The Aborigines resistance towards the discrimination by the white people in Alice Nannup with Lauren Marsh and Stephen Kinnane`s when the pelican laughed.

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xi ABSTRACT

RANDA, DIEN CHRISTA. The Aborigines’ Resistance towards the Discrimination by the White People in Alice Nannup with Lauren Marsh and Stephen Kinnane’s When the Pelican Laughed. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.

This undergraduate thesis focused on analyzing the resistance of the Aborigines that is represented through the character of Alice Nannup towards the discrimination which is based on the autobiography When the Pelican Laughed written by Alice Nannup with Lauren Marsh and Stephen Kinnane. The autobiography describes the life of Alice Nannup about how she was discriminated by the white people and how Alice Nannup reacted towards the discrimination. The Aborigines‘ Resistance towards the Discrimination by the White People in Alice Nannup with Lauren Marsh and Stephen Kinnane‘s When the Pelican Laughed is chosen by the writer as the topic of the study because the

writer is interested in examining the reactions of Alice as the representation of the Aborigines in resisting the discrimination.

There are three objectives which are presented in this thesis. The first objective is to describe the characterization of Alice Nannup, the second objective is to find out about the racial discrimination practices that were experienced by the Aborigines which are represented through Alice Nannup‘s experiences, and the last objective is to find out the resistance of Alice Nannup as part of the Aborigines‘ society towards the discrimination.

In this study, the writer uses the postcolonialism approach because it helps in revealing the issues of racism. The writer also uses several theories and reviews of related backgrounds such as the theory of character and characterization, review on racial discrimination towards the Aborigines, review on the resistance of the Aborigines, and the review on the background of the Aborigine society in analyzing all the problem formulation.

The first result of the analysis, Alice Nannup is described as a persistent, stubborn, brave, independent, critical, hard-working, self-determined, responsible, and straightforward person. The second result shows that Alice and the other Aborigines experienced several practices of racial discrimination like how they were by force separated from their family and were taken into the concentration camp, restricted to enter certain areas, made as cheap labors, called with improper names, punished cruelly, not given chance to be educated, and also given poor public facilities. The last result discussed the resistance of Alice who represents the Aborigines. Alice‘s efforts in resisting the racial discrimination were shown in how she did not compromise with the law or the tradition set up by the society that discriminated certain race.

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xii ABSTRAK

RANDA, DIEN CHRISTA. The Aborigines’ Resistance towards the Discrimination by the White People in Alice Nannup with Lauren Marsh and Stephen Kinnane’s When the Pelican Laughed. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2015.

Skripsi ini difokuskan untuk menganalisis perlawanan orang Aborigin yang diwakili melalui karakter Alice Nannup terhadap diskriminasi berdasarkan autobiografi yang ditulis oleh Alice Nannup bersama Lauren Marsh dan Stephen Kinnane. Autobiografi ini mendeskripsikan kehidupan Alice Nannup tentang bagaimana dia didiskriminasi oleh orang-orang kulit putih dan bagaimana reaksi Alice terhadap diskriminasi tersebut. The Aborigines’ Resistance towards the

Discrimination by the White People in Alice Nannup with Lauren Marsh and

Stephen Kinnane’s When the Pelican Laughed dipilih oleh penulis menjadi topik

pembahasan karena penulis tertarik untuk meneliti reaksi-reaksi yang ditunjukkan oleh Alice sebagai representasi dari suku Aborigin yang melakukan perlawanan terhadap diskriminasi.

Ada tiga rumusan masalah yang dibahas dalam penelitian ini. Rumusan masalah yang pertama adalah untuk mendeskripsikan karakter Alice Nannup. Rumusan masalah yang kedua adalah untuk menemukan berbagai macam praktek diskriminasi yang dialami oleh suku Aborigin yang dapat dilihat melalui pengalaman-pengalaman Alice Nannup, dan rumusan masalah yang terakhir adalah untuk menemukan perlawanan yang ditunjukkan oleh Alice Nannup sebagai bagian dari masyarakat Aborigin terhadap praktek diskriminasi.

Dalam penelitian ini penulis menggunakan pendekatan pascakolonialisme karena pendekatan ini membantu dalam mengungkapkan isu-isu rasisme. Penulis juga menggunakan beberapa teori dan ulasan latarbelakang seperti teori tokoh dan penokohan, ulasan diskriminasi ras terhadap suku Aborigin, ulasan perlawanan suku Aborigin, serta ulasan latar belakang suku Aborigin dalam menganalisa seluruh rumusan masalah.

Hasil pertama dari analisis, Alice, dideskripsikan sebagai seseorang yang gigih, keras kepala, berani, mandiri, kritis, pekerja keras, bertekad kuat, bertanggungjawab, dan terang-terangan. Hasil kedua menunjukkan bahwa Alice dan orang-orang Aborigin lainnya mengalami berbagai praktek diskriminasi ras seperti dipisahkan dari keluarga dengan paksa dan dibawa masuk ke tempat tawanan, dilarang masuk ke area-area tertentu, dijadikan buruh murah, dipanggil dengan nama yang tidak pantas, dihukum secara brutal, tidak diberi kesempatan untuk menerima pendidikan, dan juga diberikan fasilitas publik yang buruk. Analisis terakhir membahas perlawanan Alice yang mewakili suku Aborigin. Usaha-usaha Alice dalam melawan diskriminasi ras nampak pada saat dia tidak berkompromi dengan hukum ataupun tradisi yang dibangun oleh masyarakat dengan tujuan untuk mendiskriminasi ras tertentu.

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THE ABORIGINES’

RESISTANCE TOWARDS THE

DISCRIMINATION BY THE WHITE PEOPLE IN ALICE

NANNUP WITH LAUREN MARSH AND STEPHEN

KINNANE

’S

WHEN THE PELICAN LAUGHED

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By:

DIEN CHRISTA RANDA

Student Number: 104214069

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2015

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THE ABORIGINES’

RESISTANCE TOWARDS THE

DISCRIMINATION BY THE WHITE PEOPLE IN ALICE

NANNUP WITH LAUREN MARSH AND STEPHEN

KINNANE

’S

WHEN THE PELICAN LAUGHED

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By:

DIEN CHRISTA RANDA

Student Number: 104214069

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2015

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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 contains no material previously written by any other person except where due reference is made in the text of the undergraduate thesis

Yogyakarta, August 31, 2015

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma

Nama : Dien Christa Randa

Nomor Mahasiswa : 104214069

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul

THE ABORIGINES’

RESISTANCE TOWARDS THE

DISCRIMINATION BY THE WHITE PEOPLE IN ALICE

NANNUP WITH LAUREN MARSH AND STEPHEN

KINNANE

’S

WHEN THE PELICAN LAUGHED

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 mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin kepada saya maupun memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal 31 Agustus 2015

Yang menyatakan,

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Jesus Christ, who was and will always be there during my hardest time. I believe that this undergraduate thesis would have not been completed without His help. All the glory to Him and only, for He who has given me the ability to write my undergraduate thesis and finish it well.

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis advisor Dewi Widyastuti, S. Pd., M. Hum., who has been patient in guiding me throughout the process of writing my undergraduate thesis. I would like to thank her for the time that she spent in giving corrections as well as suggestions so that this undergraduate thesis of mine would be better. I would also like to thank my Co-advisor Dra. A. B. Sri Mulyani, M. A., Ph. D. for the suggestions in order to help in improving the thesis to be better.

I would like to give thanks to my parents, who always support me and encourage me with their prayers. I am really grateful to have great parents like them. My special thanks also to my sister, who always support me in every way she could.

Finally, I would like to thank all of my friends, who were my classmates, for having been such good friends all these years. Also to all my friends who have been there for me and brighten my days, I would like to thank them all sincerely.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE……….…………

APPROVAL PAGE……….………..

ACCEPTANCE PAGE……….

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY……….………

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH

MOTTO PAGE……….…….

DEDICATION PAGE………...

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……….…….

TABLE OF CONTENTS……….…….

ABSTRACT……….….. ABSTRAK……….…….. ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION………. 1

A. Background of the Study………..………... B. Problem Formulation ………..……….... C. Objectives of the Study………..……….. D. Definition of Terms……….………

1 5 6 6

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE……….

A. Review of Related Studies……….………. B. Review of Related Theories……….……...

1. Theory of Character and Characterization………..……… 2. Theory on the Relation between Literature and Society…………..

C. Review of Related Backgrounds……….

1. Review on the Background of the Aborigines‘ Society……….. 2. Review on the Racial Discrimination towards the Aborigines……… 3. Review on the Resistance of the Aborigines………..….

D. Theoretical Framework……….…...

9 9 11 11 13 14 14 18 20

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY………

A. Object of the Study………..…

B. Approach of the Study………...

C. Method of the Study………....

25 25 26 28

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ………...

A. The Characterization of Alice Nannup………... … B. The Racial Discrimination Experienced by Alice Nannup………. C. Alice‘s Resistance towards the Discrimination by the White People….

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION………

BIBLIOGRAPHY………... APPENDIX………. 31 31 45 62 85 88 90

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xi ABSTRACT

writer is interested in examining the reactions of Alice as the representation of the Aborigines in resisting the discrimination.

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xii ABSTRAK

Discrimination by the White People in Alice Nannup with Lauren Marsh and

Stephen Kinnane’s When the Pelican Laughed dipilih oleh penulis menjadi topik

pembahasan karena penulis tertarik untuk meneliti reaksi-reaksi yang ditunjukkan oleh Alice sebagai representasi dari suku Aborigin yang melakukan perlawanan terhadap diskriminasi.

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1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

The discovery of Australia by the Europeans already began in sixteenth century. This discovery of Australia by the Europeans later on became the starting point of the Europeans settlement in Australia (Flood, 2006: 1). As time went on, the land of Australia continued to be occupied by the outsiders came from Europe. However, it was the landing of James Cook in 1770 that the east part of Australia was claimed for the British. James Cook believed that Australia had no owners and that is why without any negotiation with the settlers he claimed the land. Since then, many of the British settlers continue to occupy the land of Australia believing that the land was ‗terra nullius‘ which means that the land belong to nobody (Cashmore, 2004: 1). The British settlers held on to their beliefs that no one owns the land. Therefore, the Aborigines as the first settlers were not considered as the owners of the land by the white people. As the result, the whites felt free to use the land and they began to see the Aborigines as part of the inferior race.

Throughout the nineteenth century, discrimination against the Aborigines by the whites was also an issue in Australia. The white – Australians have the belief that they were superior to the Aboriginal tribe as described in (http://www.skwirk.com/). In this site, it is also stated that the Aboriginal people cannot own a house or a land and were not allowed to participate in voting for any elections.

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John Tomlinson reveals that the Aboriginal people are more likely to die younger and are more frequently sick because they do not have the access to clean running water, to have good nutrition and an appropriate housing that is equipped with proper healthy facilities also because the fruits and vegetables were at high cost that the Aboriginal cannot afford to buy. Other than that, the percentage of Aboriginal people who were imprisoned was higher than the Whites and many of them died in prison. During that time it was okay for the police to kill the Aborigines (https://www.greenleft.org.au).

Still on the same site, it is said that the Aboriginal people were also made into labors and were paid with low wages. Not only that, their wages was put into the accounts of their protectors or to the special Aboriginal Welfare account such as in Queensland. Thus, the Aboriginal people, even though they worked hard and paid, they do not have the right to get hold of their own payment (https://www.greenleft.org.au).

In this site it is also said that in the 19th century some areas in Queensland were alienated. The people were taken by boat from their land and their houses were burnt by the police. These areas were then used as places for mining. Also in this site it is mentioned that the Aboriginal people who were in disputation were considered as rebelling and Aboriginal people‘s superintendents were given the rights to put them into jail. The white Australia also attempted to complete the process of dispossession by taking away the indigenous children from their communities and families (https://www.greenleft.org.au).

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In another site by Jens Korff (http://www.creativespirits.info), it is said that in 1918 the Aboriginal people are prohibited from drinking, possessing, or supplying any alcoholic drinks. They are also were prohibited from having firearms, marrying non - Aboriginal people without permission and also having sex with people across their color line. All these treatments received by the Aboriginal people from the whites because the white people think that they were superior and so they have the right to oppress the Aboriginal people. So for years the Aboriginal people were struggle in resisting the unequal treatments they receive. The resistance as the Aborigine to fight back the discrimination has been chosen by the writer as the topic that will be discussed in this study.

In this study, the writer uses the autobiography entitled When the Pelican

Laughed written by Alice Nannup with Lauren Marsh and Stephen Kinnane to

discuss the topic that is chosen. The character of Alice Nannup in the When the

Pelican Laughed described best how she as an Aborigine showed her resistance

towards the discrimination she experienced. Many events that took place in Alice‘s life reveal how she was discriminated, enslaved, and treated unequally. However, Alice did not remain quiet all the time. At certain point, when she could not stand to see how she was being discriminated, Alice reacted against the discrimination to show her resistance towards the discrimination she faced. Her resistance towards the discrimination as shown in the autobiography has attracted the writer‘s attention to analyze it into a deeper study.

However, the work of literature that the writer uses is an autobiography book in which the main character Alice Nannnup is the writer herself. It is a story

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of a life – experience about Alice herself. She used the first person point of view ―I‖ to refer to herself. In this book, she described every event in detail and not only what happened but also how she feels about the situation happening around her and how she reacts towards it. Her reactions in the autobiography which shows her resistance as an Aboriginal woman towards the discrimination by the whites would be the main focus of this study.

The topic is necessary to be discussed to show Alice‘s resistance towards the discrimination as an Aborigine in order to gain her rights back that were taken away and how it was not easy to resist the discrimination.

Even though this is an autobiography which depicted the real life story and not a fiction story unlike other novels, this autobiography could also be considered as part of a literary work that could also be chosen as an object of the study. The reason why this autobiography can be used as one of literary works is because as Jonathan Culler in Literary Theory says: ―To describe ‗literature‘ would be to analyze a set of assumptions and interpretive operations readers may bring to bear on such texts (Culler, 1997: 24).‖ It means that a text can be treated as part of literary work if the readers are able to analyze a set of assumptions and also apply some operations to interpret the text. In this study, the text of autobiography When the Pelican Laughed written by Alice Nannup could as well be analyzed and be interpreted by the readers. The readers could also apply some operations on the autobiography text in order to understand and interpret it.

Culler also stated in the same book that ―‗literature‘ is an institutional label that gives us reason to expect that the results of our reading efforts will be ‗worth

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it‘ (Culler, 1997: 25).‖ It means that any text that is labeled as work of literature would give the expectation to its readers that it is worth it to be read. The autobiography When the Pelican Laughed also has the criteria of being ―worth it‖ for the readers to spend their efforts on reading this autobiography because by reading this autobioraphy, it would give the readers new insight on the experience of being an Aborigine that is being unequally treated by the white people.

Finally, Terry Eagleton in Literary Theory defines the text to be literature as

A piece of writing may start off life as history or philosophy and then come to be ranked as literature; or it may start off as literature and then come to be valued for its archaeological significance. Some texts are born literary, some achieve literariness, and some have literariness thrust upon them (Eagleton, 1996: 7).

When the Pelican Laughed by Alice Nannup may first started as an ordinary

autobiographical work piece of writing, but then as Terry Eagleton theorizes that a piece of writing may start off life as history or history and then be ranked as literature so is the autobiographical When the Pelican Laughed. This autobiography may not first born as literary work, or was written but was not meant for literary purpose. However, it then, achieves its literariness because it does contain literary values. For these reasons, the autobiography When the

Pelican Laughed can be chosen as the object of this study.

B. Problem Formulation

In this study there are three main problems formulated as follow 1. What are the characteristics of Alice Nannup in When the Pelican Laughed?

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2. What are the racial discrimination practices experienced by Alice in When the

Pelican Laughed?

3. How does Alice resist the discrimination by the white people?

C. Objectives of the Study

The objective of this study is to identify the characteristics of Alice Nannup as the main character of the book. Then after the characteristics of Alice Nannup are revealed, the next objective is to find out the practices of racial discrimination that Alice experienced. Finding out the practices of the racial discrimination will lead to the last objective that is from the racial discrimination experienced by Alice, the writer tries to see the resistance of Alice towards the discrimination by the whites that she faced.

D. Definition of Terms

In this part the writer would give some definitions of terms that the writer thinks it‘s necessary since the terms would be used in this study.

The first definition that would be explained is the term resistance. Resistance in the Oxford American Dictionary and Thesaurus is defined as ―the act or an instance of resisting; refusal to comply,‖ which means that any actions that shows the refusal to cooperate with, could be said as showing resistance (McKean, 2003: 1283).

In this dictionary and thesaurus resistance also has the same meaning as words like opposition, rebelliousness, stubbornness, refusal, and endurance. As to say it in other words, any actions which show a person is trying to oppose, rebel,

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refuse with something, this person could also be said to be in resistance against something (McKean, 2003: 1283).

Eric Selbin also said in Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance that ―resistance can also refer to a form of insurgency denoted by the refusal of people to cooperate actively with, or express support for, the current regime or authority figures (Selbin, 2010: 11).‖ It means that resistance is the act of people refusing to cooperate with their current authorities figures.

The next term is discrimination that is defined as ―the behavioral manifestation of racism (Moore, 2007: 76).‖ In other words, when an act is performed to make differences that certain races are more superior to the other races is discrimination.

Finally the last term is the ―White People‖ which also refers to the people who are categorized into the white race, according to Johann Blumenbach‘s classification that was published in 1795, as it is mentioned in the Encyclopedia of

Race and Ethnic Studies, are the people originated from Caucasus, the mountain

range in Eastern Europe. Blumenbach argued that these people are the most handsome compare to the Mongolians and Ethiopians (Cashmore, 2004: 450). In other words, according to Blumenbach, the Caucasians who are white are better than any other race. They might be considered the most handsome by Blumenbach compare to any other race because of the physical appearance that perhaps in his opinion is better than any other race.

Therefore, people that belong to the Caucasian race are also known with the term ―the whites‖ or ―white people‖. In this study, the term ―white people‖

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refer to the white Australians because the setting of events in the autobiography took place in Australia.

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9 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Studies

In this part, the writer would include some related studies that are connected to the autobiography When the Pelican Laughed by Alice Nannup. The first study is the undergraduate thesis written by Risang Baskara entitled The

Indigenous Struggle of Aborigines in Western Australia in the 19th Century as

Reflected in Alice Nannup’s Life in When the Pelican Laughed. In his undergraduate thesis, Baskara‘s focus was to see how the indigenous struggles in Western Australia in 19th Century are reflected through Alice Nannup, the major of the character.

However, in this analysis, the writer will focus on the indigenous struggle in Western Australia in 19th century, the writer believes those struggles existed in the Aborigine society and influence the author to write the novel

When the Pelican Laughed (Baskara, 2010: 69).

Baskara‘s thesis is mainly to reveal the indigenous struggle which is reflected through the character of Alice Nannup. Baskara, in his thesis, presented some problems that are faced by the Aborigines through Alice‘s experiences as the representation of the indigenous struggle. Since his focus was on the indigenous struggle, Baskara explained all the things that are related to the indigenous struggle that are found in the autobiography through the major character, Alice Nannup. What makes Baskara‘s thesis different from the writer‘s is that the writer‘s focus is more in digging up on how Alice resists the discrimination and does not focus on the general struggles of the indigenous. So

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the writer‘s focus is only narrowed down to the discrimination issues and not the general struggles such as identity, struggle to survive, and other kinds of struggles outside the discrimination struggle issues. Other than that, Baskara‘s paper tries to point out that the autobiography When the Pelican Laughed is part of the postcolonial work by showing the indigenous struggle during the white occupation through the representation of the major character‘s experiences. Baskara described every struggle in detail and points out the struggles of the indigenous people as a community. The writer, on the other hand, does not really pay attention to other issues that can be found in the autobiography other than the discrimination issues experienced by Alice and how she resist the disscrimination. Another study is the undergraduate thesis that is written by Refrita Indraswara entitled Racial Discrimination towards the Aborigines in Australia Seen through the Conflict in Alice Nannup’s When the Pelican Laughed. In her undergraduate thesis, Indraswara‘s main focus was on the racial discrimination that can be seen through the conflicts found in the autobiography. Indraswara described the conflicts in the autobiography and through the conflicts she revealed the racial discrimination based on each conflict. She also categorized the racial discrimination into two parts in her analysis as first the legal discrimination and the second institutional discrimination.

The racial discrimination is revealed by looking at the external conflict which the white people insist that cleaning is the Aborigine‘s job. Even though that is just a simple thing, like wiping the water on the floor. The white people think that it is an Aborigines job to do cleaning job, or any job as a servant (Indraswara, 2013: 39).

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As stated above in one part of her analysis, it can be seen that Indraswara‘s analysis focused on the racial discrimination revealed through the conflicts in the autobiography.

While Baskara‘s undergraduate thesis focuses on the indigenous struggle revealed through the major character, the writer would focus on Alice reactions in resisting the discrimination by the whites. The difference lies on how the writer is more focused in describing every action of Alice whenever she faced the discrimination rather than focus on other indigenous struggles that are found in the autobiography as it had been explained by Baskara. As for Indraswara‘s undergraduate thesis focuses on the racial discrimination as seen through the conflicts in the autobiography, the writer‘s study is focused on how Alice, through some discrimination conflicts, resist the discrimination acts she received from the white people in order to withstand the situation and to survive in the midst of the unequal treatments that she experienced.

B. Review of Related Theories

In this part the writer will refer to some theories that will be used in this study. The theories that would be used are as follows:

1. Theory of Character and Characterization

The theory of character and characterization is used as to find out the character of the major character Alice Nannup. As Mary Rohrberger and Samuel Woods stated in Reading and Writing about Literature that, ―Characters have particular personalities and physical attributes that distinguish

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them from other characters. The process by which an author creates a character is called characterization (Rohrberger and Woods, 1971: 20).‖ Based on the definition, each character of a story is understood to have particular personality or trait that is different from another character. Then, characterization is understood as the process of creating the character by the author.

Another theory of character and characterization is stated by M. H. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms

Characters are the persons represented in a 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 distinctive ways of saying it - the dialogue — and from what they do — the action (Abrams, 2012: 46).

From the definition above, a character in a story is said to be interpretable possessing certain moral, intellectual, and emotional feelings through the character‘s speech and action. Therefore, a character can be analyzed through the dialogues with other characters or from what their actions are.

Holman and Harmon suggest that there are three ways in which a character is presented by the author. First is through ―the explicit presentation by the author of the character through direct exposition.‖ Secondly, it can be presented through ―the presentation of the character in action,‖ and thirdly is through ―the representation from within the character (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 81).‖

Therefore, a character in a work of literature can be analyzed through the author‘s explanation, character‘s action in the story that is what the character, and through the representation from within the character which could be what the character has in mind.

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M. J. Murphy in Understanding Unseens presents nine ways to help the readers understand the character presented in a story. However, only several would be used by the writer in analyzing the character for this study such as: (a)

Characters as seen by another. A character is described by the author through

what the others see and think about the character as. (b) Speech. A character of a person is revealed through what he or she says. (c) Reactions. The character‘s reactions towards situations and events could also reveal the character‘s traits. (d)

Thoughts. Through a person‘s thoughts, the person‘s character could also be

revealed. (e) Mannerisms. The person‘s manners, habits, temperaments, reveal the person‘s character (Murphy, 1972: 161-173).

2. Theory on the Relation between Literature and Society

Literature in one way or another is closely related to the society in which the work is produced. The fact that the author is part of the society has influenced the author to produce the literary works which represent the society in which the author lives and share the experience of the author‘s. Rene Wellek and Austin Warren define the literature and society as

Literature ‗represents‘ ‗life‘ is, in large measure, a social reality, even though the natural world and the inner or subjective world of the individual have also been objects of literary ‗imitation‘ (Wellek and Warren, 1956: 94).

It means that through literature the reality of the social life is depicted. The author shares his or her real life experience and the condition of the society in his or her time and then expresses it through his or her work of literature. Therefore, literary works that are produced are closely related to the social life of the time in which the author lives as Wellek and Warren also stated that ―the writer has been

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a citizen, has pronounced on questions of social and political importance, has taken part in issues of his time (Wellek and Warren, 1956: 97).‖

C. Review of Related Backgrounds

1. Review on the Background of the Aborigines’ Society

When talking about the history of the Aborigines society in accordance to the European settlement it would be indeed be a long story. To trace down the background of the Aborigines society then it would also include how the word Aborigine is used. The word Aborigine itself has its meaning which is according

Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies by Ellis Cashmore the word

‗Aboriginal‘ is derived from the Latin phrase ab origine which means from the

beginning (Cashmore, 2004: 1). In the same book, Claude Levi-Strauss noted that the indigenous Australians evolved in Australia since 50,000 BCE (Cashmore, 2004: 1) which means that the Aborigines settlers in Australia had been occupying the land long before there was any white contact.

Then in the year 1770 was when Lieutenant James Cook claimed the eastern half of the Australian for the British. Cook did not consider the indigenous people as being the land owners and thus, there were no any treaty or negotiation made with the indigenous people when he claimed the land. Cook‘s incorrect declaration that the land was terra nullius or waste was the beginning of the colonialism in Australia (Cashmore, 2004: 1).

Since the European had the concept that the white settlers are always superior to any other race, this overtaking land from the Aborigines made the whites also feel right to start made the Aborigines to be put into labours and work

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for them. This is supported as it is also noted in the Encyclopedia of Race and

Ethnic Studies that even though the land of Australia had been occupied by the

Aborigines before any of the white settler made any contact, the pastoral and mining frontier that are found from southeast and coastal areas across Australia brought the Aborigines into pressures (Cashmore, 2004: 1).

The history continues as there were some policies began to be made as in the 1850s, the Australian colonies put the settlers to be in charge of Aboriginal policy. This policy, under a name of ―protection‖ led to a restrictive and racist controls where the Aborigines were put at disadvantage position. Those who were born as mixed descent, were forced out from reserves which was the earlier form of concentration camp, and the children were taken from their families and were admitted to the orphanages, training homes, apprenticeships, and white foster care. Whereas the people of full descent or in other words are purely of Aborigines descendants were made into confinements under strict controls. Thus, these people could be put into labors by the white employers. This Aboriginal Acts had taken away the civil rights of the Aborigines that includes the freedom to do whatever they want, the rights to own properties, freedom to marry anyone belong to a different race, the power over their own family, and the right to put their cultural activities into practice (Cashmore, 2004: 1-2).

Some of the policies which were made throughout the long history between the Aborigines and the whites would be summarized from the site written by Jenns Korff which the writer thinks are important to be paid attention to in this study.

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In 1901, there was a policy made which stated that the Commonwealth could legislate for any race but Aborigines. Chief Protector is made the legal guardian for every Aboriginal and half-descent child under 16 years old in the Western Australia Aborigines Act policy in 1905. As in Northern territory, the Aborigines Protection Board Act is passed in 1910 giving the authority to the Board to have a ‗legal‘ control over Aboriginal people on stations and reserves (http://www.creativespirits.info).

The policies were continued to be developed that in 1911 there is the South Australian Aborigines Act in which every Aboriginal child and any child of ‗half-caste‘ who is under 21 years old would be under the control of a Chief Protector as the legal guardian. Later in 1939 the Aborigines Protection Board replaced the Chief Protector and only then in 1962 the guardianship power is made invalid. Whereas in the Northern territory, the Northern Territory Aboriginals Ordinance is passed which put every child below 18 years old belong to the Aboriginal race and ‗half-caste‘ under the control of Chief Protector as the legal guardian.

Anyone under the control of this kind of authority could be forced to go for missions and children were also taken from family by force (http://www.creativespirits.info).

During the beginning of World War I, in 1914 there were about 400 to 500 Aboriginal children were removed from their families. As in 1915, the Aborigines Protection Board in New South Wales was permitted to remove any Aboriginal children even without court hearing. However, in 1940 this power is invalid after

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the rename of the Board into Aborigines Welfare Board (http://www.creativespirits.info).

In 1918, according to the Northern Territory Aboriginal Ordinance Act, no Aborigines were allowed to drink, possess, or supply any of the alcoholic drink. They were also prohibited to equip themselves with firearms, get married to non-Aboriginal people or any other race aside from their own race. In the 1920 is the year when the Aboriginal is to be at its lowest population which is about 60,000 - 70,000 (http://www.creativespirits.info).

In 1927, the payments of the Aborigines were not given to them personally but to the Aborigines Protection Board. Also at this time the Aborigines were not given their allowance for maternity or even old age pension (http://www.creativespirits.info).

The history goes on that in 1936 the Aborigines could even apply to stop being and an Aborigine under the Aborigines Act. These policies were made and put the whites into advantages whereas the Aborigines were at disadvantages (http://www.creativespirits.info).

In 1938 the White Australia Policy even succeeds that the 99% of the inhabitants in Australia were the whites. For any Aborigines who wanted to have the same opportunity as the white people could apply for the exemption certificate with the condition they should not get along with those whoever that do not have this kind of certificate (http://www.creativespirits.info). The hardship of the Aborigines went on as the Aborigines continued to suffer from social marginalization even when the

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anti-discrimination laws existed in the 19th century. During all this time, the laws were no help to the Aborigines since their position in politic was also at disadvantage adding to their endless seem suffering (Cashmore, 2004: 2).

Moreover, the Aborigines, as in contrast to the other Australians, many of them were unemployed which was five times higher than those of the other Australians. The rate of Aborigine‘s imprisonment was also high that it reached fifteen times higher than non-Aborigines (Cashmore, 2004: 2).

Only in the year 1975 is when Racial Discrimination Act is passed and is this year as well the white Australian immigration policy came to an end (http://www.creativespirits.info).

2. Review on the Racial Discrimination towards the Aborigines

The racial discrimination towards the Aborigines was practiced in many ways. Since the Aborigines are considered as part of the inferior race by the white people, the white people thought it was right just to oppress the Aborigines. This is supported by how racial discrimination itself is described in The New

Encyclopedia Britannica as

The term racial discrimination denotes all forms of differential behavior based on race. The most notable form of racial discrimination is, of course, physical segregation by race, but there are many others, such as rules of

etiquette defining forms of address between racial ―superiors‖ and

―inferiors‖, or choice of friends or spouses (1983: 360).

As it is said that any behavior that tends to make a difference between any races to make a race is superior than the other is said to be racial discrimination, then it can be said that the act of being more superior than other particular group of people itself can be said as part of racial discrimination. Since the Aborigines

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were thought to be part of the inferior race by the white people, they are then being exploited, enslaved, excommunicated from the community, or simply looked down by the white people who thought their race as part of ―superiors‖.

The practices of racial discrimination were practices in certain ways like the Aborigines were being excommunicated from the community or they were not given same facilities as the white people had. The Aborigines had experienced where they were being exploited, enslaved, and excommunicated from the community by the white people. The racial discrimination experienced by the Aborigines by the whites include the denial of housing, education, justice and political participation as it is supported by what is written in (http://www.skwirk.com/) that the Aboriginal people are thought to be inferior than the whites that they have no right to own land, house, nor to participate to vote in elections.

What is stated above about the experience of the Aborigines as they were not able to have the same access to facilities as the white people is supported by what is noted in the Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies that

The racial discrimination may range from the use of derogatory labels, such as ―kike‖ or ―nigger, to the denial of access to such institutional spheres as housing, education, justice, political participation, and so on. The actions may be intentional, or unintentional (Cashmore, 2004: 345). Other than that, racial discrimination is also defined in this same book as to what

Also known as racialism, this is the active or behavioral expression of racism and is aimed at denying members of certain groups equal access to scarce and valued resources (Cashmore, 2004: 345).

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As the racial discrimination act is to deny the existence of any members of certain groups like what is stated above, the Aborigines had gone through this kind of treatment. They were denied to be part of the society by the white people that should also have the same rights as other any human race. This is proven as many of the Aborigines remained unemployed or even if they were employed, they were paid with low wages or were not paid at all. It was done intentionally by the whites so that the Aboriginal people would remain impoverished and under-developed. It is also revealed that when the Aborigines got jobs away from the reserve, they still had to pay some fixed sum of money to the bank accounts held by the protector (https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/17311). This kind of act is definitely to deny the existence of the Aborigine society by the white people. 3. Review on the Resistance of the Aborigines

Resistance theory by Selwyn Cudjoe and Barbara Harlow is summarized by Stephen Slemon in Unsettling the Empire Resistance Theory for the Second

World in the book The Post-colonial Studies Readers by Bill Ashcroft and friends

―as an act to rid people of its oppressors, and it is so thoroughly infuses the experience of living under oppression that it becomes an almost aesthetic principle (1995: 107).‖

People who show any reactions that help them getting rid of their oppressors are said to show their resistance towards their oppressors. By getting rid of their oppressors could mean that the people who are oppressed are struggling to get their freedom.

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In another book, it is stated that ―resistance can also refer to a form of insurgency denoted by the refusal of people to cooperate actively with, or express support for, the current regime or authority figures (Selbin, 2010: 11).‖ Meaning that when people started to refuse in cooperating actively with the current authorities it shows that they are showing their resistance towards the authorities. Authorities here could refer to the people who have power to take control of the society. As in this context of the autobiography that the writer uses for this study, the authority belongs to the white settlers in Australia in the 19th century.

In relation to the explanation of the resistance above, there were historical events that involved the Aborigines who had shown their resistance towards the white colonization. The actions that were taken by some of the Aborigines to get rid of their oppressors were direct and violent. Pemulwuy who speared Phillip‘s gamekeeper, John McEntire, and Phillip, led the Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars along with his son, Tedbury, in 1790. Another figure is Yagan who led the Nyoongar resistance in 1831 in Western Australia for three years (http://www.creativespirits.info).

Then the resistance still continued in early 19th century when a man named Jimmy Governor who was a part-Aboriginal killed 10 people in a rampage in 1900. However, on 18th January 1901, Jimmy Governor was captured and hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol, New South Wales (http://www.creativespirits.info). So to resist the dominant power over the Aboriginal people by the white people, many of the Aborigines took brave moves and even if it means that their lives were at risks.

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However, the resistance that the Aborigines showed not only in a violent form, but also in a form of protest as in 26 January 1938, which is declared as a Day of Mourning, the Aboriginal conference was held in Sydney. In this conference, many of the Aborigines protested against the inequality, injustice, dispossession of land and protectionist policies. Then a monthly newspaper was published in Sydney with the name Australian Abo Call. This newspaper demands the equality of treatment as well as equal opportunities for the Aborigines (http://www.creativespirits.info). These reactions proved that the Aborigines were aware of all the unequal treatments and decided to protest against it and demand their rights back.

Another reaction shown by the Aborigines as an act of resistance was a mass strike called the Cummeragunja Walk-off on 4th February 1939. In this strike, there were 150 Aborigines who left Cummeragunja Aboriginal Station as a protest for the cruel treatment and exploitation that the residents received from the management. These Aborigines walked off 66 kilometers and crossed over the border from New South Wales into Victoria which was against the rules of the New South Wales Protection Board (http://www.creativespirits.info). All these kinds of resistance efforts made by the Aborigines were done to gain their rights back and that they would also have the same opportunities as other people should have. Even though the forms of resistance may be different, but it all aims for freedom.

The examples above, most of them showed that the resistance reactions were performed in mass which is also known as the collective resistance.

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However, there is also the individual form of resistance as Amal Ibrahim Madibbo Madibbo said that resistance can be performed in either individual or collective ways (Madibbo, 2006: 5).

Jefferson Mack suggested the concept of the invisible individual resistance. According to Jefferson, every person that is acknowledged as freedom-loving would take their roles in fighting against the tyranny (Mack, 2002: 5). Furthermore Mack defined the acts of invisible resistance as

Acts of invisible resistance to both tyranny and terrorism occur when individuals-acting without direction or guidance from any leader-resist, obstruct, frustrate, expose, and interfere with tyrants and terrorists and those who actively support or execute the orders of tyrants and terrorists (Mack, 2002: 5).

Therefore, besides the resistance reactions that were done collectively, there were also individual resistance reactions shown in the Aborigine society. As Mack defined to expose the tyrants is one of the forms of the invisible individual resistance, then the autobiography by Alice Nannup is one of the examples. It is an individual resistance, since Alice Nannup is exposing all the unequal treatments that she and her people received as she says ―You won‘t find anything about the hell we went through I history books, but it happened, every little bit of it is true (Nannup, 1992: 218).‖ This means that most of the struggles that the Aborigines had to go through as an individual struggle are not found in the history book. However, Alice Nannup succeeds in writing down her autobiography When

the Pelican Laughed to picture the struggle as an individual. Through her writing

she is not only exposing, but also telling the struggle as an individual who tried to resist the white dominion power.

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D. Theoretical Framework

In this study, the writer‘s focus is on analyzing the character of Alice Nannup, the practices of racial discrimination towards Alice as the representation of the Aborigines, and how Alice Nannup showed her resistance against the racial discrimination. To answer all of the questions in the problem formulation the writer uses the theories gathered from both printed and online sources.

The theory of character and characterization is needed to analyze the character of Alice briefly. The theory on the relation between literature and society and the review on the background of the Aborigines‘ society help the writer to relate the events in the When the Pelican Laughed, which are discussed in this undergraduate thesis, with the society during the time the autobiography was written. Review on racial discrimination towards the Aborigines would also help in analyzing by showing the indications of racial discrimination acts in the conflicts and the background of the Aborigines society is to help the writer understand the life of the Aborigine back in the past, especially how they were dealing with the white settlers. Then the review on the resistance of the Aborigines is to help in analyzing how Alice Nannup as an Aborigine resisted the racial discrimination acts she received from the white people.

All these theories would help the writer in answering in the problem formulation.

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25 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of the study that is used is the autobiography When the Pelican

Laughed. In this autobiography, the writer takes Alice‘s reactions towards the

whites as the object of the study to reveal her resistance towards the discrimination she experienced from the whites. When the Pelican Laughed is an autobiography work written by Alice Nannup herself together with Lauren Marsh and Stephen Kinnane. When the Pelican Laughed was first published by the Fremantle Arts Centre Press in 1992 in Western Australia. This autobiography consists of four parts. The first part is the ―Wari, a young girl‖ which tells about the life of Alice during her childhood. The second part is ―Alice Basset, a young woman‖ that describes Alice‘s life as a young woman. The third part is ―Alice Nannup, Ngangka‖ that describes Alice‘s life after her marriage and as a mother of 10 children, and the last part is ―Nan, a great grandmother‖ that tells the life of Alice as a grandmother even a great-grandmother, as well as the story in her old life of how she finally found her way back home to her family and her people after 42 years being taken away.

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B. Approach of the Study

The approach that the writer thinks is appropriate for this study is the Postcolonialism approach. In The Post-Colonial Studies Reader by Bill Ashcroft, Garet Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin the post-colonial is described as

Post-colonial theory involves discussion about experience of various kinds: migration, slavery, suppression, resistance, representation, difference, race, gender, place, and responses to the influential master discourses of imperial Europe such as history, philosophy and linguistics, and the fundamental experiences of speaking and writing by which all these come into being (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin, 1995: 2).

It means that the post-colonial theory pays attention to the issues of migration, slavery, suppression, resistance, representation, difference, race, gender, and other issues that are related to the imperial Europe that has influenced the life of people being colonized.

Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffins also argue that ―post-colonial studies are based in the ‗historical fact‘ of European colonialism (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin, 1995: 2),‖ which means that the post-colonial studies deals with the European colonialism and its impacts to its colonizers.

A part of postcolonial studies concerns on the struggle of the indigenous people against the white occupations. Thus, the struggle of the indigenous people is seen through the writings of the indigenous writers as Elleke Boehmer states in

Colonial & Postcolonial Literature that

Indigenous writers rightly remain wary of other implications of the postcolonial. For they see themselves as still-colonized, always invaded, never free of a history of white occupation (Boehmer, 2005: 221).

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Here, it can be seen that the struggle of the indigenous people is that they still find themselves remain colonized and under the white occupation and it is all expressed through their writings.

A postcolonial study according to the definition of post-colonial theory in

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory also deals with any study that

concerns to examine the culture of former colonies of the European empires and its relation to the rest of the world. It also deals with the issues of racism and exploitation (Makaryk, 1993: 155).

Hans Bertens, in Literary Theory: The Basics stated the post-colonial theorists focuses on the victims of the Eurocentric thought, racism, politics, and exploitation (Bertens, 2008: 159). In other words, the post-colonial study deals with the result of the European colonization or in one way or another in which the people are victimized by the European thoughts in many ways also became the victims of the racism as well as exploited. Bertens also stated that the post-colonial theorists agree that their focus in on the post-colonial, oppression, resistance to colonization, and other themes that what becomes the central of these interests are issues of race, indigeneity, ethnicity, language, gender, identity, class, and power (Bertens, 2008: 162).

In short, postcolonialism focuses on the effects of the colonization to its colonized. The effects as the results of the colonization have raised the issues of resistance, suppression, oppression, race, gender, class, etc. Postcolonialism as an approach, thus examines these issues revealed in the literary works. As in this

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study postcolonialism is chosen as the approach to reveal the struggle of Alice to resist the discrimination by the whites.

This approach is the most appropriate in this study because the main focus of this study is to reveal Alice‘s resistance. Furthermore, the autobiography that is used by the writer contains events that contain the issues of racism, exploitation, and other discrimination acts based on race. By using this approach the writer expects to reveal the struggle of the character in resisting the discrimination that the character went through.

C. Method of the Study

The writer used library research as the method for this study. As the writer used the library research for this study, the writer had collected data from the literary books, books that contained literary approaches and theories and other books which contained all the information needed for this study. Some information were also obtained from the online sources.

The primary source of this study is of course taken from the text of the autobiography When the Pelican Laughed by Alice Nannup itself. Whereas, the secondary sources that the writer used are the books about literary criticisms. Some books used by the writer as the secondary sources are Reading and Writing

about Literature, Theory of Literature, Literary Theory, A Handbook to Literature, and other books which support the completion of the study.

To answer the problem formulation of the study, there were some steps taken by the writer. The first step was the writer applied the close reading by

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reading the autobiography over and over again in order to understand the contain of the autobiography.

The second step was that after the writer formulated the problem formulation, the writer conducted library research to collect the data, such as theories and approach needed to answer the problem formulation. Other than collecting data from the text sources, the writer also collected several data from the online sources. The theories used by the writers are the theory of character and characterization, theory on relation between the literature and the society, the review on the background of the Aborigines society, review on the racial discrimination towards the Aborigines, and review on the resistance of the Aborigines. The next step was the analyzing part. When analyzing the literary work, the writer paid close attention on every detail of the work to identify the character of Alice as the object of this study.

The theory on character by Mary Rohrberger and Samuel Woods in

Reading and Writing about Literature, M. H Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms and characterization in Holman and Harmon in A Handbook to Literature,

and from M. J Murphy in Understanding Unseens, helped the writer analyzed the character of Alice Nannup. The theory on the relation between Literature and the Society by Rene Wellek and Austin Warren in Theory of Literature helped the writer to see the relation between the autobiography and the society at the time the autobiography was written. Then the review on the racial discrimination towards the Aborigines from The New Encyclopedia Britanica, and by Ellis Cashmore in

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practices of the racial discrimination acts that the Aborigines received from the whites, as in this case towards Alice as an Aborigine. Then the review on the resistance of the Aborigines taken from Unsettling the Empire Resistance Theory

for the Second World by Selwyn Cudjoe and Barbara Harlow in The Post-Colonial Studies Readers by Bill Ashcroft and friends, Eric Selbin in Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance, Amal Ibrahim Madibbo in Minority within Minority, and Invisible Resistance to Tyranny by Jefferson Mack, was used by the writer in

analyzing how Alice Nannup resisted the racial discrimination. The review on the background of the Aborigines Society was used in helping the writer to understand more about the situation in the past during the white colonization and how it has impacted the lives of the Aborigines as it is also revealed in Alice Nannup‘s When the Pelican Laughed. After the writer understood the

autobiography well, then the writer decided the problem formulation which is the focus of this study.

After all of the questions in problem formulation is answered, the writer drew conclusions based on the analysis.

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31 CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

In this chapter the three questions stated in the problem formulation in the first chapter are answered. As there are three questions in the problem formulation, this chapter would be divided into three parts. The first part discusses the characterization of Alice Nannup as shown in the autobiography. Then the second part would discuss the practices of the racial discrimination towards the Aborigines. As for the last part of this chapter, it would show how Alice resisted the racial discrimination acts she received from the whites.

A. The Characterization of Alice Nannup

This study focuses on the characterization of Alice Nannup who is also the main character in the autobiography When the Pelican Laughed. As the character should possess certain personalities and physical attributes (Rohrberger and Woods 1971: 20), Alice Nannup certainly possesses personalities as well as physical attributes that make her different from any other characters. Furthermore, when a person in a narrative work could be identified by its readers to have certain moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities, then the person is the character of that work (Abrams, 2012: 46). Alice is also a character that is represented in her own writings in the form of narrative work.

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In this section the character of Alice Nannup is described. To identify the characterization of Alice Nannup in details the theory of characterization is applied. As Holman and Harmon suggested that there are three ways to present a character which are: (1) through the author‘s explicit explanation, (2) through the character‘s action, (3) and through the character‘s inner thoughts which are the character‘s representation from within (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 81), the characteristics of Alice Nannup then also is described through the author‘s explicit description, her actions, and her thoughts in her mind. Another theory of characterization that would be applied is the theory by M. J. Murphy. Out of nine ways that Murphy suggested on how to understand how a character is presented in a story, five of it would be used to analyze the character of Alice Nannup, they are: (a) Characters seen by another, (b) Speech, (c) Reactions, (d) Thoughts, and (e)Mannerisms (Murphy, 1972: 161- 173). With the help of the theory of character and characterization the writer is able to identify and analyze the characteristics of Alice Nannup.

1. Persistent

Alice Nannup is a persistent person. Her persistence could be seen in her strong personality that she does not simply follow other‘s will. If she believes that she is on the right position then she would firmly hangs on to her belief that she is right. When Alice was working for Mrs. Larsen, Miss Ryan who is Mrs. Larsen‘s niece spilt the water on the floor after Alice had cleaned the floor. Miss Ryan told Alice to clean it up but Alice refused. Believing that she has done nothing wrong, Alice went to Mrs. Larsen and complained about Miss Ryan.

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I was that annoyed, I went into Mrs Larsen and told her what had just happened. Mrs Larsen called out, ‗Kathleen,‘ and Miss Ryan came in. Mrs Larsen said to her that if she‘d spilt the water on the floor then it was for her to wipe it up.

‗No,‘ she said, ‗she‘s the servant, she‘s got to do it.‘ ‗Well, I‘m not doing it,‘ I told her (pp. 102-103).

It can be seen through the quotation how Alice persistently refused Miss Ryan‘s order to clean the floor. Miss Ryan as part of the white society wanted to treat Alice in an improper way. The way she intentionally spilt the water on the floor shows that she was looking for an opportunity to order Alice around. Even by saying that Alice is the servant was another way of saying that Alice as the servant should know her duty and how to serve her master. Knowing that Miss Ryan was intentionally looking for an opportunity to order her around, Alice did not give up to Miss Ryan, she persistently refused what she was told to do.

Another proof that shows Alice persistence characteristic was when she refused to apologize first to Miss Ryan.

‗Will you apologise to Miss Ryan?‘ she said.

‗You make her apologise first. I didn‘t start the trouble.‘

Miss Ryan was crying and she came over to me and said sorry, I apologized back to her, and I apologized to Mrs Larsen.

Lady Dugdale said, ‗There‘s nothing I can do, because I can see Alice is in the right.‘ (p. 103).

Alice persistently refused to apologize first to Miss Ryan because she believes that it was Miss Ryan who did wrong to her at first-hand. Furthermore, seeing how Miss Ryan reported to Lady Dugdale, she was indeed looking for justification that it was alright to order Alice around. So even though Alice has a persistent characteristic, she has no power to protect herself like what Miss Ryan did. On the other side, even if it was the white person who did wrong, they still

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had the advantage to look for protection because they had power in the society. So finally, Alice still had to apologize after Miss Ryan apologized first to Alice. Through Alice‘s reaction to the situation and what she said, it can be seen that Alice is a persistent person. If she believes that she is right then she persistently holds on to her belief.

2. Stubborn

Alice has a stubborn personality. Since she was a little girl, Alice had shown her stubbornness. When she saw the Aborigines were treated cruelly by the white people, Alice insisted on seeing this sad event because she felt sorry for them even though her mother forbade her.

When I saw them I used to run back up to my mother and say in language that I felt sorry for them and that. She‘d say to me, ‗You shouldn‘t look, you shouldn‘t look. Don‘t go back down there.‘ But I couldn‘t help it. I‘d know exactly when they‘d be coming and I‘d have to go and see them. There was a big rock that I used to sit behind to watch (p. 24).

Alice could not bear seeing her people being punished cruelly which was much severe than the mistakes they made. She felt sorry for them. Even when her mother told her not to go and look at that scene, Alice stubbornly kept coming back to the place where she used to go and watch it from there. Alice was being stubborn because she noticed that something was not right. She noticed that it was only her people, the Aborigines, who were treated that way. There was no white man in every scene that she witnessed being punished cruelly. That is why she was being stubborn to obey her mother because she wanted to share the pain with her people by feeling sorry.

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Another proof that shows Alice has a stubborn trait is when she was working for Mrs. Campbell. When Mrs. Campbell had forbidden Alice and her father to meet, Alice who used to obey Mrs. Campbell‘s orders showed her stubborn side.

Mrs. Campbell would have to talk to me two or three times before I‘d do what she wanted, I was really rebelling. She could see that I wasn‘t happy because I used to be willing to do whatever I was told to do, nothing was ever too much for me (p. 57).

Alice was being stubborn when she was not permitted to meet her father. She made Mrs. Campbell to repeat the order several times until she did what she was ordered to do. Even though she was being stubborn, she finally had to go Mrs. Campbell‘s way because she had no choice. As an Aborigine, Alice had the disadvantage to go against the white people‘s order because she had no power in the society.

3. Brave

Being brave is one of Alice characteristics. Alice was a brave person since she was a little girl. There were several events that revealed Alice‘s brave trait. When Alice was just a girl, there was an old man who forced her to marry him by the Aborigine‘s tradition law. He bothered Alice by asking her to feed him. However, Alice bravely confronted him. ―He‘d be saying to me, ‗You my woman, you feed me.‘ I said to him, ‗Mirda, nyinda buga,‘ That means, no! You buga, you stink (p. 35).‖Alice‘s reaction shows that even though she was just a girl, she had no fear. She bravely said what she needed to say even to an old man.

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Murphy, M. J. Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Student. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1972.

Nannup, Alice, Lauren Marsh and Stephen Kinnane. When the Pelican Laughed. Perth: Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 1992.

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Written by Himself. 1990. The Post-colonial Studies Reader. ed. Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin. London: Routledge, 1995: pp. 104-110.

The New Encyclopedia Britannica volume 15. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1983.

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Wellek, Rene, and Austin Warren. Theory of Literature. Third Edition. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1956.

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90 APPENDIX

Summary of the Alice Nannup with Lauren Marsh and Stephen Kinnane’s When the Pelican Laughed:

When the Pelican Laughed is an autobiography written by Alice Nannup with Lauren Marsh and Stephen Kinnane that tells about the life journey of Alice Nannup.

Alice Nannup was born as a mixed descent. However, she is more to be an Aborigine because she was raised in an Aboriginal society so she is accustomed to the traditions of the Aborigines. To Alice, being white is just a part of her just like

being an Indian, ―I‘m Aboriginal, English and Indian – a real international person. You hear people run down the English but I never do, because that‘s a part of me,

just like having Indian blood (p. 20).‖ For that reason, Alice thinks of herself more as an Aborigine rather than an English or Indian person.

The story of Alice bitter experiences all started when she was separated from her family. It happened when the Aboriginal Affairs man came and deceived

Alice‘s mother by telling that Alice would be taken to the South to be educated.

Since it sounded like a very good idea to Alice and her mother, they agreed and did not even think that there were other plans made for Alice. ―[…] they told them they were going to take us down South to educate us, then bring us back home to our family. I was really excited about going, it sounded like a real adventure (p. 39).‖ So as soon as things were settled, Alice was taken away from her mother and started living with the Campbells.

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Living with the Campbells is when Alice started to realize that things were not as she expected. The Campbells always said to her and Doris, the other girl

who was taken away with Alice, that they are now the Campbells‘ children.

However, Alice could see that the way the Campbells treated them did not show like what they said. Alice and Doris had to work for them and they also were only allowed to eat on the verandah,

We both had to work while we were there – washing dishes, sweeping the verandahs, scrubbing out the bathroom and toilet, things like that. They

used to say to us ‗You‘re our children now,‘ but they didn‘t treat us like

that. Doris and I shared a room in the house, but we ate on the verandah where we washed up and not with them (p. 39).

By looking at the way the Campbells had treated her, that is how Alice started to realize that she was not treated well by the whites. However, it was just

the beginning of Alice‘s journey to face more of the bitter experiences.

As Alice became an older person and think back about how they were treated, Alice then figured out what her presence really meant for the whites,

―Looking back, they didn‘t have us there as kids, they had us as slaves. We had a little room, not much bigger than a laundry, and all three of us slept in it (p.52).‖

Even though the whites never explicitly told Alice that they had her as slave, the way they treated Alice made Alice understood well that they actually had her as slave.

The story goes on when Alice was taken and put into the Moore River Native Settlement where all the Aborigines were prepared and trained for what so called mission. The mission later on is revealed that they would be sent to work for the whites. At this settlement, Alice‘s awareness grew stronger about the gap

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between the whites and the Aborigines. She looked at every single situation and figured out that the whites really aimed to degrade the Aborigines by giving them terrible food which no one would not even wants to eat it.

The food was terrible; that‘s the food we ate, not what the superintendent

and white staff had. They had beautiful food; roasts, lovely stews, curries with rice, food like that (p. 63).

Looking at how the whites had treated the Aborigines, Alice had the

thought that it was done deliberately, ―I think they did things like this to deliberately lower us; well, degrade us really (p. 64).‖

Later on, Alice was sent out to work for the whites. She had many experiences about being discriminated when working for the whites before she got married. Her experiences from time to time made Alice became a person with strong character to go against the discrimination. It is seen when she bravely hit

back Ms. Ryan who was her master‘s niece to show that she was not afraid if she did nothing wrong. As when she got married and had children, Alice became a very protective mother to her children whenever her children were being discriminated by the whites. For instance, when her daughter was not allowed to join the picnic by the new minister, Alice went straight to the new minister and asked for the reason. She finally chose to leave the church that she was attending for years just because of that incident. Also when she was standing under the verandah to get some shade for her children whose feet were burning, Alice strongly refused to leave when she was told to leave by the proprietor of the hotel. Moreover, Alice would not remain quiet if anyone bothers her children; she would directly go to that person and tells not to bother her children.

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Alice has a very strong principle that demands for every human being to be treated equally. This strong principle of her is what brought her to go against the discrimination and show her resistance bluntly. Her strong principle also is passed down to her children by always teaching them to be brave enough to go against the discrimination because if not, then they would always be treated like dirt.

[..] I‘d just had enough, I‘d reached my limit. I‘ve heard Aboriginal people called things all my life and I didn‘t want my kids to be treated like that. I

The Aborigines resistance towards the discrimination by the white people in Alice Nannup with Lauren Marsh and Stephen Kinnane`s when the pelican laughed.

THE ABORIGINES’

RESISTANCE TOWARDS THE

DISCRIMINATION BY THE WHITE PEOPLE IN ALICE

NANNUP WITH LAUREN MARSH AND STEPHEN

KINNANE

’S

WHEN THE PELICAN LAUGHED

THE ABORIGINES’

RESISTANCE TOWARDS THE

DISCRIMINATION BY THE WHITE PEOPLE IN ALICE

NANNUP WITH LAUREN MARSH AND STEPHEN

KINNANE

’S

WHEN THE PELICAN LAUGHED

THE ABORIGINES’

RESISTANCE TOWARDS THE

DISCRIMINATION BY THE WHITE PEOPLE IN ALICE

NANNUP WITH LAUREN MARSH AND STEPHEN

KINNANE

’S

WHEN THE PELICAN LAUGHED

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