univesitas Sanata Dharma
Nama

: Karina Budiono

Nomor Mahasiswa

: 084214017

Demi kepentingan ilmu pengetahuan saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
THE EFFECT OF AMERICANIZATION TOWARD NATIVE AMERICANS’
PERSPECTIVE ON THEIR OWN IDENTITY AND CULTURE AS SEEN
THROUGH THE CHARACTERS IN SHERMAN ALEXIE’S RESERVATION
BLUES
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 memplubikasikannya di internet atau media lain
untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan
royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencantumnkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikianlah pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 25 Juli 2014

Yang menyatakan,

Karina Budiono

iv

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been previously
submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that, to the best of
my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contain no material previously written by
any other person except where due reference is made in the text of the undergraduate
thesis

Yogyakarta, June 24, 2014

Karina Budiono

v

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

with freedom, books, flower, and the moon,
who could not be happy?
(oscar wilde)

vi

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

For my beloved parents
especially my dearest mother

vii

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I want to express my great gratitude to Jesus Christ for His everlasting
blessing. I thank for always listening my prayers and helping me during difficult time.
Without His blessing, this thesis would never be finished. I also want to express my
gratitude toward my parents for always giving me spirit and supporting me in many
ways.
I also express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka,
M.Hum., who helps me finish my undergraduate thesis. I thank for all the patience,
guidance, help, and suggestion during the writing of my thesis. I also thank my coadvisor, Dewi Widyastuti S.Pd, M.Hum, for correcting my thesis and giving opinion
to make it better. Also for all my lecturers in English Letters Department, thank you
for teaching and giving me a lot of knowledge.
Then, I am thankful to my best friends Anna, Cecil, and Vita for all their
support and helps. Also to my beloved friend Jessica, I am thankful for always
listening to my problem, giving great advice, and sharing a lot of happy moment. I
also thank to my two little sisters for understanding me and giving me a support.
Finally, all my friends from English Letters 2008, I am thank them for all the
friendship we share together.

Karina Budiono

viii

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE .....................................................................................................
APPROVAL PAGE ...........................................................................................
ACCEPTANCE PAGE .....................................................................................
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PUBLIKASI………………………………………
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY…………………………………………..
MOTTO PAGE ..................................................................................................
DEDICATION PAGE .......................................................................................
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………...
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................

ABSTRAK .........................................................................................................
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................
A. Background of the Study ...................................................................
B. Problem Formulation ........................................................................
C. Objectives of the Study .....................................................................
D. Definition of Terms ...........................................................................
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ....................................................
A. Review of Related Studies ................................................................
B. Review of Related Theories ..............................................................
1. Theory of Character and Characterization ..................................
2. Theory of Americanization ..........................................................
C. Review on the History and Culture of Native American…………..
1. Native American Culture………………………………………
2. Native American in Modern Time……………………………..
D. Theoretical Framework .....................................................................
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ................................................................
A. Object of the Study ............................................................................
B. Approach of the Study ......................................................................
C. Method of the Study ..........................................................................
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS
A. The Characteristics of the Characters................................................
1. The Characteristics of Thomas Build the Fire ..........................
2. The Characteristics of Victor Joseph ...........................................
3. The Characteristic of Warm Water Sisters……………………..
ix

i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
vii
viii
ix
xi
x ii
1
1
4
4
5
7
7
10
10
13
18
18
20
23
24
24
25
26
28
28
31
33

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

B. The Method of Americanization on Native American Characters ....
1. Pop Culture…………………………………………………….
2. Boarding school………………………………………………..
3. Reservation…………………………………………………….
C. The Effect of Americanization toward Native American Perspective
on their Culture and Identity as Seen through the Characters ...........
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ........................................................................
BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................
APPENDIX ........................................................................................................

x

35
35
38
39
42
48
51
53

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

ABSTRACT
Karina Budiono. The Effect of Americanization toward Native Americans’
Perspective on Their Own Identity and Culture as Seen through the Characters
in Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues.Yogyakarta: English Letters Study Program,
Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2014.
This thesis discusses Reservation Blues, a novel written by Sherman Alexie.
The novel portrays the life condition of Native Americans who experience
Americanization. The characters in the novel are Thomas Build the Fire, Victor
Joseph, and Warm Water Sister. Each of the characters describes their feeling toward
Native American culture and identity.
In this thesis, the writer analyzed three problems. The first problem analyzed
the characterization of each character in the novel. In second problem, the writer
analyzed the methods of Americanization experienced by Native American. The last
problem analyzed the effect of Americanization toward Native Americans perspective
on their identity and culture as seen through the characters in the novel.
This study applied socio-cultural historical approach in the analysis. The socio
cultural historical approach is chosen since the analysis is about Native American
identity and culture. The writer used theory of character and characterization and
Americanization theory to analyzed problem formulation. The method used in this
study is library research. The primary source is the novel Reservation Blues. The
secondary sources are books and articles related to this study.
From the analysis, the writer can conclude the characteristic of the characters.
Thomas Build the Fire characters are as responsible, mature, calm, independent, and
polite. Victor Joseph characters are rational, ill tempered, lazy, and rude. Chess Warm
Water characters are confident, energetic, mature, and has strong faith in God.
Checker Warm Water characters are kind hearted, stubborn, open minded, and has
strong faith in God. The method of Americanization uses several ways such as
reservation, boarding school, and popular culture. Based on the characteristic and the
method of Americanization, the writer concludes the effect from two perspectives
which are identity and culture. The effect of Americanization toward Native
American perspective on their culture and identity as seen through the character is
ashamed and uncomfortable with their identity as Native American. Another effect is
the characters forgetting their Native American culture value that taught by their
ancestor. The last effect is the characters praise American culture than their original
culture.

xi

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

ABSTRAK
Karina Budiono. The Effect of Americanization toward Native Americans’
Perspective on Their Own Identity and Culture as Seen through the Characters
in Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris,
Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2014
Skripsi ini menganalisis Reservation Blues, sebuah novel yang ditulis oleh
Sherman Alexie. Novel ini menggambarkan kondisi kehidupan penduduk asli
Amerika yang mengalami Amerikanisasi. Karakter yang ada di dalam novel adalah
Thomas Build the Fire, Victor Joseph, Chess Warm Water, dan Checkers Warm Water.
Setiap karakter menggambarkan perasaan mereka terhadap identitas dan budaya
penduduk asli Amerika.
Dalam skripsi ini, penulis menganalisis tiga masalah: Masalah yang pertama
menganalisis karakterisasi dari setiap karakter yang ada di novel. Masalah yang
kedua, penulis menganalisis metode Amerikanisasi yang dialami oleh penduduk asli
Amerika.Permasalahan terakhir menganalisis efek Amerikanisasi terhadap sudut
pandang penduduk asli Amerika pada identitas dan budaya mereka yang terlihat
melalui karakter.
Untuk menganalisis penelitian ini, penulis menggunakan pendekatan sosiokultural historis. Pendekatan sosio-kultural historis dipilih karena analisa yang
berhubungan dengan identitas dan budaya penduduk asli Amerika. Penulis
menggunakan teori tokoh dan penokohan dan teori amerikanisasi untuk menganalisa
permasalahan. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian
kepustakaan. Sumber utama adalah novel Reservation Blues. Sumber yang kedua
adalah buku dan artikel yang bersangkutan dengan penelitian ini.
Dari hasil analisis, penulis dapat menyimpulkan karakteristik dari karakter.
Karakter Thomas Build the Fire adalah bertanggung jawab, dewasa, tenang, mandiri,
dan sopan. Victor Joseph karakter adalah berpikir rasional, pemarah, malas, dan
kasar. Chess Warm Water karakter adalah baik hati, keras kepala, berpikiran terbuka,
dan mempunyai iman yang kuat kepada Tuhan. Checker Warm Water karakter adalah
baik hati, sedikit keras kepala, berpikiran terbuka, dan mempunyai iman yang kuat
kepada Tuhan. Metode amerikanisasi menggunakan beberapa cara seperti daerah
penampungan, sekolah asrama, dan budaya pop. Efek amerikanisasi terhadap segi
pandang penduduk asli Amerika pada identitas dan budaya mereka yang terlihat
melalui karakter adalah merasa malu dan tidak nyaman terhadap identitas mereka
sebagai penduduk asli Amerika. Efek yang lain adalah karakter melupakan nilai
budaya penduduk asli Amerika yang telah diajarkan oleh nenek moyang mereka. Efek
yang terakhir adalah karakter lebih memuji budaya Amerika daripada budaya asli
mereka.

x ii

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A.

Background of the Study
The work of literature is a composition of story, which expresses the ideas

from the author, which is a reflection of the author’s experiences or of his or her life
background. According to Rene Wellek and Austin Warren, in their book Theory of
literature shows that the work of literature represents life as a reality. It is a reflection
of human life because the literary work contains human situation, problem feelings,
and relationship (Wellek and Warren, 1996:96).
Reading a work of literature can enrich our knowledge. Literature contains
many themes to study. Some themes in literature which the reader can get are history,
culture, identity, etc. We can learn culture and history of a country with reading a
work of literature. Every country has their different unique culture. Their culture built
from many generations to generations. They get their culture from their ancestors and
local native. Culture according Triandis, in book Culture, Self-Identity, and Work
define that “Cultures is a subjective perception of the human- made part of the
environment” (Erez and Early, 1993: 41).
America is one of the biggest countries, which have many cultures. It has
many subcultures, which is come from native and immigrant. One of the biggest
cultures in America comes from Native Americans. Their culture also can be find in
American literature as stated by Kathryn VanSpanckeren in her book Outline of
1

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

2

American Literature show that American literature begins with myths, legends, tales,
and lyrics of Indian cultures (1994:3). Native American also contributes in modern
culture, names of 27 states, river, lakes, and mountain in America.
Back in the past, Native Americans had a long history, which is also part of
the history of Early America. In the earlier period of America or called the New
World, the white man who was also known as Christopher Columbus came and called
them Indians. In the first decades of settlement in America, the Native Americans
considered as a barbarian tribe who follow a forbidden religion. Columbus tried to
convert the Native American Indian into Christianity. The war between Native
Americans and colonist happen because of the incursions of colonist into their
territory.

Many of Native Americans died because of war and disease. Native

Americans did not have immune system when disease like measles or smallpox
attacks (Wiegand, 2009:40).
In the years of 1607 until 1700, the English colonies established themselves in
America. Adventurer names John Smith managed to make friend with Native
Americans Powhantan, the chief of the local Native Americans. In the year of 1794,
Wayne’s troops attacked Native Americans villages and destroy their cop (Wiegand,
2009:100).
As the original inhabitants in North America, the Native Americans were part
of the story of nation. White Americans judged the Native Americans has achieved a
level of civilization. People assumed that Native Americans soon would absorb the
benefit of white civilization. Many of missionary school under Protestant dominance

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

3

spread white culture among Native Americans tribes. Unfortunately, the white
cultures had bad side effect to Native Americans particularly the alcohol effect. The
alcohol made negative effect to the Native Americans and became a serious problem
until now.
In 1830, the congress settled the Indian Removal Act which is an act to
remove Native Americans from their homeland and send them to the Mississippi
River to west of the Mississippi. After the civil war, the government raised the idea to
settle Native Americans to the reservation so they could end their tribal tradition and
forced to adopt white ways (Archdeacon, 1983:70-71)
Until now, Native Americans still live in reservations, which are ruled by
united state department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. Reservation Blues
shows the life of Native Americans in reservation. The novel also describes the hard
life of Native Americans that adopt the white ways and culture, which is the side
effect of Americanization. This novel also tells the issue of Native Americans who
maintained their own culture and their identity as Indians under the Americanization
movement.
This study wants to analyze the effect of Americanization toward Native
Americans culture and identity. The effect can be see through how the character
behaves or reacts on the reservation issue and characters life experience that they get
from their lives in reservation and among white society. The analysis from the
character will help to reveal the effect of the Americanization.

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

B.

4

Problem Formulation
In order to answer and analyze the research, the writer formulated three

questions as follows:
1.

How are the Native American characters described in Sherman Alexie’s
Reservation Blue?

2.

What are the methods of Americanization experienced by the Native
American characters in Sherman Alexie Reservation Blues?

3.

What are the effects of Americanization toward the Native American cultures
and identity seen through the characters in Sherman Alexie Reservation
Blues?

C.

Objectives of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to answer those three questions that have

been formulated above to understand the story well. The first objective question is to
describe the characteristics of the characters in the story. The description of the
character is use to find out how they behave toward their own identity and culture.
The second objective question is to identify what kind of Americanization faced in
the story. Then, the third objective question is to reveal the effect of Americanization
toward Native American perspective on their identity and culture.

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

D.

5

Definition of Term
In order to obtain clearer understanding of the title and the analysis, the writer

defines some of the keywords.
1.

Americanization: Americanization in Becoming American: An Ethnic

History is described as “ an idea of native people learned about America custom,
values, and culture, so they will be able to merge tribal tradition with American
culture and can join the majority of society” (Archdeacon, 1983:57).
2.

Perspective: According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current

English, perspective defines as a particular attitude toward something or a way of
thinking about something (Hornby, 2000:943).
3.

Native Americans: Generally Native Americans is described as accepted race

of indigenous peoples especially in North America. Eliss Cashmore in her book
Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic defines Native Americans as “the constructed
category of indigenous peoples in the Americas that have survived 500 years of
European and then American cultural domination, internal colonialism, holocaust-like
demographic decline, and lately a limited resurgence” (Cashmore, 2004:21).
4.

Native American Identity: According to Billard, the Native American

identity is distinguished by certain thing, certain perception of himself in relation to
the world around him. Native Americans have some their own specific identity. They
stand in good relation to the earth, they stand in good relation to God, and they stand
in good relation to all that is beautiful (1974:17).

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

5.

Culture:

6

There are various definitions of culture. One widely accepted

definition of culture, stated by Clyde Kluckhohn, in book entitled Culture, SelfIdentity, and Work, defined that “Culture consist in patterned ways of thinking,
feeling, reacting, acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the
distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts;
the essential core of culture consist of traditional (historically derived and selected)
ideas and especially their attached values” (Erez and Early, 1993:41).

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
In the first part of this chapter, the writer tries to review some related studies
that contain criticism and information which related with analysis. The second part,
the writer also tries to review some theories that are used to answer the problem
formulation. The last part, which is theoretical framework the writer, tries to explain
how the theories will support to analyze the studies.
A.

Review on Related Studies
Reservation Blues is a novel written by Sherman Alexie. Sherman Alexie is a

Native American from Spokane tribes and he spent his youth in reservation. He is
also a famous Native American literature author. In the book Outline of American
Literature explain
Sherman Alexei is the youngest Native-American novelist to achieve national
fame. Alexie gives unsentimental and humorous accounts of Indian life with
an eye for incongruous mixtures of tradition and pop culture. His story cycles
include Reservation Blues (1995), and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in
heaven, which inspired the effective film of reservation life, Smoke Signal
(1998), for which Alexie wrote the screenplay (VanSpanckeren, 1994: 152).
Based on the quoted paragraph above, it is stated that Sherman Alexie is an author
who has a special characteristic in writing his novel. Sherman Alexie not only writes
novels but also write poems and movies scripts. His first collection of poem and short
story entitled The Business of Fancy Dancing publish in 1992. His novels usually
described the life and tradition of Native Americans in humorous way.

7

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

8

He used to mix the Native Americans traditions with popular culture to show
how Native Americans adopted it. It is show from his Interview with John Purdy in
his article A Conversation with Sherman Alexie
Yeah, I could write about fried bread and fried bologna. And the great thing is
I did not know you could combine, the traditional imagery and fried bread and
fried bologna. The way I lived my life, and the way inside me, and the way I
thought, which is a mix of traditionalism and contemporary (Purdy, 1997: 5).
Sherman Alexie spent his youth in Indians reservation. He experienced the life
in Indians reservation and how Native Americans deal with white culture. In his
novel, we can find many issues about Native Americans culture, identity, how Native
Americans deal with white society, and reservation life. Furthermore, we can see
from the article Magic and Memory in Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues by Janine
Richardson
Alexie is criticized because his work doesn’t attend to items of concern to
other Indian writers such as land rights and sovereignty. Rather, Alexie’s work
speaks out against the conditions of reservation life: poverty, alcoholism,
disillusionment. Alexie’s subject is the reservation and Indian culture, but
more generally, with interaction with the dominant Euro American society and
the human conditions they share (Richardson, 1997:40).
Reservation blues is Sherman Alexie first novel and published in 1995. This
novel became a national bestseller and won American Book Award. The novel tells a
story about Spokane Indians from the Spokane reservation. The story shows about the
modern life of Native Americans and the struggle of each individual to means to be of
real Indians under the Americanization. One of review about Reservation Blues writes
that

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

9

Alexie’s razor sharp with is at its most poignant when dealing with Indian
tradition, hope, and despair as his characters confront white religion and
duplicity. All the while, Alexie dances successfully around culture clash
(https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sherman-alexie/reservationblues).
The quotations show how the characters in Reservation blues react when faced with
culture clash between Native Americans culture and white culture.
One of the studies written by Connette, L Tracey titled Sherman Alexie’s
Reservation: Relocating The Center of Indian identity
In Reservation Blues, Alexie’s characters all experience some degree of
transformation and connection to Indian identity. Lynn and Bird criticize
Alexie for incorporating popular culture into his texts but as Alexie alludes in
his interview with Dave Weich, popular culture is apparent everywhere—even
on the reservation—where “social dysfunctions take on pop culture guises
(Connette, 2010: 68).
From the above quotation, it is described how the character experienced the changed
of Indian identity. Alexei used popular culture in his novel to show how it influenced
Native Americans. Moreover, Connette, L Tracey also said
Alexie uses the element of popular culture to facilitate issues concerning
Indian cultures today. For example, Chess accuses Victor and Junior of
betraying their cultural heritage when they sleep with Betty and Veronica, two
white groupies who follow the band. Thomas’s relationship with Chess sparks
topics of conversation such as mixed blood Indians, which Alexie
subliminally embeds as conflicting worldviews within immediate members of
Indian reservation society (Connette, 2010: 40).
The quotation clarified that the element of popular culture, which is part of
Americanization process, becomes the main issue of Native Americans culture.
Popular culture affected the process of creating identity and challenge Native
Americans to survive their own culture.

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

10

From all the reviews and criticism, the writer considers Reservation Blues as
an appropriate novel to depict the Americanization toward the Native Americans
perspective on their culture and identity. The writers will tries to study how the
Americanization has effect to Native Americans as seen from characters that Sherman
Alexie created.
B.

Review on Related Theory

1.

Theory of Character and Characterization.
In this study, the writer deal with the description of the characters. Therefore,

the writers must understand the theory of characters and characterization. In the
novel, character plays important role to represent the story. According to M.H
Abrams in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms: Ninth Edition, Characters is the
persons represented in dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader
as possessing particular moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences
from what the persons say and their distinction ways of saying it in the dialogue and
from what they do in action (2009: 42).
Abrams also explains two methods for characterizing the person in a
narrative: showing and telling. In showing, the author simply presents the characters
talking and acting, and leaves it entirely up to the reader to infer the motives and the
dispositions that lie behind what they say and do. The authors not only show the
character external speech but also the characters inert thought, feelings, and
responsive to events. In telling, the author intervenes authoritatively in order to

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

11

describe, and often to evaluate, the motives, and dispositional qualities of the
characters (2009: 43).
In An Introduction to Fiction, Stanton states that the term character is used in
two ways, it designates the individuals who appear in the story; and it refers to
description of attitudes, interests, desires, emotions, and moral principles of the
individuals. He categorized the characters into two different types: main character and
minor character. Major character is a character that may dominate the whole story and
is frequently presented in it. Meanwhile, the minor character is presented in order to
explain and help the other character, especially the major character (1965: 17-18).
Murphy in his book Understanding Unseen: An introduction to English Poetry
and the English Novel for Overseas Students, stated about the techniques of
characterization. There are nine ways to make the characters understandable in a
story.
1.

Personal Description
The author uses this method to give description of character appearance in

face, body, and the other physical appearances to help the reader visualize the
character and understand his characteristic.
2.

Character as Seen by Another
Instead of describing a character directly, the author can describe the character

through the eyes and opinions of others. This method can give the impressions of
shape, cleanliness, firmness, color, etc.

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

3.

12

Speech
The author gives the readers an insight into the character of one of the person

in the book through what the people says. The character of a person can be seen from
whenever he/she speak and having conversation.
4.

Past Life
By letting the reader learn a character’s past life, the author can give the clue

to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. This can be done by direct
comment by the author, through the person’s thought, through his conversation, or
through the medium of another person.
5.

Conversation of Others
The author can also give the readers clue to a persons’ character through the

conversation of other people and the things they say about her/him. People talk about
other people and the things they say often give as a clue to the character of the person
spoken about.
6.

Reaction
Give the readers clue to a persons’ character by letting the readers know how

that person reacts to various situations and events. The actions are related to his or her
motives or thought.
7.

Direct Comment
The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly. The

Author gives comments based on his point of view.

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

8.

13

Thoughts
The author give direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. In this

aspect, he is able to do what we cannot do in real life. He can tell the reader what
different people are thinking. The readers then are in privileged position; they have,
as it were, a listening device plugged into the inmost thoughts of a person in a novel.
9.

Mannerism
The author can describe a person’s mannerisms, habits, or idiosyncrasies,

which may also tell the readers something about his character. (1972: 161-173).
2.

Theory of Americanization
In Multicultural American Literature, Lee states that U.S ethnicity and the

literary fictions it has engendered, of necessity involves reckoning with America’s
pervasive, however often contradictory, codes of whiteness. America is to be seen not
only as somehow newly ethnic but in fact, and endemically, as having been ethnic
from its very foundation. The true loading lies in the construction of cultural or
ideological whiteness, a belief, tacit or otherwise, that America embodies, indeed
simply is, a white polity and civilization ( 2003: 235-236).
During the period after the end of the Second World War in Britain,
Americanization had become an aspect of some general fears and anxieties about the
increasing capacity of the young and the working class to participate in the slowly
emerging consumer Society. Booker defined Americanization as ‘a brash
standardized mass-culture, centered on the enormously

increased influence of

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

14

television and advertising, a popular music more marked than ever by the hypnotic
beat of jazz, and the new prominence, as a distinct social force, given to teenager and
the young’ (Lee , 2003:26).
The use of term Americanization used in the later part of 19th century and in
the early part of the 20th century. As Graham and Koed stated that Americanization
indicates to a social movement whose goal was to fully assimilate people into
American society or the process which people changes into Americans (1993: 24-29).
This means the goal of Americanization is to make people become understand the
culture and value of America so they will become a true American. The degree of
Americanization according to Huebner was some people will adopt certain American
method, customs, and idea. Some people will also refuse and unable to adopt the
value (1906:191). People who unable to adopt the value of Americanization they will
become not fully Americanized and still believe in their own national value.
According to Lomawaima and Teresa McCarty the civilization of Native
American simply termed as Americanization which is mandated the transformation of
nations and individuals: replace heritage languages with English; replace paganism
with Christianity; replace economic, political, social, legal, and aesthetic institutions
(2006:4). The process of Americanization can be seen through the assimilation of
religion, education, sport, American lifestyle, slang, value, and popular culture.
American government used some method to Americanized Native Americans:

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

15

1. Introducing Popular Culture
Popular culture is also defined as mass culture. In A Dictionary of Cultural
and Critical Theory, Payne stated that popular culture define as the culture of the
people, as those symbolic objects and practices which somehow express or gives
shape to popular beliefs, values, and traditions. In short, popular culture expresses the
aesthetic, ideological, hedonistic, spiritual, and symbolic values of particular group of
people; we can read those values in popular practices, texts, and objects. Popular
culture then become “everyday life”, what “the people” do, ways of talking, eating,
dressing, playing, working, and worshiping. Popular culture also describe activities,
symbolic institutions which produce the people, a particular form of collective
identity, a particular set of attitudes and values, a particular sort of recognition, a
particular sense of belonging. It made popular culture become obvious implication for
and effects upon the social categories of nation and race, gender and class, age and
taste (Payne, 1972: 415-416).
The claim that popular culture is American culture has a long history within
the theoretical mapping of popular culture. It is operates under the term
“Americanization”. There are two things we can say about United States and popular
culture. First Popular culture has been socially and institutionally central in America
for longer and in a more significant way than in Europe. Second, the influence of
America culture worldwide is undoubted. The fear of Americanization is closely
related to a distrust of emerging forms of popular culture (Storey, 2001: 9)

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

16

Mass culture or popular culture is a threat that causes someone to lose his or her
national identity. It destroys the values, traditions, taste, and dissolving all cultural
distinctions. It is a culture which discourages the effort of thinking and creates its own
emotional and sentimental responses.
Hebdige pointed out that Americanization offer an American popular culture,
Hollywood film, advertising image, packaging, clothes and music offers a rich
iconography, a set of symbol, objects and artifact which can assembled and
reassembled by different groups in a literally limitless number of combinations. They
consume styles in images, clothes, and music in an active, meaningful and
imaginative fashion, one which transforms the meaning of Americanization and
converts them into distinct sub cultural tastes (Hebdige, 1988:18).
2. American Indian Education
The term American Indian education to refer to the colonial education of
American Indian people within school system dedicated to “civilizing” and
standardizing goal. A similar term, Indian schools, has referred to the on and off
reservation. Indian schools were created to civilize Native Children, to eradicate
Native identities, language, and cultures. In the late 1800s, off reservation boarding
schools were seen as the ideal facility to Americanize Native Individual. The Native
American children were forced by government or their parent to study in boarding
school. The U.S commissioner of Indian Affair suggested to use boarding school for
prepares Native American children to live in American society. At boarding schools,

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

17

Native American children will be introduced to English language, vocational skill,
and Christianity. The Native American children would be punished for speaking their
native language and practice their native culture (Lomawaima and McCarty, 2006: 447).
Stone, E Sarah in the article American Indian Education: How Assimilation
Decrease Retention writes that the school took away everything that resembled
American Indian. The children hair was cut short, and they were forced to pull of
their native clothes, and gave each child an American name. The goal of many
boarding schools was to erase American Indian culture by forcing the children to
participate in Anglo American tradition and activity. American Indian schools use the
strict military regiment and harsh discipline in order to increase effectiveness of the
forced assimilation of American Indian culture to mainstream American culture
(2011: 21-23).
3.

Placing Native American into Reservation
After the civil war, American government raised the idea to settle down and

forced Native American to stay in the permanents area as a reservation. The plan
about reservation has some major goals which are to concentrate Native America
population, isolate them from whites, and train Native American in agriculture.
Reservation is small area of land created by America government for Native
American used as a habitation. The government believe it was helping Native
American from deviation, marginalization, and attempted to replace native culture
with American white value.

Reservations were also used as a laboratory to

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

18

implement the scientifically phrased project of “elevating a race”. Reservation life
was seen as necessary instruments to civilize Native American (Lomawaima and
McCarty, 2006:4).
The reservation system also perpetuated Native American socioeconomic
position. Native American is isolated from the broader society in the government’s
effort to maintain bureaucratic control and in their own attempt to preserve what is
left of their indigenous culture. Individual Native American face difficult choice: to
stay on impoverished reservations and try to preserve what is left of their culture or to
enter a Eurocentric society that is not prepared to facilitate their upward mobility
(Aguirre and Turner, 2011:180).
C.

Review on the History and Culture of Native American
1. Native American Culture
To understand the Native American better we must know their history and life

culture. Understanding their culture will help the writer to analyze this study more
accurate. Sue Northey in her book The American Indian said that in the early time,
America was a magnificent continent of forest, plains, deserts and mountains, where
all life was wild and natural. The white man called this land the New World. The
white men met a man with skins colors of burnished copper were in possession of the
country. The white men called them Indians. The Indians did not know where they
come from; the Indians believe that the Great Spirit had created the continent and all
that was found on it to be their very own forever (1962: 2-4).

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

19

Indians lived in villages and made trails through the forest, over the
mountains, along lakeshores or down river valleys. These trails, connected the distant
settlement, and were worn smooth and hard by the moccasined feet runners who
traveled them for hundreds of years. A family, or clan, of Indians was called a tribe.
There were so many tribes that it would be quite impossible to study them. The
Indians lived in different sections. From east to west naturally divided into four
sections; the Woodlands, the Plains, the Desserts, and the Western Mountains and
Seaboard districts (Northey, 1962: 4-5).
The home life of the Indians was pleasant and happy. The people were simple,
proud, and generous. The fathers were kind and rarely spoke a cross words to any
member of their families. They treated their wives and children with much affection
and tenderness. The squaws, though often poor, were good mothers and very fond of
their children; they trained them to respect older people, and to be self-reliant. The
young Indian men were taught the language of tribe, its social custom, and religious
ceremony. Both boys and girls not only to show skill in all the Indian arts, but they
also had to learn the songs, dances, ceremonials, and beliefs of the tribal religion
(Northey, 1962: 27-31).
Music was a part of the everyday life of the American Indians. In the
ceremonies of welcome, war, peace, trade, and all the gatherings of these sociable
people, singing was the accompaniment. Throughout all time, music has presented
thoughts and feelings to others. The folksongs of the people everywhere show their
natural feelings. The Indians music and dances showed his feeling on many different

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

20

occasions. The festival music was gay, light and happy; the feelings of the people
took place in all they did; they were so grateful to the Great Spirit of Life for the
goodness and beauty given to them that they tried to put it into their religious dances
and music (Northey, 1962:22-23).
In his native state, the American Indian was very religious. He showed a high
degree of intelligence, morality, honesty, charity, and honor. He lived very close to
nature and considered himself a “brother” to all living things. He worshiped many
spirits such as the spirit of rain, the spirit of cold, and all manner of tribal Gods who
were supposed to bring success in the hunt or on the warpath (Northey, 1962: 32).
Every Native American community had medicine men and women, shamans,
or priest. They had special close contact with the supernatural and have ability to
communicate with the spirits. It is acquainted with a significant literature, expressed
in the form of prose narratives, song, chants, magic formulas, speeches, and prayer by
all Indian groups and by a few groups as puns, proverbs, and riddles. These aspects of
belief constituted each community’s most treasured knowledge of the natural, human,
and spiritual realms and expressed the supernatural approve ethos of each time
(http://www.AmericanIndian.com) (20 June 2013)
2.

Native American in Modern Time
The modern Native American now lived in place called reservation apart from

the white people. In Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies, Some Indian tribes or
nations have reestablished claims to sovereignty in homelands, while other struggles
for recognition of autonomous relationships, or even as minority groups. Native

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

21

American that had been moved to leave their homelands and live in the cities often
referred to as “Urban Indians”, and at times lack meaningful connection to their home
cultures (Cashmore, 2004: 21-22).
Native American that were forcibly removed to reservations also contest the
justice of their treatment, including many California Indians who have recently fought
for and won stated referendums on Indian Gaming, wherein a 150 years ago their
population base was eliminated upward 90 percent. These and a host of related
conflicts demonstrate the viability and survival of Indians.
Historical conflicts illustrate the complicated reality of most contemporary
Native Americans. The five Civilized Tribes were put under the genocidal policy
“Indian Removal” from their Southeastern homelands to Indian Territory. Many
Reservations contains people from different “tribes” or culture, greatly complicating
current social realities and nomenclature.
Between 1917 and 1921, the government released a policy to destroy tribal
identity that was based on Indian lands holding, by issuing fee patent to the whites
who were determined to be competent to handle their own affair. Through unpaid
taxes and sale to whites at a low price, more Indian lands no longer belonged to them.
The 1960s and 1970s in the USA, saw a resurgence that included the American
Indian Movement (AIM) and the Trail of Broken Treaties, advocating resistance,
such as at Wounded Knee. These movements supported current resistance groups,
including the UN Indigenous People’s Working Groups and well established
sovereignty claims in the USA and Canada, with Indian peoples demanding

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

22

identification as nations within nation states, rebuilding languages and cultures aster
200 years of suppression (Cashmore, 2004:22).
The contemporary situations of Native Americans as the indigenous peoples
of the Americas must consider themes of cultural reproduction, commodification, and
education as oppression and liberation, environmental issues, globalization, and
resistance, identity issues in political constructs, media, and representation. Cultural
reproduction for nearly all Native American is more a questioning of resisting and
cultural suppression and culturecide (Cashmore, 2004:22-23).
The government tried to civilize the Native American with many ways. In
another movement and one of that triumphed in terms of legislature and social policy
was seethed in violence and hatred for this threatening class of people who did not
have any place in a rapidly expanding European based community.
Another sector that represents Native American oppression is Education.
Historically, the Boarding Schools that forcefully extracted Native American children
from their families for at least two years with many never returning, were clear
attempts by the US and Canadian governments at ethnocide while building and
oppressed racial minority. The white people also introduced alcohol to Native
Americans and it became one of Native American susceptibilities. The white people
also labeled Native American as lazy tribe and doomed to be obliterated by European
progress and civilization.

PLAGIAT
PLAGIATMERUPAKAN
MERUPAKANTINDAKAN
TINDAKANTIDAK
TIDAKTERPUJI
TERPUJI

3.

23

Theoretical Framework
The writer already mentioned some theories above that help the writer to

answer the problem formulation. The theories are the theory of character and
characterization, and theory of Americanization.
Theory of character and characterization used to describe the characters
characteristics in the story. The writer focuses on their attitudes, acts, and their
speeches. Theory character and characterization used to analyze the characters in the
first problem formulation.
Theory of Americanization helps the writer to analyze the second and third
problem formulations. This theory helps the writer to revea