Revealing the idea of class struggle through figurative language and allusions in Kahlil Gibran`s ``We and You``.

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“WE AND YOU”

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of Requirements

for the Degree of

Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By:

STEFIANA NATALIA TASMIN

Student Number: 124214045

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

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REVEALING THE IDEA OF CLASS STRUGGLE THROUGH

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND ALLUSIONS IN KAHLIL

GIBRAN’S “WE AND YOU”

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of Requirements

for the Degree of

Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By:

STEFIANA NATALIA TASMIN

Student Number: 124214045

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

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“

Rest in reason, move in

passion

…”

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This thesis is dedicated to those

who believe everything shall pass

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to The Almighty God for blessing me with wonderful people who have never been absent in helping me get through the process of this thesis writing. My warm gratitude goes to my lovely family for supporting me to finish this thesis.

My deepest gratitude goes to my thesis advisor, Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum. for her patience and tolerance during the consultation time. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. as my Co-Thesis advisor, for her corrections and criticism for the improvements of this thesis.

I would like to express my gratitude to Anak-anak Pengusaha; Bovis, Melly, Caca, and Julia for being good friends in the last 4 years. Members of Save Orang Utan; Grati, Aldo, Bertha, Alex, Yanser, and Dimas, for their company in helping me get through the process of writing this thesis. Also,to my thesis-partner, Fay, thank you for making me belive that “we can do it!”.

Last, I would like to thank everyone who always be there even in the hardest situation for the last 4 years. To all of my humble classmates in Class B batch 2012, I would like to thank them very much for being part of my learning process. All the fun and the quality time we spent in the classroom are going to be missed.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ... ii

APPROVAL PAGE ... iii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE ... ………... iv

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH ... v

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY………...… vi

MOTTO PAGE ... vii

DEDICATION PAGE ... viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... x

ABSTRACT ... xii

ABSTRAK ... xiii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ... 1

B. Problem Formulation ... 5

C. Objectives of the Study ... 6

D. Definition of Terms ... 6

CHAPTER II: REVIEWS OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Review of Related Study ... 8

B. Review of Related Theories ... 10

1. Figurative Language ... 10

a. Simile ... 11

b. Metaphor ... 11

c. Personification ... 12

d. Symbol ... 12

2. Allusion... ... ... 14

3. Capitalism ... 15

4. Social Stratification ... 16

5. Social Classes ... 17

5. Class Struggle ... 18

C. Kahlil Gibran‟s Works and Social Background ... 19

D. Theoritical Framework ... 23

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study ... 25

B. Approach of the Study ... 26

C. Method of the Study ... 27

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS A. The Figurative Language and Allusions ... ... 29

1. Simile ……… . 29

2. Metaphor ……… 32

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4. Symbol………. 37

5. Allusion ………... 42

B. Class Struggle Shown in Figurative Language and Allusions 47 1. The Capitalist Society ………... 47

2. The Stratified Society ………. 49

a. Contrasting Social Economic Condition ……… 52

b. Contrasting Quality ……….... 52

3. Class Struggle ………. 54

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ... 56

BIBLIOGRAPHY ………. 59

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xii ABSTRACT

TASMIN, STEFIANA NATALIA. Revealing the Idea of Class Struggle through Figurative Language and Allusions in Kahlil Gibran’s “We and

You”. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2017.

“We and You” is one of the poems in Kahlil Gibran‟s literary works compilation book, Secret of the Heart. This poem portrays the social discrimination among two different social classes, bourgeoisie and ploretariat, as the “haves” and the “have nots” that presented in the character „We‟ and „You‟. This study analyzes the contribution of figurative language and allusions used in “We and You” in revealing the idea of class struggle of the ploretariat toward the capitalist society.

There are two objectives of the study. The first objective is to identify and interpret the meaning of figurative language and allusions used in Kahlil Gibran‟s poem “We and You”. The second objective is to analyze the contribution of the figurative language and allusions in revealing the class struggle by relating the figurative language and allusions with the theories.

Library research method is applied in developing the analysis. The researcher uses Kahlil Gibran‟s “We and You” in Secret of the Heart as the primary source. The secondary sources are taken from books, thesis, journals, encyclopedias, and several websites. Those sources and references provide the theories and some explanation about Kahlil Gibran‟s Works and Social Background. There are several theories used in this study, those are theory of figurative language, such as simile, metaphor, personification, and symbol, theory of allusion, theory of capitalism, social stratification, social classes, and class struggle. The researcher also uses the Marxism approach to reveal the idea of class struggle in this poem.

The result of the analysis shows that figurative language−simile, metaphor, personification, symbol− and allusion in Kahlil Gibran‟s “We and You” portray the characteristic of „We‟ and „You‟, the comparison and contradiction of their social condition and also the description about society they live in. Those figurative language and allusion imply the depiction about social-economic inequality in capitalist society that causes the social stratification where the people, that represent in the characters „We‟ and „You‟, are divided into classes; bourgeoisie and proletariat. The contrasting social economic condition makes the disparity between them; therefore there is a huge gap between „the rich‟ and „the poor‟. The contrasting quality of those social classes shows the different interests between them. These contradictions between „We‟ and „You‟ as the bourgeoisies and proletariats lead to the idea of class struggle.

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xiii ABSTRAK

TASMIN, STEFIANA NATALIA. Revealing the Idea of Class Struggle through Figurative Language and Allusions in Kahlil Gibran’s “We and

You”. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2017.

“We and You” adalah salah satu puisi dalam buku kumpulan karya sastra Kahlil Gibran, Secret of The Heart. Puisi ini menggambarkan diskriminasi sosial antar dua kelas sosial yang berbeda, yaitu kaum borjuis dan kaum ploretar, sebagai “si kaya” dan “si miskin” yang diwakilkan oleh karakter „We‟ dan „You‟. Penelitian ini mencoba menganalisis kontribusi dari pemakaian majas dan alusi pada puisi “We and You” dalam mengungkapkan ide perjuangan kelas oleh kaum ploretar terhadap sistem kapitalis di masyarakat.

Terdapat dua tujuan dalam penelitian ini. Tujuan pertama adalah untuk mengindentifikasi dan menginterpretasi makna dari majas dan alusi yang digunakan pada puisi “We and You”. Tujuan kedua adalah untuk menganalisa kontribusi penggunaan majas dan alusi dalam mengungkap ide perjuangan kelas dengan mengaitkannya lewat teori-teori yang digunakan.

Adapun metode yang digunakan dalam mengembangkan penelitian ini adalah studi pustaka. Puisi “We and You” karya Kahlil Gibran dalam buku Secret of The Heart digunakan sebagai sumber primer. Sumber sekunder dikumpulkan dari buku-buku, tugas akhir, jurnal, ensiklopedia, dan beberapa website. Sumber dan referensi tersebut mencakup teori-teori dan penjelasan tentang latar belakang kehidupan penulis dan puisi itu sendiri. Terdapat beberapa yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Pertama, teori majas yang meliputi teori simile, metapor, simbol dan personifikasi. Kedua, teori alusi, dan terakhir teori kapitalisme, stratifikasi sosial, kelas-kelas sosial, dan perjuangan kelas. Pendekatan Marxisme juga memiliki peran penting dalam mengungkap ide perjuangan kelas dalam puisi ini.

Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa majas−simile, metapor, personifikasi, simbol− dan alusi dalam puisi“We and You” karya Kahlil Gibran menggambarkan karakteristik dari „We‟ dan „You‟, perbandingan dan pertentangan kondisi sosial mereka dan juga gambaran tentang masyarakat dalam puisi ini. Majas dan alusi-alusi tersebut memberikan penjelasan tersirat terhadap perbedaan sosial ekonomi dalam masyarakat kapitalis yang menyebabkan stratifikasi sosial di mana orang-orang, yang diwakilkan dalam karakter „We‟ dan „You‟, terbagi dalam kelas borjuis dan proletar. Perbedaan sosial ekonomi antara dua kelas tersebut menimbulkan kesenjangan diantara mereka, sehingga terdapat jurang pemisah antara „si kaya‟ dan „si miskin‟. Perbedaan sifat dari dua kelas tersebut menunjukan perbedaan kepentingan diantara mereka. Perbedaan-perbedaan inilah yang akhirnya mempengaruhi ide perjuangan kelas.

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1 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter the researcher provides the background of the study that explains the reason why the researcher chooses this topic and why this topic is important to be analyzed. There are some problems that are formulated to lead to the analysis. The objectives of the study and definition of terms are also explained further in this chapter.

A. Background of the Study

Poetry is not only about a group of words used to please the readers when they read it. Poetry is a representation ofthe poet’s soul. “Poetry might be defined

as a kind of language that says more and says it more intensely than does ordinary

language”, Laurence Perrine’s Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry

(1969:3). In other words, poetry has a ‘hidden’ power in making the readers understand the message of a poem.

Every single word, which is written in poetry, shows how the poet wants to express her/his idea. Besides, there are many events that might be captured through poetry. Stories and experiences from real events of someone or the poet can be more entertaining if they are described into a poem. The similar thing about poetry had been explained by Elisabeth White, Joan Wofford, and Edward J. Gordin inUnderstanding Literature,

Poetry can be about anything: any idea, any story, any person. A frequent desire of poets is to describe some scene in much a way that the reader can experience the same scene in his imagination. The poet of course is not the only person who wants to do this. Most people have had the experience

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of seeing something striking and trying to describe it to others (White, Wofford, and Gordon, 1975:140).

To describe an idea, story, experience or a person, it is important to use not such kind of ordinary words or language. Figurative language, one of the elements

of poetry, is the best way to create the readers’ imagination of every single scene

in a poem. As Arp and Johnson (2009: 713) mentions in Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense Tenth Edition,“Figurative language often provides a

more effective means of saying what we mean than does direct statement”.

Figurative language consists of symbol, metaphor, simile, personification, and so on. They stand to another meaning of an object which is not to be taken literally. Interpretation is the important thing to figure out the meaning of each figurative language used in a poem. Figurative language contributes to persuade the readers. Not only that, the influence of figurative language can give an impact to the

readers’ perspectiveand the way of thinking.

Allusion is similar to figurative language in giving the message or particular meaning of a work. Through allusion, the readers can understand what the point poet wants to say by seeing the historical background of someone, places, or events which are alluded to the story of the literary works. Thus, it is easier to transfer what the poet wants to talk about by alluding to a someone, places and events in the past.

Talking about the use of poetry in general, in some cases, poetry is also used to criticize any aspect in society, such as discrimination among particular

race, gender, and social class. Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise”, for instance,

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gender discrimination. She speaks up about the courage against the society. The use of metaphor as the one of figurative language is effective to make this poem become such a powerful poem. It is stated in an essay entitled “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelo: Analysis Essay,“to the narrator, the poem metaphorically describes her strength to always survive the battle against people’s criticism of her and her ancestors”(booksie.com, 2013). This statement shows how figurative language in a poem is very crucial in order to make the poem more dramatic in giving a value and a particular massage.

Another example comes from Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay”.

In this poem, Frost uses ‘Eden’ as an allusion. According to literarydevices.net

(2016) “Frost’s allusion to Eden strengthens the theme of the fleeting nature of

happiness. His mention of Eden shows that humans are often their own downfall”. This example shows how an allusion can bring the specific meaning of a literary works, especially in criticizing human beings in general.

Quite similar to the analysis of “Still I Rise” and “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, this research analyses a poem about society discrimination and human beings in general through the contribution of its figurative language and allusions. The poem was written by Kahlil Gibran. Kahlil Gibran is a Lebanese American philosopher, essayist, poet, novelist, and artist in 19th century. His works were influenced by his experience and the social condition of Kahlil Gibran. During his childhood, Gibran and his family lived in poverty. In order to make a better life, they immigrated to United States when Gibran was 10 years old. In the United States, Gibran began to learn about literature and he wrote his own works. Born

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from religious Maronite Catholic family, Gibran’s literary works was influence by the stories and parables in Bible. He was also influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche and William Blake.

Through his literary works, Gibran criticized some social problems such as patriarchal system in the Arabian culture, corruption in Maronite church, poverty among people and the tyrannical government system in Lebanon. Spirituality and humanity are the common themes that Kahlil Gibran always emphasizes in his works. According to Encyclopedia Britannica about the biography of Kahlil Gibran,

His writings in both languages, which deal with such themes as love, death, nature, and a longing for the homeland, are full of lyrical

outpourings and are expressive of Gibran’s deeply religious and mystic

nature (Britanica.com, 2015).

This study uses Kahlil Gibran’s “We and You”. This poem talks about the

different condition of two different social classes. The topic of this study is revealing the idea of class struggle through the figurative language and allusions

used in “We and You”. In this study the researcher only focus on four kinds of figure of speech, they are simile, metaphor, personification and symbol. Among all the figurative language that is used in Kahlil Gibran’s “We and You”, those

figurative language ˗simile, metaphor, personification and symbol- carry the meaning of class struggle and the description about the society in the poem. This is the reason why the researcher only focus on those figurative language.

The reason why the researcher chooses this topic is because “We and

You” stands as the voice of the working class people or the proletariat toward

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of society over centuries and still relevant until this era. Besides, “We and You”is less popular than others Gibran’s poems so that the study or deep analysis about

“We and You” is rare. Because of that, the researcher is interested to analyze this poem by using Marxist theory and Marxist approach.

The use of figurative language and allusions in “We and You” is really

important to makethe readers’ imagination arise. Through the figurative language and allusions used in Kahlil Gibran’s poems, the readers can imagine the every

single scene of struggle the proletariat or the lower class people face. Thus, the reader can understand the values and message that Kahlil Gibran wants to tell.

“We and You” can be considered as a criticism toward the tyrannical government

as the capitalist who discriminates and exploits the working class.

This study is important and worth to be analyzed because this study focuses inhow the existence of figurative language and allusions used in Kahlil

Gibran’s “We and You” can show the struggle among the proletariat or it is usually called working class people against the capitalism which is dominated by the bourgeoisie. As Peter Barry (2002: 157) explains in Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, “Marxist sees progress as coming

about through the struggle for power different social classes”. Therefore, through

this analysis, the idea of class struggle which is shown figurative language and allusions can be revealed.

B. Problem Formulation

From the background above, there are two questions which have been formulated in order to analyze thepoems of Kahlil Gibran, “We and You”?

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1. What do figurative language and allusions mean in Kahlil Gibran’s “We and You”?

2. How do the figurative language and allusions show the idea ofclass struggle? C. Objectives of the Study

Based on the problems that have been formulated, this study has some aims to achieve. The first aim is to identify the figurative language and allusions

used in Kahlil Gibran’s poem “We and You”. It is important to figure out the

meaning of each figurative language and allusions in Kahlil Gibran’s “We and You”, thus the idea of class struggle can be revealed. The second aim is to analyze

the contribution of the figurative language and allusions in revealing the class struggle by interpreting the findings figurative language and allusions and relating them with the theories.

D. Definition of Terms

There are three important terms which appear in the beginning of the study. They are class struggle, figurative language, and allusions. Therefore to understand these two terms, the researcher presents the definition of them.

The first term is class struggle. According to Josef Wilczynski in An Encyclopedic of Marxism, Socialism and Communism, definition of class struggle

or Class War is “one of the cornerstones of Marxist ideology, explaining the

course of history in terms of the struggle between conflicting social classes in antagonistic social-economic formations (slavery, feudalism and especially

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conflict between two different classes, proletariat as the labour and bourgeoisie as the capitalist.

The second term is figurative language. Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson

have a simple definition of figurative language. According to them, “figurative

language‒ language using figures of speech‒ is language that cannot be taken literally (or should not be taken literally)” (Arp and Johnson, 2009: 705). In other

words, figurative language is a kind of language that is used to describe another meaning of something.

The third term or the last term is allusion. ”Allusion is a passing reference,

without explicit identification, to a literary or historical person place, or event, or

to another literary work or passage” (Abrams and Harpham, 2009: 11). In short, allusions can be simply defined as a reference that has similarity with the text which the authors allude to.

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter presents the review of some studies which are related to support the topic of this study and the review of some theories which are related to the analysis of this study.

A. Review of Related Studies

There are many studies concerning the social issues which are found in literary works, such as novels, short stories, and poems. One of the studies, which

focus on the social issue, is Hardian Putra Pratama’s under-graduate thesis entitled Class Struggle as The Impact of Oppression Seen in Clifford Odet’s Waiting for Lefty: A Marxist Study. In his thesis, the social issue that he emphasizes is the class struggle of the proletariat (people in lower class) as the impact of the economic and political oppression. As Pratama states in his Objective of the

Study, “the third aim is to find out how the class struggle as the impact of oppression experienced by the oppressed characters can appear to the surface”

(Pratama, 2009: 4). Through Marxist theories and Marxist approach, he elaborates the impact of oppression done by capitalist toward the proletariat. The object of

his study is a novel by Clifford Odets’sWaiting for Lefty.

Another study that is related to this study is a journal written by N. Naimy entitled The Mind and Thought of Kahlil Gibran. In this journal, Naimy tries to

understand the message of Kahlil Gibran’s works by focusing on the background of Kahlil Gibran’s life. This journal does not only use one book of Kahlil Gibran

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as the object of the study. There are several books with many poems on them which are analyzed.

Those two studies are relevant and related to this study. This study can be considered as the combination of those studies. Comparing to the study by Hardian Putra Pratama, this study is quite similar to Pratama’s study in which

class struggle is the main focus. However, in revealing the idea of class struggle,

Pratama’s study uses the characterization of some characters in Clifford Odets’s

Waiting for Lefty,who are being oppressed of the bourgeoisie. While in this study, the researcher concerns the contribution of figurative language to reveal the idea of class struggle.

The second study, a journal written by N. Naimy, is also quite similar to

this study since Kahlil Gibran’s works are the object of the study. Nevertheless, the approach of this study and the Naimy’s study are different. This study uses Marxism approach to reveal the idea of class struggle in Kahlil Gibran “We and You”, while Naimy’s study uses biographical approach to interpret some books of Kahlil Gibran such as The Prophet,Jesus Son of the Man,Broken Wings, and

so on. Naimy’s journal explains about the interpretations of Kahlil Gibran’s works

by relating it to the biography of Kahlil Gibran. It can be seen in this following quotation,

It is easy to label Gibran in this early stage of his career as a social reformer and a rebel, as he was indeed labeled by many students of his works in the Arab world. His heroes, whose main weapons are their eloquent tongues, are always engaged in struggles that are of a social nature (Naimy, 1947: 58).

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Naimy’s journal is still relevant to this study because of the background and the perspective of Kahlil Gibran as the author of“We and You” affects the way of the

poem writing. Therefore, N. Naimy’s The Mind and Thought of Kahlil Gibran is needed in developing the analysis.

B. Review of Related Theories

To support the analysis of this study, there are some theories which are needed to support the analysis. Those are theory of figurative language which consists of simile, metaphor, personification, and symbol, theory of allusion, theory of capitalism, social classes, social stratification, and class struggle.

1. Figurative Language

Obviously, figurative language can be understood as language using figure of speech that cannot be taken literally. Quoting from Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense Tenth Editiondefinition of figure of speech,

Broadly defined, a figure of speech is any way of saying something other than the ordinary way, and some rhetoricians have classified as many as 250 separate figures (Arp and Johnson, 2009: 705).

According to Arp and Johnson, in narrow definition, figure of speech is a way of saying one thing and meaning another, and the readers needto be concerned with no more than a dozen.

The existence of figurative language in a poem is not only to create a dramatic essence to entertain readers. In the previous section, it mentions that figurative language is more effective, persuasive, and impactful in order to transfer the message of the poem. Through figurative language, the readers can imagine every scene that the poet wants to show. There are many kinds of figure

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of speech such as symbol, paradox, metonym, hyperbole, simile, metaphor, pesonification, and so on. Nevertheless, in this theory, there are four kinds of figurative language and the explanation of them. As mentioned in Chapter I, this study only focus on four kinds of figurative language, they are simile, metaphor, personification and symbol because the meaning of class struggle and the description about the society are seen in those figurative language rather than the others.

a. Simile

Simile is a comparison of one thing with another thing that is essentially unlike by using some words or phrase such as like, as, similar to, than, seems, or resembles (Arp and Johnson, 2009: 705). Kennedy and Gioia also explain about simile,

Simile is a comparison of two things, indicated by some connective, ussualy like, as, than, or a verb such as resembles. A simile expresses a similarity. Still, foa a simile to exist, the things compared have to be

dissimilar in kind. It is no simile way to say, “Your fingers are like mine”; it is a literal observation. But to say, “Your fingers are like sausages” is to

use a simile (Kennedy and Gioia, 2002:121).

An example of simile can be seen in this phrase, “her eyes are bright like a diamond”. This phrase is a comparison in which an object (her eyes) is being compared with other object (diamond) by using the word “like”.

b. Metaphor

Similar to simile, metaphor is also a comparison of a thing with other thing.However, metaphor does not use any expression such as like, as, similar, than, seems,resembles and so on. “In metaphor, the comparison is not expressed

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term”, (Arp and Johnson, 2009: 705). Abrams and Harpham (2009: 119) also

state that “in a metaphor, a word or expression that in literal usage denotes one

kind of thing is applied to distinctly different kind of thing, without asserting a

comparison”. For example, “Sorrow is my own yard’, which is taken from William Carlos Williams’ “The Widow’s Lament in Springtime”.

c. Personification

Personification means giving an animal, object, or others inanimate things the attributes of human being. For instance, a poem entitled “Mirror” by Silvia

Plath.

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions Whatever I see I swallow immediately

Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike I am not cruel, only truthful

(Plath, 1961, stanza 1, line 1-4)

Plath is personifying an object by making a mirror speaks and thinks as if it was a human. Arp and Johnson (2009: 708) claim that personification is subtype of metaphor. It is because the comparison in personification is implied in which the figurative term is always a human being.They also say that “personification differ

in the degree to which they ask the reader actually to visualize the literal term in

human form” (Arp and Johnson, 2009: 708)

d. Symbol

Abcarian and Klotz (1998: 12) in Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience Seventh Edition define symbol as “a symbol is an object or

event that suggests more than itself. It is one of the most common and powerful devices available to the poet, for it allow him or her to convey economically and

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imply a wide range of meanings”. Another definition of symbol which is taken fromAn Introduction to Literature Tenth Edition,

A symbol, then, is an image so loaded with significance that is is not simply literal, and it does not simply stand for something else; it is both itself and something else that it richly suggest, a kind of manifestation of

something too complex or too elusive to be otherwise revealed” (Barnet, Berman and Burto, 1993: 471)

Abrams and Harpham (2009: 358) explain that “in discussing literature, however, the term “symbol” is applied only to word or phrase that signifies an

object or event which in its turn signifies something, or suggest a range of reference, beyond it-self”.

In making a literary work, the authors have their own way to represent one condition or thing with other thing or terms. As Arp and Johnson say, “a symbol is something that means more than what it is”. The meaning of symbol is beyond

the literal meaning of a thing. For example, in a poem entitled “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, the word “road is a symbol of a decision of a life, thus the meaning of the word “road” does not simply understood literally since it is a

kind of symbol.

In reading a poem, sometimes it is difficult to determine a word is a symbol or not. Arp and Johnson explain about symbols by using Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” as the example. They say“symbols vary in the degree of

identification given them by their author. In this poem Frost forces us to interpret the coice of roads symbolically by the degree of importance he gives it in the last

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reader to determine it is a symbol or not. By relating to the context, the reader can see the importance of a word or phrase in a poem and interpret the meaning.

In interpreting a symbol it is also important to see the pattern that the poet

creates in a poem. As Kennedy and Gioia say “when writing about the meaning

(or meanings) of a symbol, follow the image through the poem and give it time to

establish its own pattern of associations”. Therefore, to read a symbol, the reader

should focus on the context of the poem and also the pattern of association that poet creates in the poem.

2. Allusion

Taken fromAn Introduction to Poetry, “allusion is a brief (and sometimes indirect) reference in a text to a person, place, or thing which is fictitious or actual” (Kennedy and Gioia, 2002: 665). They also say that “allusions imply a common set of knowledge between reader and writer and operate as literary shorthand”. Based on Abcarian and Klotz’s explanation (1998: 12), “allusion to

other literary works, persons, places, or events enables poet to call up associations and contexts that complicate and enrich their poem”.Example of an allusion can

be seen in Edgar Allan Poe’s “To Helen”, inthe line “the glory that was Greece / And the grandeur that was Rome”. It is important to understand the reason why

the poet uses those places. The poet expects that the readers will understand the allusions to the cultural achievements of those ancient nations and perhaps even

get the different between ‘glory’ and ‘grandeur’. This allusions can be interpreted

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3. Capitalism

Capitalism is defined as “a social system noted for the ownership of the

means of production being concentrated in the hands of private capitalists, based on the private profit motive, a well developed industrial, commercial and financial set-up, the freedom of enterprise, the operation of the market mechanism, competition, individualism and a democratic goverment based on multy-party

politics” (Wilczynski 1981: 59). Alfred G. Mayer tries to define capitalism in a simple way. He states that “capitalism isproduction for the purpose of selling the

product on the market at a profit” (Mayer, 1954:60).

Based onInternational Encyclopedia of Sociology, the Marxists have their own perspective about capitalism. Magill (1995: 131) says “for Marxist social

scientists, capitalism contains a fundamental split between those who own the means of production and buy labor power (capitalists) and those who do not own the means of production and must therefore sell their labor power (the working

class)”.

Capitalism carries many contradiction of both the capitalists and the working class. According to Magill,

Marxists identify “contradiction” within capitalism that revolve around the tension between capitalism’s enormous productive potential an the limited and the alienated condition that it imposes on human beings in terms of poverty, exploited labor, unemployment and underrutilization of human talent, and the hollowness of consumer culture (Magill, 1995:132).

This proves the idea that capitalism leads the classes, the ones who own the means of production and the ones sell their labor power, into the class war.

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4. Social Stratification

Wilczynski (1981:548) defines social stratification as “a hierarchical

arrangement of social groups or social classes differing in social status with respect to wealth, power, income, education, occupation, cultural interest and

achievement, and various privileges, responsibilities and disabilities”. Birth, race,

religion, and nationality are also included as the factors of social stratification. Wilczynski adds,

The most rigid social stratification exists under the caste system, where it is sanctioned not only by law but also by religion and custom. Social stratification exists, or existed, in striking forms also under slavery, feudalism, and capitalism, in the case of open societies, social mobility to some extent obliterates social distinctions (Wilczynski, 1981: 548).

According to Wilczynski, Marxists have their own perspective toward social stratification which occurs in society. He states that,

Marxists condemn social stratification as socially unjust and attribute it primarily to the existence of the private ownership of the means of production, which inevitably leads to uneven distribution. They point out that ownership confers power and income, which the owners utilize through the state to protect their privileged position (Wilczynski, 1981: 548).

This statement shows that economic system‒ in capitalist society‒ have important

contribution so that social stratification lives among the people. Economic status of a person determines the social stratification. Chris Livesey also states that social stratification is triggered by economical stuff,

For Marx, only the first epoch (the "primitive communism" of various forms of hunter-gatherer society) was free from some form of social stratification on the basis of class. This was because, for Marx, class forms of social stratification only come into existence once people start producing more goods than they require to fulfill their everyday needs -and hunter- gatherer societies are basically subsistence societies; that is,

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people can only manage to hunt / gather enough food for their everyday needs (Livesey, 2001: 4).

This quotation explains social stratification occurs in every epoch in human history. However, this stratification does not occur in the first epoch, the hunter-gather group of people, in which there is no some kind of economic activity that requires the production to fulfil the needs of the people.

5. Social Classes

Social class is “an important sociological and ideological concept,

denoting hierarchically stratified groups in society with respect to property

ownership, income, type of employment and cultural attainments and interest” (Wilczynski, 1981:522). Based on Historical Materialism point of view, “social

classes are seen as an historical outcome of the relation of people to the means of production (land and capital) and of the division of labour where one class may

exploit another” (1981:523). In short, social class means the groups of people that are distinguished by looking at the income and any other thing related to economic stuff.

Chris Livesey (2001: 3) mentions that Marx has distinguished society into four epochs, Primitive communism, Ancient society, Feudal society, and Capitalist society. Wilczynski (1981:523) adds that in traditional society, social classes consist of upper, middle and lower class, with sub-divisions within each. But then in Capitalist society, Marx separates between basic and antagonistic

social classes. They are the bourgeoisie or “capitalist”, who own and control the

means of production (which involves ownership of such things as land, factories, financial institutions and the like) and the proletariat (urban workers and poor

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peasant) or “working class”, who own nothing but their ability to sell their labour

power (that is, their ability to work) in return for wages.

To generalize the classification of people among all societies, Chris

Livesey (2001: 4) claims that “all human societies…. have been "class based" in some way, shape or form”. He also says, “By this, at the most basic level of

interpretation, Marx meant that in every known human society there has been a fundamental division between two broad social groups,

a. One group has always owned and controlled the fundamental material resources that are necessary for the maintenance of social existence (such things as food production, the creation of shelter, clothing and so forth).

b. One group has not owned or controlled the production of such

things.”

6. Class struggle

Nikolai Bukharin (1969: 297) inHistorical Materialismstates that various gradations of interest effecting the various form of struggle. Therefore, referring

to the Josef Wilczynski’s definition of class struggle (see in Definition of Terms)

the interest of two different social-economic classes arise a conflict between them. As Sidney Hook (1955: 26) says, “whenever private ownership of means of

production exists there is an objective opposition of interests between classes with

respect to the division of the fruit of production”.

Barry (2002: 157) claims that the competitions of economic, social, and political advantage are the triggers of the class struggle. In Communist

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Manisfesto, Marx declares, “all history is history of the class struggles”. According to Sidney Hook, Marx’s statement proves that class struggle is not

always caused by economic interest but also political struggles. He explains that, A dominant economic class may not at any given moment be the dominant political class, but unless it becomes such, its economic interests and the functioning of society as a whole are subject to continuous frustration. When the struggle becomes hot, the state appears nakedly as the

“executive committee” of the ruling class. It must be captured by new

class which in time clothes the state once more with a rhetoric that describes it as neutral or above battle or as the instrument of the general interest (Hook, 1955: 26-27).

Nikolai Bukharin (1969: 298) explains, “class struggle therefore means a

struggle in which one class has entered into action against the other class. From this arises the extremely important principle that “every class struggle is a political struggle” (Marx)”. Josef Wilczynski (1981: 80) divides two spheres of class struggle:

a. Economic struggle: a struggle for the improvement of the condition of work and a change in the principle governing the distribution of the fruits of labour.

b. Political struggle: a struggle for seizure and maintenance of political power.

C. Kahlil Gibran’s Works and Social Background

Marxist literary criticism sees the background of the author and the background of the literary work as the important things as the consideration to conduct the analysis. As Peter Barry (2002: 158) says, “all the same, Marxist

literary criticism maintains that a writer’s social classand its prevailing ‘ideology’

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bearing on what is written by a member of that class”. Charles E. Bressler (1994: 214) also says that “a critic must place a work in its historical setting, paying

attention to the author’s life, the time period in which the work was written, and

the cultural milieu of both the text and the author, all of these corcerns being related to sociological issues”. Bressler (1994: 218) adds “One of critic’s tasks,

then, is to reconstruct an author’s ideology or the author’s ideological milieu”.

These quotations clearly states that in analysing any particular works by using Marxism theory, the information about the author of the literary work such as social class, etc. can give certain contributions to the analysis. Marxist criticism methods are related with the social background of the author and the social assumption when a particular literary work is released. The background of the author affects in the message of the work. In this study, the social background of

Kahlil Gibran affects the poems “We and You”. How Gibran, as the author, stands

in the poem proves his position in society. This section explains about the review of social backgrounds of the author, Kahlil Gibran and the situation during his lifetime which wasimpacting to his works, including the poem “We and You”.

Kahlil Gibran was born in Besharri, Lebanon in 1883. He lived in a religious Manorite Catholic family. Taken from a review of biography of Kahlil Gibran which is written by Suhail Ibn and Salim Hanna (1975: 599), “Besharri,

Lebanon, where Gibran was born in 1883, was part of the Ottoman Empire. That

Empire tottered in the late nineteenth century, verging on certain collapse”. The Ottoman Empire conquer the Lebanon from 1516 to 1918. Suheil Bushrui and Joe

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Jenkins also give some information about the social condition when Kahlil Gibran was born, they say

Gibran was born in “a year of transition.” While the Ottomans were still in

control of his homeland, the British had invaded Egypt and the Sudan, and

in 1883 were struggling against the Mahdi….In the sphere of technology

the machine-gun and the first skyscraper were built, while in the realm of ideas Wagner, Marx, and Turgenev passed on and Kafka, Keynes, and Kahlil Gibran were born (Bushrui and Jenkins, 1998: 15).

Living as a poor family, Gibran and his family decided to find a better life. They emigrated from Lebanon to Boston, America in 1895. Suheil Bushrui and Joe Jenkins (1998: 15) state “Gibran’s family, headed by a drunken and despondent father and poised on the brink of poverty, also tottered; but to save it from imminent collapse, his mother, sister and half-brother emigrated to

America.” Similar with Eugene Paul Nasar’s statement (1980: 4) that Gibran’s family “left their homeland partly to escape the poverty and restrictions of Ottoman rule, partly to escape from a drunken husband and father”.

In America, Gibran learned about art and philosophy specifically in literature and painting. The most influencing poet for Gibran’s work was William Blake. Gibran was also called “The William Blake of Twentieth Century”. When

Gibran moved from Boston to New York in 1911, he joined a Syrian community and focused on the development and the condition of people in his country. He was alsovery critical to the government, especially the Ottoman Empire which can be seen in his most of his works. “Gibran’s political activity began to capture his

attention as he joined the Golden Links Society, a group of young Syrian

immigrant men who worked for the improvement of Syrian citizens’ lifestyle

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Three years later, World War I happened in 1914-1918. As the impact of this war, Lebanon suffered the Great Famine, a mass-starving tragedy. Thousands people died in hunger. Through his works, Gibran expressed his empathy toward

his people. According to Nasar (1980: 23), “The early New York years were

overcast for Gibran by the terrible fate of Lebanon during the Great War (fully one-third of the population of the Mountain starved). His chronic melancholia pervades the prose-poems in Arabic of this period”. The description about the

condition in late eighteenth century certainly and the situation of Lebanon in that time had affectedGibran’s works. SuheilBushrui and Joe Jenkins state that,

His early works are tales of courage, stories in which the down trodden for liberty and proclaim a message of justice – a whip in Gibran’s words as he

unleashes his vituperation on those who exploit the poor. There is also a message of conciliation for those who struggle to be free from the shackles of nationalism, sectarianism, and medievalism (Bushrui and Jenskins, 2007: 22).

According to Bushrui and Jenskins (2007: 115), “We and You,” published

on January 6, 1911 in the emigrant newspaper Mir’atal-Gharb (Mirror of the

West)”.Bushrui and Jenskins also say that,

Like his other work of the time, “We and You” is laden with overtones of

social protest – the outspoken intensity of the poem reflecting Gibran’s

own increasing self-confidence within American society, his “reposeful power,” described by Mary as “the big lines of his character” which she sensed were becoming “more pronounced, more dominant, steadier”

(Bushrui and Jenskins, 2007: 115).

Based on these explanations about the background of him, it is clearthat Gibran’s

works are influenced by his social condition during his time. According to the

Bushrui and Jenskins, the poem “We and You” describes about how Gibran

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The poem is a litany of contrasts between “we” – the poets, prophets, and musicians who “fill the hands of the Angels with the seeds of our inner

selves”38 – and “you” (a pronoun representing the social, political, and ecclesiastical supporters of the status quo), the “sons of the pursuit of

‘earthly Gaiety’ ”, who “place your hearts in the hands of Emptiness. From the quotation, the narrator in this poem is the people who claim

themselves as “the poet, prophet, and musicians”. It is can be said that Kahlil Gibran as the poet, who writes the poem “We and You”, has involved in the poem

that is included in “We”. Thus, this poem can be considered as the way Gibran

tells about the discrimination in the society. As Bushrui and Jenskins have said,

most of Kahlil Gibran’s works including “We and You”are the expression of the social protest in which Gibran stands to voice the idea of suffering people in society.

D. Theoretical Framework

This study focuses on the class struggle that is shown through the existence of figurative language and allusions. The theory of figurative language, allusions, capitalism, social stratification, social classes, class struggle, the relatedstudies, and the review of social background of poet and the poem are needed in order to develop this study. Those explanations are significant for the analysis of this study.The contribution of figurative language and allusions theories are used to understand the figure of speech and the allusions in Kahlil Gibran poems, so that the researcher can make a good interpretation for each oftheir meanings.

The figurative language and allusions found in “We and You” are used to

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stratification, social classes, and class struggle are used in order to give the concept of Marxism perspective toward the problems among two different classes in society. Marxist approach is used to conduct the analysis of a literary work, in

this case Kahlil Gibran’s “We and You”, with respect to the Marxist theory explaination, so that the idea of class struggle which is presented in the figurative languagecan be revealed. Review of related background is used to give some

information about the poet’s social background and social condition when this

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25 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter contains the methodology of the study. It includes the object of the study which is used in this research, the approach and the method of the study.

A. Object of the Study

The object of this study is a poem of Kahlil Gibran entitles“We and You”.

This poem is one of selected poems from Kahlil Gibran’s book Secret of the Heart. Secret of the Heart is a compilation of Kahlil Gibran’s literary works. It contains 23 items of Gibran’s collection of prose tales, parables, and poems. Most of them talk about the problems occur in the society. Secret of the Heart was published by Carol Publishing Group in 1947.

“We and You” itself is a long poem which consists of 28 stanzas. It has

been mentioned in the previous part that “We and You” was written in 1911and it first published on January 6, 1911 in the emigrant newspaper Mir’at al-Gharb (Mirror of the West). The reason why the researcher chooses this poem is because this poem stands as a critic to the system in the society and seems to be relevant to criticize the society in this era. Through this poem, Gibran wants to gives a description about the people are lived in the different condition in the dramatic way.

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B. Approach of the Study

The relation between Marxism and literature can be seen in the explanation of base and supersturcture. According to Karl Marx, society is divided into two part, base and superstructure. Base is related to means of production or any economical thing. Superstructure includes all social and legal institution, political and education system, religion, art, and literature. Bressler (1994: 220)

states, “because literature is part of a society’s superstructure, its relationship to

the element of the superstructure and to the base becomes the central focus in

varying Marxist literary theories”.He continues by giving an example,

If a Marxist hold to the reflection theory corcerning the relationship of the base to superstructure, then this theorist posits that the economic base directly determinis literature. For such a critic, literature mirrors the economic base. On the other hand, if a Marxist theories believes that elements of supersturcture have realities of their own and affect each other and also affect the base, a text may be responsible for altering not only other elements within the superstructure and base (Bressler, 1994: 220). Moyra Haslett (2000:8) explains the relationship between Marxist theories

and literature as a part of art. “For Marxist theorists the economic mode of society

is crucial here because it is the economic system which frequently, though not

always, determinis how art will be so constructed”. Haslett also say “the ‘economic’ sphere includes the social relation of people, and the ‘literary’ is

marketed and bought like any other product”.

To support the analysis about class struggle in Kahlil Gibran’s poem, the researcher uses Marxist approach. In a simple way, Marxist approach can be defined as a criticism which focuses on the social, politic, and economic ideas in a literary works. Charles E. Bressler (1994: 221) explains, “as an approach to

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literary analysis, Marxism’s methodology is a dynamic process declaring that a proper critique (properbeing defined as one that agrees with socialistic or Marxist beliefs) of a text cannot be isolated from the cultural situation from which the text evolved”.

This approch is used as the guide to the analysis. It sees the issues in society of the poem from Marxism point of view especially the conflict of two different classes and the struggle among the people in lower class in society. As Bressler (1994:221) also adds that “a Marxist approach seeks to exposethe dominant class, to demonstrate how the bourgeoisie’s ideology controls and

oppresses the working class, and to highlight the elements of society most affected by such oppresssion.”

Accorrding to Bressler the study of literature and the study about society are related to each other. He says,

Necessarily, Marxist argue, the study of literature and the study of society are intricately bound. Such a relationship demands that a Marxist approach to a text deal with more that the conventional literary themes, matters of style, plot, or characterization, and the usual emphasis on figure of speech and other literary devices (Bressler, 1994: 221).

Since this analysis focuses on the contribution of the figurative language to reveal the class struggle, therefore Marxist approach is relevant to this analysis.

C. Method of the Study

This study uses library reaserch method to find the supporting sources and references that help the researcher to make the analysis. There were several steps in order to develop the analysis. First, the researcher collected the figurative language and allusions from the poem. Second, the researcher categorized them

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into some types of figure of speech─whether they are simile, metaphor, personification, or symbol─by using the theories of figurative language that have been mention in the chapter II. Third, after categorizing them, the researcher tried to interpret and analyze the implied meaning of each figurative language and allusions. Fourth, by using the theories of capitalism, social stratification, social classes, class struggle and also Marxism approaches, the researcher tried to relate the meaning of each figurative language and allusions with the idea of class struggle that happens among the society of the poem and prove the findings with the related social background of the poet and social condition when the poem was written. Fifth, the last step, the researcher could come to the conclusion of the analysis.

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29 CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter provides the analysis of the study. It answers two problems formulation that have been mentioned in chapter I. There are two sub-chapters in this analysis. The first one is the finding figurative language and allusions in

Kahlil Gibran’s “We and You”. It contains some types of figure of speech and allusions found in the poem and the meaning of each of them. The second one is the contribution of those kinds of figurative language and allusions in showing the idea of class struggle. It contains the elaboration about how the meaning of the finding figurative language and allusions can reveal the idea of class struggle. A. The Figurative Language and Allusions

1. Similes

a. When we cry, our tears fall into the Heart of Life, as dewdrops fall from the Eyes of Night into the heart of Dawn; and When you laugh, your mocking laughter pours Down like the viper's venom into a wound (Gibran, 1947, stanza 8, line 4-8)

It has been mentioned in the former chapter that simile is a comparison which uses some kinds of words or phrases such as,like, as, similar, than, seems, resembles and so on. In this stanza, there are two comparisons which are considered as simile. The first is comparison between ‘tears’ and ‘dew’. On one hand, in this context, ‘tears’ is related to sadness, suffering, and sorrow then it describes as dew that drops fall the Eyes of Night. On the other hand, the word

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morning. ‘Dew’ is also related to something pure. Due to the comparison that tears are described as dewdrops fall into the heart of Dawn, it means that the sadness or sorrow fromthe word ‘tears’ brings a new hope for ‘We’.

The second is comparison between ‘mocking laugher’ and ‘viper’s venom’. It is obvious that this comparison tells about the mocking laugher which is as hurtfulas viper’s venom.Therefore, this comparison means the happiness of some people− because they embarrass other people by mocking them− can be painful for other people.

b. ... you croak and clamour merrily

Like the frogs of the water. And when we Conquer you and subdue you for an Age, we Remain as silent giants.

(Gibran, 1947, stanza 24, line 4-7)

There are also two similes in this stanza. The first is comparison between

‘You’ and ‘frogsof water’. By using the word ‘like’, this similedescribes the same characteristic between ‘You’ and ‘frogs’. The sound of’You’ croak and clamour is described as loud as the sound of frog in the water. The second is comparison between‘We’ and ‘silent giants’. Different from the first one, this simile uses the

word ‘as’ to show the comparison. The way ‘We’remain is compared as if they

were the ‘silent giants’.

These two similes, actually, have the same form in comparing ‘We’ and

‘You’ as human beings with other non-human, ‘frogs’ and ‘giants’. Here, ‘You’ are similar with ‘frogs’ and ‘We’ are similar with ‘giants’. These similes prove that ‘You’ and ‘We’ are characteristically conflicted. The simile ‘We remain as silent giants’ imply the awareness of ‘We’ in having such a power even they do

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not speak their mind up, while the simile ‘you croak and clamour merrily like

frogs of the water’ shows the expression of ‘We’ in mocking their rival ‘You’ and

seeing them as the group of trifling people. It has to be remembered that this poem uses first-person point of view in which the whole story of the poem is based on

‘We’ perspective. In other words, generally, these similes try to show the contrast attribute between‘You’and‘We’.

c. …you live in the memory of man like Corpses upon the face of the earth (Gibran, 1947, stanza 27, line 1-2)

The comparison between ‘the memories of man’ and ‘corpses upon the face of earth’ is stated in those two lines. ‘The memories of man’ are portrayed like corpses or dead bodies lay on the ground. When it comes to be compared as

corpses, it means that ‘the memories of man’ have the similarity feature with something that attaches to ‘corpses’. ‘Corpse’ is associated with ‘death’ and when a corpse lies upon the face of earth; it would be forgotten as time goes by. Hence, it can be interpreted that this simile describes‘the memories of man’ as dead and forgotten things just like corpses.

In the relation with ‘You’, the stanza states that ‘memory of man’ as the place where ‘You’ live in. ‘Memory of man’can be seen as a history of man. This simile describes about how ‘You’ as the people who have power and domination havealready attached to the history. However, the poet compares the ‘memory of man’− or it is understood as the history− with ‘corpses’. This comparison can be interpreted as the way ‘We’ to express their hatred for what ‘You’ have done in

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2. Metaphors

a. We are the sons of Sorrow, and you are the, Sons of Joy

(Gibran, 1947, stanza 1, line 1-2)

In this metaphor, the literal terms‘We’and ‘You’are defined figuratively as‘sonsof Sorrow’ and ‘sons ofJoy’. ‘Sorrow’ and ‘Joy’ are described as if they were parents who have children. As the sons, ‘We’ and ‘You’ belong to their parents. So, it is obvious to be understood that this metaphor is about comparing the condition among two kinds of people. ‘We’ who belongs to ‘Sorrow’ and ‘You’ belongs to ‘Joy’. Moreover, this metaphor, which is found in the very beginning of the poem, is also repeated several times in some stanzas. The repetitions bring the idea that this metaphor is used to emphasize the difference between two characters of the poem.

b. You are the sons of the pursuit of earthly Gaiety

(Gibran, 1947, stanza 6, line 1-2)

Quite similar with the first metaphor, this one compares‘You’ as ‘the sons of pursuit of earthly Gaiety’. In these two lines, ‘the pursuit of earthly gaiety’ is

described as if it was a parent of ‘You’. Like a child who always follows and belongs to his parent, this metaphor means the earthly gaiety− wealth, life style, luxury, or any kinds that are related to material things˗˗ is something that ‘You’

follow and belong to. In other words, this metaphor shows the life of‘You’itself. c. …and sorrow is a

Rich cloud, showering the multitudes with Knowledge and Truth

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The metaphor is seen as the comparison between ‘sorrow’ and ‘cloud’. It means the literal term ‘sorrow’ shares the same characteristic to figurative term

‘cloud’. Those lines show how ‘sorrow’ stands like a cloud which showers the

earth with the rain while in this context ‘sorrow’ showers the multitudes with

Knowledge and Truth. It is simply understood that this metaphor explains that

‘sorrow’is not only about sadness but through sorrow people also can learn about any goodness such as knowledge and truth that come from it.

3. Personification

a. You are followingAmusement, whose sharp claws Have torn thousands of martyrs in the arenas Of Rome and Antioch . . . But we are following Silence, whose careful fingers have woven the Iliad and the Book of Job and the Lamentations Of Jeremiah.

(Gibran, 1947, stanza 17, line 1-6)

There are two personifications in this stanza, ‘amusement’ and ‘silence’. In these lines, they are attributed with human abilities. ‘Amusement’ is personified as a beast that is described as the killer of many innocent people.

While ‘Silence’is personified as gentle person who has created such great works. From these personifications, it is clear that the poet wants to make a contradiction of‘You’and‘We’by visualizing their situation, amusement and silence, into two different kinds of character.

b. ….Humanity

Walks as a sentry with iron weapons. (Gibran, 1947, stanza 22, line 3-4)

By giving human attribute ‘walks’,‘Humanity’ is personified as a soldier with iron weapons. The readers might see the existence of ‘Humanity’ in the

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society of the poem by looking at the way the poet personifies ‘Humanity’. It

surely has a reason why ‘Humanity’ is described as a sentry in human form.

Guarding is the sentry’s duty, and when ‘Humanity’ is being compare as a sentry who walks with the weapons, it can be said that ‘Humanity’ is always guarding the society alertly, or in other words, ‘Humanity’ is defined in a positive way.

However, it gets different interpretation if it is related to the whole context. Looking back to the full stanza that mentions about ‘Humanity’,

We build palaces for you, and you dig graves For us; and between the beauty of the palace And the obscurity of the grave, Humanity Walks as a sentry with iron weapons. (Gibran, 1947, stanza 22, line 1-4)

From the stanza above, ‘Humanity’ seems like a “barrier” between ‘You’ and

‘We’. This fact leads tothe conclusion that ‘Humanity’ in the society of the poem

is not defined as positive as just guarding the society alertly, but ‘Humanity’ is

limiting the interaction of ‘You’ and ‘We’. Moreover, when ‘Humanity’ is

described as the sentry, it also can be said that ‘Humanity’ belongs to ‘You’as the

“owner of the palace” because a sentry is just obeying the people who have the power.

c. Truthslumbers fitfully.

(Gibran, 1947, stanza 23, line 3)

In this line, ‘Truth’ is attributed with human ability and feeling. When

‘Truth’ is described as if it was a person who slumbers fitfully, literally, it means

that ‘Truth’ is in the condition whether ‘Truth’ is awake or not. Hence, this

personification implies the interpretation that ‘Truth’ does not really exists in the society of the poem.

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d. You place your hearts in the hands OfEmptiness, for the hand's touch to Emptinessis smooth and inviting. (Gibran, 1947, stanza 6, line 2-4)

The poet attributes a human gesture to ‘Emptiness’ in which its hand’s

touch is smooth and inviting. In literal way, this stanza tells how‘You’is attached

with ‘Emptiness’ by putting their ‘heart’ in its hands. Generally speaking, this personification is simply about the empty heart of ‘You’ by visualizing

‘Emptiness’ as if it was a human. The personification of ‘Emptiness’ and the

relation to ‘You’ are obvious to be understood as the description of the quality

‘You’.

e. You reside in the house ofIgnorance, for In his house there is no mirror in which to View your souls

(Gibran, 1947, stanza 7, line 1-3)

In terms of form, this personification is quite different from the other personifications. This one makes ‘Ignorance’ is defined as humanbeing by using the pronoun ‘his’ that refers to ‘Ignorance’, so it makes a conclusion that the poet

personifies ‘Ignorance’ as is it was a person. In terms of meaning, it is similar tothe previous personification that ‘Ignorance’ is also related to ‘You’.

‘Ignorance’ is depicted as the owner of the house where ‘You’live in. Surely, it is regarded as the way of the poet to show the relation between ‘Ignorance’ and ‘You’. In short, this personification tries to visualize ‘Ignorance’ to human form

in order to portray the value of‘You’.

f. You lie down withLust, whose tempest has Swept one thousand processions of the soul of Woman away and into the pit of shame and Horror . . . But we embraceSolitude, in whose

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Shadow the beauties of Hamlet and Dante arose. (Gibran, 1947, stanza 18, line 1-5)

‘Lust’ is attributed with human ability that sweeps ‘one thousand

processions of the soul of woman’. It is depicted as a person who has made thousand women live in suffer which can be seen in the line “...into the pit of

shame and / Horror”. At the same time, ‘Solitude’ is also portrayed as if it was a person. The way ‘We’ treat ‘Solitude’ by embracing it indicates the

personification toward it.

‘Lust’ and ‘Solitude’ are two contradictory things in which each of them

explain about ‘You’and ‘We’. In the stanza, it is said that ‘You’lie down under

‘Lust’ and ‘We’ embrace ‘Solitude’. The poet personifies ‘Lust’ as a person who has a power and ‘Solitude’ as a weak person. These personifications imply the meaning that ‘You’liveunder the control of ‘Lust’ and ‘We’live as the group of people who have nothing but silent and in the silent they find themselves feel peaceful.

g. You curry for the favor ofGreed, and the sharp Swords of Greed have shed one thousand rivers Of blood

(Gibran, 1947, stanza 19, line 1-3)

‘You’ is described as the worshiper of ‘Greed’. The lines “…have shed

one thousand rivers / Of blood prove that ‘Greed’ is personified as a killer person

who has killed many people with its swords. By giving a form of human attribute, the poet gives agreat illustration about how cruel ‘Greed’ can be if it lives around

the people. Like the others personification in the previous part, this one also gives an explanation about the characteristic and the quality of ‘You’. Clearly, this

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personification shows the greedy of ‘You’ can torture other people in the society of the poem.

4. Symbols

a. Enlightening Darkness

But you cannot see us, for we are tarrying In the enlightening darkness.

(Gibran, 1947, stanza 4, line 3-4)

First thing first, it is important to know what kind of darkness which mean in this symbol. Quoting from Dictionary of Symbolism in umich.edu, about the meaning of darkness,

It can encompass a primitive class and power of that chaos. It’s not essentially evil, yet it’s largely associated with death and destruction,

captivity and spiritual darkness. The gloom which preceded the Fiat Lux traditionally represents the states that give rise to chaos. Darkness can also be linked to the time spent in the womb and seed germination, both of which take place in the dark (Protas, 2001).

From the quotation above, darkness is not always about evil things. It is related to the meaning of this symbol which manifests something different with many usual interpretations. In the symbol ‘enlightening darkness’, the word ‘enlightening’

gives the clue that ‘darkness’ has a positive meaning. The line“darkness can also

be linked to the time spent in the womb and seed germination, both of which take

place in the dark” means ‘darkness’ has a certain relation to the process of life.

Then, it leads to the interpretation that ‘enlightening darkness’ symbolizes the spirit of being alive or to get rid of the hard situation.

b. Eyes of Night, the heart of Dawn When we cry, our tears fall into the Heart of Life, as dew drops fall from the Eyes of Night into the heart of Dawn

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(Gibran, 1947, stanza 8, line 4-6)

This stanza tells about the way ‘We’ lamenting their situation metaphorically.It shows the comparison between ‘tears’ which fall into the ‘Heart of Life and’ ‘dew’ which fall from ‘eyes of Night’ into ‘the heart of Dawn’. There are two symbols state in this metaphor, ‘eyes of Night’ and ‘the heart of Dawn’. These two symbols are similar in which both of them illustrate the part of day, night and dawn, with having the part of body, eyes and heart. To understand them, it is necessary to elaborate each of these symbols.

The first is ‘eyesof Night’.Literally, night is part of day when the sun has gone down and the skies have become dark. There are such gloomy and melancholic situations that involve through night. From that reason, ‘Night’ can

be construed as the symbol of desperation. Moreover, the word ‘eyes’has its own specific meaning. As the part of body that produces tears, eyes surely can be related to idea of sadness. Tears which come from eyes stand as the expression of

sadness and eyes stand as the “source” of sadness itself. So, it can be concluded that‘eyes of Night’is the symbol of sadness and desperation.

The second is ‘the heart of Dawn’. ‘Dawn’ is the opposite of ‘Night’, definitely. It is the time when the light of the sun first appears. It is the beginning of a brand new day. The light of the sunrise in dawn arises some pleasant feeling for those who see it. Based on the literal meaning of dawn, it can be said that

‘Dawn’ isa symbol of happiness, enlightenment andhope. Then, the word ‘heart’

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organs. When heart stops beating, life is also gone. In short, ‘the heart of Dawn’ is

the symbol the life of happiness, enlightenment and hope.

These two symbols are connected with the condition of‘We’. The line “…

as dew drops fall from the / Eyes of Night into the heart of Dawn” clearly show

how the poet wants to describe the way‘We’change in terms of feeling, condition

and situation by using the symbol ‘eyes of Night’ and ‘heart of Dawn’. Both

‘Night’ and ‘Dawn’ are written in capital and itmust come for a reason. The poet wants to emphasize the contradictory between them that carry the meaning about the changing life of ‘We’ from having no hope and desperate become being enlightened and having such a good spirit to live their life by capitalizing‘Night’ and ‘Dawn’. These symbols are used to show the value of the sorrow ‘We’ face and the significant to their life.

c. Gold

We cry, and sympathize with the miserable Wanderer and distressed widow; but you rejoice And smile at the sight of resplendent gold. (Gibran, 1947, stanza 9, line 1-3)

The symbol appears in the description that gives some information about

‘You’in the society of the poem. When ‘We’ struggle with all the sorrow they face, ‘You’ live happily around their richness. It is obvious that ‘gold’ is the symbol of wealth and luxury.The poet portrays ‘gold’ as a thing that ‘You’ desire for. Similar with the other figurative language, through this symbol the poet wants to compare two different kinds of condition among ‘You’ and ‘We’. Thus, by referring to this symbol the readers can understand the social class of each of them in the society of the poem.

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d. Wine Goblets

We cry, for we listen to the moaning of the Poor and the grieving of the oppressed weak; But you laugh, for you hear naught but the Happy sound of thewine goblets

(Gibran, 1947, stanza 10, line 1-4)

This stanza tells how inconsiderate ‘You’ are toward the condition of

‘We’. The first and second line tell about the sadness of the people who live as

‘the oppressed weak’ in poverty, while in the last two lines, the third and the

fourth line tell about the life of ‘You’ with their happiness without having any care to the people who live in their miserable life. It compares two different kind

of condition, poor versus rich, which is illustrated by the word ‘cry’ and ‘laugh’. However, in the last line there is a symbol ‘wine goblets’ mentioned by the poet and it is important to be explained because it has a particular meaning in describing the condition of‘You’.

In some culture, wine goblet is associated with party and celebration. In this stanza, the poet wants to bring another meaning and ideas which bound up

with ‘wine goblets’. Theline, “Happy sound of the wine goblets” (Gibran, 1947,

stanza 10, line 4) implies the idea that ‘wine goblets’ stands as the “source” of happiness of‘You’. This can be related to the literal association of wine goblet in which it is used to celebrate something.‘Wine goblets’ symbolizes the joyfulness of having wealth and glory and it also symbolically describes the social status and condition of ‘You’. Once again, the poet seems to create a comparison between

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And made it to quiver in its solidity and Speak through its muteness.

We have composed and played the soothing Song of Nahawand upon the strings, and caused The Beloved's spirit to come hovering in the Firmament near to us; we have praised the Supreme Being with words and deeds; the words Became as the words of God, and the deeds Became overwhelming love of the angels.

You are following Amusement, whose sharp claws Have torn thousands of martyrs in the arenas Of Rome and Antioch . . . But we are following Silence, whose careful fingers have woven the Iliad and the Book of Job and the Lamentations Of Jeremiah.

You lie down with Lust, whose tempest has Swept one thousand processions of the soul of Woman away and into the pit of shame and Horror . . . But we embrace Solitude, in whose

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Shadow the beauties of Hamlet and Dante arose.

You curry for the favor of Greed, and the sharp Swords of Greed have shed one thousand rivers Of blood . . . But we seek company with Truth, And the hands of Truth have brought down Knowledge from the Great Heart of the Circle Of Light.

We are the sons of Sorrow, and you are the Sons of Joy; and between our sorrow and your Joy there is a rough and narrow path which Your spirited horses cannot travel, and upon Which your magnificent carriages cannot pass.

We pity your smallness as you hate our Greatness; and between our pity and your Hatred, Time halts bewildered. We come to You as friends, but you attack us as enemies; And between our friendship and your enmity, There is a deep ravine flowing with tears And blood.

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We build palaces for you, and you dig graves For us; and between the beauty of the palace And the obscurity of the grave, Humanity Walks as a sentry with iron weapons.

We spread your path with roses, and you cover Our beds with thorns; and between the roses And the thorns, Truth slumbers fitfully.

Since the beginning of the world you have fought against our gentle power with your Coarse weakness; and when you triumph over Us for an hour, you croak and clamour merrily Like the frogs of the water. And when we Conquer you and subdue you for an Age, we Remain as silent giants.

You crucified Jesus and stood below Him, Blaspheming and mocking at Him; but at last He came down and overcame the generations, And walked among you as a hero, filling the

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Universe with His glory and His beauty.

You poisoned Socrates and stoned Paul and Destroyed Ali Talib and assassinated Madhat Pasha, and yet those immortals are With us forever before the face of Eternity.

But you live in the memory of man like Corpses upon the face of the earth; and you Cannot fine a friend who will bury you in The obscurity of non-existence and oblivion, Which you sought on earth.

We are the sons of Sorrow, and sorrow is a Rich cloud, showering the multitudes with Knowledge and Truth. You are the sons of Joy, and as high as your joy may reach, By the Law of God it must be destroyed Before the winds of heaven and dispersed Into nothingness, for it is naught but a Thin and wavering pillar of smoke.

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xii ABSTRACT

TASMIN, STEFIANA NATALIA. Revealing the Idea of Class Struggle through Figurative Language and Allusions in Kahlil Gibran’s “We and You”. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2017.

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xiii ABSTRAK

TASMIN, STEFIANA NATALIA. Revealing the Idea of Class Struggle through Figurative Language and Allusions in Kahlil Gibran’s “We and You”. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2017.

Adapun metode yang digunakan dalam mengembangkan penelitian ini adalah studi pustaka. Puisi “We and You” karya Kahlil Gibran dalam buku Secret

of The Heart digunakan sebagai sumber primer. Sumber sekunder dikumpulkan

dari buku-buku, tugas akhir, jurnal, ensiklopedia, dan beberapa website. Sumber dan referensi tersebut mencakup teori-teori dan penjelasan tentang latar belakang kehidupan penulis dan puisi itu sendiri. Terdapat beberapa yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Pertama, teori majas yang meliputi teori simile, metapor, simbol dan personifikasi. Kedua, teori alusi, dan terakhir teori kapitalisme, stratifikasi sosial, kelas-kelas sosial, dan perjuangan kelas. Pendekatan Marxisme juga memiliki peran penting dalam mengungkap ide perjuangan kelas dalam puisi ini.

Revealing the idea of class struggle through figurative language and allusions in Kahlil Gibran`s ``We and You``.

“WE AND YOU”

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of Requirements

for the Degree of

Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By:

STEFIANA NATALIA TASMIN

Student Number: 124214045

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

REVEALING THE IDEA OF CLASS STRUGGLE THROUGH

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND ALLUSIONS IN KAHLIL

GIBRAN’S “WE AND YOU”

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of Requirements

for the Degree of

Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By:

STEFIANA NATALIA TASMIN

Student Number: 124214045

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

“

Rest in reason, move in

passion

…”

This thesis is dedicated to those

who believe everything shall pass

Parts

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