The symbolic , the real and repetition automatism reflected through the plot as the manifestation of the author`s personal desire in Arundhati Roy`s the God of small thing.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ABSTRACT
JEWARU, MEINRADUS. the Symbolic, the Real and Repetition Automatism
Reflected through the Plot as the Manifestation of the author’s Personal
Desire in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Thing. Yogyakarta: Department
of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanatha Dharma University, 2016.
This undergraduate thesis analizesa novel entitled The God of Small Thing
by Arundhati Roy. The plot of The God of Small Thing basically revolves around
the issue of the transgression of the law resulted from the clash between social
order and personal desire of some major characters.
This studyhas three objectives. The first objective of the study is to
identify the plot of the novel. The second objective of the study is to find out how
the idea of the symbolic, the real and repetition automatism arerepresented
through the analysis of the plot. The third objective is to find out how the author’s
personal desire is reflected through the idea of the symbolic, the real and
repetition automatism represented in the plot.
The writer applies the library research method to collect the materials
supporting the research. Psychonalitic approach is applied to answer the problems
stated. Besides, some theories such as theory of plot, theory of the symbolic,
theory of the real, the theory of repetition automatism and the review of the

personal life of the author are used to guide the analysis.
The result of the analysis points out that through the issue of the
transgression of the law which becomes the core of the plot,the idea of the
symbolic, the real and repetition automatism is manifested. The idea of the
symbolic and the real is manifested through the clash between social structure and
personal desire of some mayor characters while the idea of repetition automatism
is manifested through the repeatedly occurence of the issue of the transgression of
the law throughout the movement of the plot. Besides, the analysis also points out
that the idea of the symbolic, the real and repetition automatism reflected through
the analysis of the plot is the manifestation of the personal desire of the author.
Through the examination of the personal life of the author, it reveals that the
author is typically a person who always challenges social structure.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ABSTRAK
JEWARU, MEINRADUS. The Symbolic, The Real and Repetition
Automatism Reflected Through The Plot as The Manifestation of The
author’s Personal Desire in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Thing.
Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanatha Dharma

University, 2016.
. Studi ini membahas sebuah novel berjudul The God of Small Thing
karangan Arundhati Roy. Plot dari The God of Small Thing pada dasarnya
berputar di sekitar isu pelanggaran hukum yang merupakan konsekwensi dari
pertentangan antara tatanan sosial dengan hasrat pribadi dari beberapa karakter
utama.
Studi ini memiliki tiga tujuan. Tujuan pertama adalah untuk
mengidentifikasi plot dari novel. Tujuan kedua adalah untuk menemukan
bagaimana konsep tentang tatanan simbolic, tatanan riil dan repetisi otomatis
terefleksikan lewat analisis plot dari novel. Tujuan ketiga adalah untuk
menemukan bagaimana hasrat personal dari pengarang termanifestasikan lewat
ide tentang tatanan simbolik, tatanan real dan repetisi otomatis yang terepresentasi
dalam plotmerupakan manifestasi dari hasrat personal dari pengarang.
Penulis mengaplikasikan metode studi pustaka untuk mengumpulkan
materi-materi yang mendukung penelitian ini. Pendekatan psikoanalisis dipakai
untuk menjawab masalah-masalah yang ditetapkan. Selain itu, beberapa teori
seperti teori tentang plot, teori tentang tatanan simbolik, teori tentang tatanan riil,
teori tentang repetisi otomatis dan ulasan mengenai kehidupan pribadi pengarang
digunakan untung menjadi pedomaan dalam analisis.
Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa melalui isu pelanggaran hukum yang

merupakan inti plot, konsep tatanan simbolik, tatanan riil dan repetisi
otomatistermanifestasi. Konsep tatanan simbolik dan tatanan riil termanifestasi
lewat konflik antara tatanan sosial dan hasrat pribadi dari beberapa karakter utama
sedangkan konsep repetisi otomatis termanifestasi lewat kemunculan berulangulang isu pelanggarana hukum di setiap alur plot. Selain itu, hasil analisis juga
menunjukkan bahwa konsep tatanan simbolik, tatanan riil dan repetisi otomatis
yang terefleksikan melalui analisis plotmerupakan manifestasi dari hasrat personal
penulis. Melalui pembacaan atas riwayat hidup pengarang nampak bahwa
pengarang adalah orang yang selalu mempertanyakan tatanan sosial.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

THE SYMBOLIC , THE REAL AND REPETITION AUTOMATISM
REFLECTED THROUGH THE PLOT AS THE MANIFESTATION OF
THE AUTHOR’S PERSONAL DESIRE IN ARUNDHATI ROY’S THE
GOD OF SMALL THING
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fullfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters

By
Meinradus Jewaru
Student Number: 104214082

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2016

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

THE SYMBOLIC , THE REAL AND REPETITION AUTOMATISM
REFLECTED THROUGH THE PLOT AS THE MANIFESTATION OF
THE AUTHOR’S PERSONAL DESIRE IN ARUNDHATI ROY’S THE
GOD OF SMALL THING
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fullfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters

By
Meinradus Jewaru
Student Number: 104214082

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2016
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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

A SarjanaSastra undergraduate thesis on

THE SYMBOLIC , THE REAL AND REPETITION AUTOMATISM
REFLECTED THROUGH THE PLOT AS THE MANIFESTATION OF
THE AUTHOR’S PERSONAL DESIRE IN ARUNDHATI ROY’S THE
GOD OF SMALL THING

By
Meinradus Jewaru
104214082

Approved by

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

A SarjanaSastra undergraduate thesis on

THE SYMBOLIC , THE REAL AND REPETITION AUTOMATISM
REFLECTED THROUGH THE PLOT AS THE MANIFESTATION OF
THE AUTHOR’S PERSONAL DESIRE IN ARUNDHATI ROY’S THE

GOD OF SMALL THING
By
Meinradus Jewaru
104214082
Defended before the Board of Examiners
On March 31,2016
and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name
Chairperson

: Dr. F.X. Siswadi, M.A

Secretary

: A.B. Sri Mulyani, M.A., PhD

Member 1

: Th. Enni Anggraini, M.A., PhD

Member 2

: Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M. Hum

Member 3

: Dr. Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, M.Hum

Yogyakarta, March 31, 2016
Faculty of Letters

Dr. P. Ari Subagyo, M.Hum

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
I certify 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, March 9, 2016

Meinradus Jewaru

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSEUTUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK
KEPENTINNGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Univesitas sanata Dharma
Nama

: Meinradus Jewaru

Nomor Mahasiswa

: 104214082

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

THE SYMBOLIC , THE REAL AND REPETITION AUTOMATISM
REFLECTED THROUGH THE PLOT AS THE MANIFESTATION OF
THE AUTHOR’S PERSONAL DESIRE IN ARUNDHATI ROY’S THE
GOD OF SMALL THING
Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan. Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustkaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain,
mengolahnya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan
mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu
meminta ijin kepada saya maupuun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap
mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada Tanggal : 30 maret,2016

Yang Menyatakan

Meinradus Jewaru

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

if your daily life seems poor, do not blame
it, blame yourself that you are not poet
enough to call forth its riches, for the
creator, there is no poverty

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

FOR
MY BELOVED PARENTS
AND
MY LOVELY SISTERS
IN THE HOPE OF GOOD HEALTH

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It needs both patience and endurance to complete this thesis. That is why at the very
first place, I would like to thank God for having granted me good patience, endurance and
more importantly good health during the writing ofthis thesis. Besides, I have been also
helped by the generosity and the kindness of many people throuhgoutthe process of the
completion of this thesis. At this very moment, I would like to thank them.
My sincerest gratitude goes to my family. Particularly, I would like to thank my
mother and my father for having given me incredible support and love for years. I also would
like to thank my sisters and brother: Elan, Frisa and Lois for having been very nice sister and
brother.
My deepest gratitude goes to my advisor, Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M. Hum for
having given me precious suggestions and correction during the writing of this thesis. I would
like also to thank my co-advisor, Dr. Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, M.Hum who has spent his
precious time to read, check and correct this undergraduate thesis. My deep gratitude also
goes to all English letters lectures. I would like to thank them for having been very nice and
kind lecturers and particularly for precious knowledge they have shared to me which I feel
have had instrumental impact on my intellectual life.
I would like to thank all “2010 Class C English Letters students”. We have shared
four wonderfull years together and the memories from our togetherness will remain on my
mind for the rest of my life. My special thank goes to Grady and Tola for having become like
brothers to me.
I also would like to thank all my friends : Godi, Rio, Ell Josh, Chicho, Entok, Lory,
Lale, Vigo, Njalek, Erik, Ndik, Rinto. Pace Timo, Ari, for having been incredible friend for
ix

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

years. In the end, I would also like to thank all people who have supported me but who are
not mentioned in this acknowledgement.

Meinradus Jewaru

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE........................................................................................................
APPROVAL PAGE .............................................................................................
ACCEPTANCE PAGE.......................................................................................
STAEMENT OF ORIGANILITY......................................................................
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYAILMIAH...........................................................................
MOTTO PAGE......................................................................................................
DEDICATION PAGE............................................................................................
ACKLOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................
TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................
ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................
ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................

vi
vii
viii
ix
xi
xii
xiii

CHAPTER 1:INTRODUCTION.........................................................................
A. Background..............................................................................................
B. Problem Formulation...............................................................................
C. Objective of the Study............................................................................
D. Definiton of Terms..................................................................................

1
1
4
4
5

ii
iii
iv
v

CHAPTER 11:REVIEW OF LITERATURE..................................................... 8
A. Review of Related Studies....................................................................... 8
B. Review of Related Theories..................................................................... 11
C. Review of Personal Life of The Author................................................... 34
D. Theoritical Fremework............................................................................. 36
CHAPTER 111:METODOLOGY........................................................................
A. Object of the Study.................................................................................
B. Approach of the Study............................................................................
C. Method of the Study...............................................................................

37
37
39
41

CHAPTER 1V: ANALYSIS..................................................................................
A. The Plot of The God of Small Thing.......................................................
B. The Idea of the Symbolic, the Real And Repetition Automatism
Reflected through the analysis of the Plot..........................................
C. The Idea of the Symbolic, the Real and Repetition Automatism
Reflected in the Plot as the Manifestation of the Personal Desire
od the Author........................................................................................

43
43
55

68

CHAPTER V:CONCLUSION............................................................................. 72
BIBLIOGRAPGPHY............................................................................................ 75
APPENDIX............................................................................................................ 77

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ABSTRACT
JEWARU, MEINRADUS. the Symbolic, the Real and Repetition Automatism Reflected
through the Plot as the Manifestation of the author’s Personal Desire in Arundhati
Roy’s The God of Small Thing. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of
Letters, Sanatha Dharma University, 2016.
This undergraduate thesis analizesa novel entitled The God of Small Thing by
Arundhati Roy. The plot of The God of Small Thing basically revolves around the issue of the
transgression of the law resulted from the clash between social order and personal desire of
some major characters.
This studyhas three objectives. The first objective of the study is to identify the plot of
the novel. The second objective of the study is to find out how the idea of the symbolic, the
real and repetition automatism arerepresented through the analysis of the plot. The third
objective is to find out how the author’s personal desire is reflected through the idea of the
symbolic, the real and repetition automatism represented in the plot.
The writer applies the library research method to collect the materials supporting the
research. Psychonalitic approach is applied to answer the problems stated. Besides, some
theories such as theory of plot, theory of the symbolic, theory of the real, the theory of
repetition automatism and the review of the personal life of the author are used to guide the
analysis.
The result of the analysis points out that through the issue of the transgression of the
law which becomes the core of the plot,the idea of the symbolic, the real and repetition
automatism is manifested. The idea of the symbolic and the real is manifested through the
clash between social structure and personal desire of some mayor characters while the idea of
repetition automatism is manifested through the repeatedly occurence of the issue of the
transgression of the law throughout the movement of the plot. Besides, the analysis also
points out that the idea of the symbolic, the real and repetition automatism reflected through
the analysis of the plot is the manifestation of the personal desire of the author. Through the
examination of the personal life of the author, it reveals that the author is typically a person
who always challenges social structure.

xii

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ABSTRAK
JEWARU, MEINRADUS. The Symbolic, The Real and Repetition Automatism Reflected
Through The Plot as The Manifestation of The author’s Personal Desire in Arundhati
Roy’s The God of Small Thing. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of
Letters, Sanatha Dharma University, 2016.
. Studi ini membahas sebuah novel berjudul The God of Small Thing karangan
Arundhati Roy. Plot dari The God of Small Thing pada dasarnya berputar di sekitar isu
pelanggaran hukum yang merupakan konsekwensi dari pertentangan antara tatanan sosial
dengan hasrat pribadi dari beberapa karakter utama.
Studi ini memiliki tiga tujuan. Tujuan pertama adalah untuk mengidentifikasi plot dari
novel. Tujuan kedua adalah untuk menemukan bagaimana konsep tentang tatanan simbolic,
tatanan riil dan repetisi otomatis terefleksikan lewat analisis plot dari novel. Tujuan ketiga
adalah untuk menemukan bagaimana hasrat personal dari pengarang termanifestasikan lewat
ide tentang tatanan simbolik, tatanan real dan repetisi otomatis yang terepresentasi dalam
plotmerupakan manifestasi dari hasrat personal dari pengarang.
Penulis mengaplikasikan metode studi pustaka untuk mengumpulkan materi-materi
yang mendukung penelitian ini. Pendekatan psikoanalisis dipakai untuk menjawab masalahmasalah yang ditetapkan. Selain itu, beberapa teori seperti teori tentang plot, teori tentang
tatanan simbolik, teori tentang tatanan riil, teori tentang repetisi otomatis dan ulasan
mengenai kehidupan pribadi pengarang digunakan untung menjadi pedomaan dalam analisis.
Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa melalui isu pelanggaran hukum yang merupakan
inti plot, konsep tatanan simbolik, tatanan riil dan repetisi otomatistermanifestasi. Konsep
tatanan simbolik dan tatanan riil termanifestasi lewat konflik antara tatanan sosial dan hasrat
pribadi dari beberapa karakter utama sedangkan konsep repetisi otomatis termanifestasi lewat
kemunculan berulang-ulang isu pelanggarana hukum di setiap alur plot. Selain itu, hasil
analisis juga menunjukkan bahwa konsep tatanan simbolik, tatanan riil dan repetisi otomatis
yang terefleksikan melalui analisis plotmerupakan manifestasi dari hasrat personal penulis.
Melalui pembacaan atas riwayat hidup pengarang nampak bahwa pengarang adalah orang
yang selalu mempertanyakan tatanan sosial.

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The God of Small Thing centers on the life of a respectable upper caste
Syrian Christian family in Ayemenem, Kerala, India. As a respectable Syrian
Christian and an upper caste family, there are unwritten laws that each family
member is supposed to act in accordance with Christian and upper caste values.
The laws include not to marry people from another religion and lower caste as
well. The potrayal of the family covers three different generation. Despite the
strict rules that regulate the life of each family member, the narration of the novel
reveals that there is always a member of each family who transgresses the law. It
starts with Babby Kochama ( she is Ammu’s aunt, from first generation) who falls
in love with Father Mulligan, a handsome young Irish Monk. It is followed by
Ammu (from second generation) who marries a Hindu man and then, after getting
divorced, committing a scandal with Velutha, an untouchable black man,
(untoucable refers to those coming from lower caste). The last one is the incest
committed by Estha and Rahel ( they are Ammu’s children).
The transgression of the law, as we can see through the review of the
novel above, is a pivotal issue in the structure of the plot of The God of Small
Thing. It can be seen by the fact that on one hand it appears almost in every
movement of the plot and on the other hand it is commited by four major
characters. The issue of the transgression of the law itself is resulted from the
tension between social order and personal desire of some major characters. The

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
2

reason why the writer chooses The God of Small Thing as the objective of the
study is that the issue of the transgression of the law resulted from the tension
between social order and personal desire, which becomes pivotal in the movement
of the plot, precisely reflects the problem that is often experienced by human as
the consequence of his existence as individual and social being at once.
The development of contemporary sociology defines human being as
individual and social being at once (Hormer, 2005: 32). It follows that these two
dimensions, individual and social dimension, are inseparable and attached to
every human being. Thus, in the attempt of understanding what human being
really is, none of them can be overlooked. The indivisibility of individual and
social dimension is not withoutproblem. It could even be said that the two tension
between them will always cause problem particularly to the life of a subject. In
daily life, it likely happens that our personal desires sometimes are not in
accordance with social norms. When we are in such situatuion, what normally
happens is that we repress our personal desire in other to avoid being misjudged
by society.
The birth of psychoanalysis in the early twentieth century could be said as
giving a light to the enigmas surrounding the mental life of human being as the
consequence of the split between his individual and social dimension
(https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/marcuse/works/eros.civilisation/epilo
gue.htm). It could be seen from how psychoanalysis maps human personality into
three parts namely id, ego and super ego. Sean Hormer in Critical Thinkers argues
that the id is a set of drives which becomes the component of personality that is

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
3

present from the moment of someone’s birth (2005:22). He adds that these drives
are entirely unconcious and includes the instinctive and primitive behaviors
(2005: 22). He continues that these drives are driven by pleasure principle which
strives for immediate gratification of all desires, wants, and needs. If these needs
are not satisfied immediately, the result is a state of anxiety or tension (2005 : 23).
Moreover, he says that the ego is the component of personality that is responsible
for dealing with reality. The ego operates based on the reality principle in which it
strives to satisfy the id's desires in realistic and socially appropriate ways (2005:
22). He continues by defining superego as the aspect of personality that holds all
of our internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from both parents
and society--our sense of right and wrong (2005 : 23).
From the mapping of human personality by psychoanalysis as it is
explained by Sean Hormer, it is clearly shown that on one hand there are
dimensions of personality which are already there for every subject since he was
born (id) and on the other hand there are also dimensions of personality which are
resulted from the subject’s integration into society (Super Ego). If the mapping is
compared to the definition made by contemporary sociology about human being,
the id could be seen as the personal dimension of human being while super ego
could be seen as social dimension of human being. The existence of ego is
concieved as the bridge that reconcile id and super ego which seem to contradict
each other. However, the existence of ego does not mean that the tension of the
two will dissappear and leave human being to live in peace. In fact, the tension
will always occur throughout human’s life.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
4

Jascques Lacan, a prominent French psychoanalyst, elaborates his own
theory on human subjectivity in which he owes much to the division of human
psyche made by traditional psychoanalysis where it consists of id, ego, and super
ego (Sigmund Freud). Lacan’s conception on human subjectivity is deeply
elaborated in the three registers namely the imaginary, the symbolic and the real.
Each of them has a constitutive power toward the formation of human
subjectivity. His notion that social relation is governed by symbolic law ( the law
that also govern language) is something that makes a new insight to the
psychoanalisis. According to him, human subjectivity mostly depends on the
signifier attached to him by society. What means by signifier here is that a large
amount of social symbols that are attached to someone. Once a social symbol is
attached to someone, the way he perceive the world and they way the others
perceive him mostly determined by that social symbol. In a word, a subject is
nothing more than only a symbol.
This undergraduate thesis will reveal that Lacan’s idea on the symbolic,
the real and repetition automatism are manifested through the analysis of the plot.
Besides that, this undergraduate thesis will also reveal that the tendency of
commiting scandal (transgressing the law) which seems to be repeated throughout
the story is the emblem of thepersonal desire of the author. Through the
examination of the personal life of the author it reveals that the author is the
victim of social order. Because of her mother marries man from different religion
and then divorce him, she and her mother undergoes the rejection from society
and that fact grows rebellious nature on her caharacter.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
5

B. Problem Formulation
To make this study well organized, this study will be based on the problem
formulation as stated below
1. How is the plot of the novel ?
2. How are the idea of the symbolic, the real and repetition automatism
represented through the analysis of the plot?
3. How is the personal desire of the author reflected through the idea of the
symbolic, the real and repetition automatism represented in the plot?
C. Objectives of The Study.
This study will consist of three objectives. The first objective of the study
is to examine how the plot of the novel is . The examination of the plot will be
based on the division of elements of the plot made by Gusyav Freitag in which he
conceives a plot as made of six elements namely exposition, complicating action,
peripety (climax), falling action, resolution and catastrophe (denounment). The
second objective of the study is to find out how the idea of the symbolic , the real
and repetition automatism are represented through the plot of the novel (its six
elements as suggested by Frietag). The third objective of the study is to find out
how the author’s personaldesire is reflected through the idea of the symbolic, the
real and repetition automatism represented in the plot.
D. Definition of Terms.
1. Repetition Automatism.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
6

Repetition automatism is the concept that Lacan borrows from Freud. Dyla
Evans in Introductory Dictionary of Lacan proposes that Freud posited the
existence of a basic compulsion to repeat in order to explain certain clinicaldata:
namely, the tendency of the subject to expose himself again and again to
distressing situations (1996 :191). He continues that itis a basic principle of
psychoanalysis that a person is only condemned to repeat something when he has
forgotten the origins of the compulsion (1996 :191).

2.The Symbolic.
It is a concept that Lacan develops from Levi Strauss’s thought onSymbolic
function and Ferdinad de Saussure’s thought on language. It is a fundamental
principles that underlie all social relation. Dylan Evans in Introductory Dictionary
of Lacan states that the symbolic is the set of universal principles which make
social existence possible, the structure that govern all form of social exchange
(1996 :125). In the symbolic, there is an instrumental term which is often used,
namely The Name of The Father. The Name of The Father is a metaphor for the
paternal function that serves as the prohibitive and legislative agency of the law
that regulates social relation. It follows that once the symbolic is established, a set
of prohibition will follow

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
7

3.The Real.
Sean Hormer in Crictical Thinkers argues that thereal is the unknown that
exists at the limit of this socio-symbolicuniverse and is in constant tension with it
(2005 : 96). The existence of the symbolic pressuposes the existence of a set of
prohibitions that regulate human’s desire. The real is the desire within human
being that can’t be reduced and regulated within the realm of the symbolic.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Studies
The first related study that will be elaborated in this part is a thesis
written by Emily Stockdale (University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2008). Her
thesis is conducted under the title “Language And The Creation of Characters in
Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Thing”. In her thesis, Stockdale explores the
relation between language ( either the language that the author uses in presenting
the main characters or the language that the main character uses within the novel)
and the main characters. Language in Sttockladge’s view is not only related to
written or spoken language but also the way cultural groups understand and
communicate one another through customs and tradition. Stocklade sees that the
language that the author uses in presenting each main character is different and so
is the language used by each main character within the story. The distinction is
conciously created by Roy as a clue to show what kind of person each character
is. To put it in another way, there is a strong affinity between the use of language
of each character with their characteristic.
She begins by studying the language used by Estha and Rahel (the
twins). It repeatedly happens that the twins can not make a boundary between two
words. They very often pronounce two words as a word. The merger of two words
conducted by the twins, according to Stocklade, indicates the personal relation
between the twins. The break down of the boundaries of words mirroring their
own life. As twins, there is almost no boundary between them.

8

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The confusion lay in deeper, more secret place.In those early amorphous years
when memory had just begun, when life was full of Beginnings and no Ends,
and Everything was forever, Esthappen and Rahel thought of themselves
together as Me, and separately, individually, as We or Us. As though they
were a rar breed of Siamese twins, physically separate, with joint identities
(Roy, 1997 : 4).

She continues by examining Velutha. In narrating Velutha as a
character, Roy uses a little bit different style of focalization. Velutha rarely
expresses his thought or speaks with another characters. As Stockladge suggests
“as an untouchable, he rarely gets the chance to speak to anyone on a personal
level (outside of his family and the twins – who either do not know or do not care
about his social position)” (2008 : 8). His personalty is presented to the reader not
by words coming from his own mouth but rather by the other characters remarks
about him or by the narrator’s desciption about him. If the reader wants to assume
what kind of personVelutha is, it depends on the others character and the narator’s
words. The potrayal of Velutha in which his personality mostly depends on what
the other characters say about him mirrors his position as the member of marginal
group. Marginal group is hardly able to voice their own voice. They can not
represent themselves but are represented by dominant group.
The next character that Stockdale studies is Ammu (the twins’ mother).
According to Stockdale Ammu shares a common similarity with Velutha with
regard to language. Ammu, as the result of her marriage with a Hindu man and
even worse her divorce is not allowed to voice her own opinion. On many
occasion, even when it is about her own children, she is not allowed to express her
thought. According to Stocklade, Ammu is not allowed to exercise language as a
means to represent herself.

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The second related studies that the writer will review is a study conducted
by Elisabeth Qutka entittled Trauma and Temporal Hybridity in Arundhati Roy’s
The God of Small Thing (English Faculty Publication of University of Richmond,
2011). The issue of hibridity in Arundhati Roy’s novel, The God of Small Thing,
according to Quotka, could be traced from the disordering of the time within the
narrative of the novel. The God of Small Thing is presented in a fragmented
manner in which one event follows another event without having a clear linearity
pattern of time in a sense that it does not neccessarily happen that present moment
precedes future moment or past moment precedes present moment. As quotka
argues that The God of Small Things

presents an often bewildering mix of

different times: images, stories, and sensations from the past blend together with
present moments and even future experiences (2011 : 11).
Through the way Roy disorders time in the narration of her novel, Quotka
comes to the conclusion that the view which perceive time as linear abd fix is just
illusion. Time is always a mixture, we have to perceive “ present moment” as a
complex amalgamation and negotiation of past moments. and “future moment” as
a complex amalgamation and negotiation of present moments.
Whereas the first study analizes the relatioon between language and
characters while the second study elaborates the idea of hybridity, this
undergraduate thesis will analyze the issue of the transgression of the law as the
core of the plot and its relation with the idea of the symbolic, the real, repetition
automatism and the personal desire of the writer.

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B. Review of Related Theories.
1. Theory of Plot.
Gustav Freytag, a German journalist and writer, in his book Technique
of Drama, as quoted through Stefanie Lethbrige, identifies plot into six
elements namely exposition, complicating action, peripety (climax), falling
action, resolution and catastrophe (denounment) (2001 : 99). In exposition, the
characters (particularly main characters) are introduced to the reader. The
introduction of the characters involves how they relate to each other, what are
their motives and desires and what kind of person they are. Besides the
introduction of the character, in exposition, the setting is also introduced, either
the plce or the social background, so that the reader has a mental picture of
where the story is taking place and the social background of the society of the
story. So, in a word, it could be said, exposition contains all general
informations that will provide the reader the important information that
becomes the background of the story. In exposition, the seed of the conflict is
normally hinted. The general information that is given in exposition generally
includes the clue that makes the reader aware of the main problem that will be
faced by the main characters. In complicating action, the reader finally knows
the problem in a greater detail. Lethbridge argues that complicating action
usually propels the plot by introducing further circumstances or problems
related tothe main issue. The main conflict starts to develop and characters are
presented in greater detail (2001: 100). In this part, the problem or the conflict
arises and the tension will occur as the consequence of the conflict.

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Complicating action consist of chain of events that generate tension and
suspense. Periphery could be said as the most interesting part of the story.
Richard Gill proposes that the plot is moving (plot moves because they exit in
time) in a certain direction (1985: 167). He uses the term trajectory to describe
the movement of the plot. Trajectory is the path taken by a moving object. If
we follow Gill’s idea in conceiving the move of the plot as trajectory, it could
be said that periphery is the part when the move of the plot reaches its climax.
Reaching its climax however does not mean that the plot achieves its end. In
this part the tension resulted from the problem reaches its peak. Periphery
consists of event when the main character makes an instrumental action that
lead to the outcome of the story. Falling action consists of actions or events
that comeimmediately after climax. It could be said as the direct effect of the
climax. As the consequence of the climax, the new tension will occur which
resulted from the instrumental action performed by main character. Lethbridge
argues that falling action creates new tension in that it delays the final
catastrophe by further events (2001: 100). Resolution is the experience we get
when all the issues or the conflicts within the story are resolved. Finally, the
plot reaches its end in denouement. Denouement is the conclusion that tells the
reader the individual destinies of the various characters.

2. Theory of Lacan.
2.1 The Symboic.

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To have a better understanding on Lacan’s thought, we have to study three
registers of human subjectivity that he made namely the imaginary, the symbolic
and the real. Since the imaginary is not used in the analysis, thus the theory of the
imaginary is not reviewed. His notion on symbolic is deeply rooted on
structuralism. Lacan uses structuralism as a mean to reelaborate Freud’s
psychoanalysis, particularly on the nation of super ego. It has been widely known
that there are two prominent figures in the development of structuralism, namely
Linguist Ferdinand De Saussure and Antropologist Claude Levi Staruss. Lacan
himself is really influenced by the thought of these two figures in elaborating his
conception on symbolic . Thus, in this part, the writer will give a brief explanation
about some ideas of De Saussure and Levi Strauss particularly the ideas that have
instrumental influence to Lacan’s conception on the symbolic.
Peter Barry in Beginning Theory argues that stucturalism, in a simple
way, could be understood as a mode of thinking in which its essence is the belief
that things can not be understood in isolation - they have to be seen in the larger
structure they are part of ( 2002:39). The occurance of structuralism as a mode of
thinking itself is basically a reaction toward existentialism. Whereas
existentialism considers subject as autonomous and free, structuralism, on the
other hand, views that man is not as free as he thinks, that any particular choices
of individual must be understood from the stand point of cultural and social
context where he lives. That man is not as free as he thinks and that there is
always a cultural and social determination that becomes the background of any

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particular choices of individual, they are the starting point in understanding
symbolic.
The term symbolic itself derives from Levi Strauss’ conception namely
symbolic function. This conception is developed by Levi Strauss in one of his
prominent workin studying primitive society namely The Elementary Structure of
Kinship. TheElementary Structure of Kinship generally discusses about the
marriage and kinship system of primitive society. From his research, Levi Strauss
finds out that the kinship system of primitive society mostly depends on their
marriage system. Primitive society stuructures their marriage system based on the
incestuous taboo where each family member is not allowed to marry members of
his

own

family

but

required

to

marry

outside

his

family

members.Thistabooprincipleencourageseach family memberwho will conductthe
marriagefinding

a

lif e

partner

out

of

his

group.A

family

who

handedhisfamilymembertoanother group isis alsoentitled togeta womanfrom that
another group.
This phenomenon leads to the the circulation of woman in which its aim
is to extend the family boundary, to make kinship stronger. Thus, it can be said
that kinship is basedon thealliancebetweenthe two groups thatformed whenwomen
fromone groupmarriedwith menoutside thegroup. Levi-Strauss argues that,as
quoted from Sean Hormer, whatwas significant in this process (circulation of
woman) was not so much the exchange of real people-of actual woman-but the
way in which woman were transformed into signs and operated within a system of
symbolic exchange (2005 : 39). We can see that, fromLevi Strauss’ elaboration

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on The Elementary Structure of Kinship, the marriage relation of primitive society
simply serves as the symbol of the alliance between two groups. At the surface
level, it seemsthat the marriage is merely the exchange of woman between tribes
but what underlines the exchange is the transformation of women into signs and
their rules within symbolic exchange. In a word, either woman or man
(eventhough in the case of man, it is less elaborated), at some extent, when they
get involved in a marriage, they do not have free choice. There are already certain
laws that regulate and become the background to whom they can marry. They are
basically subjected to a symbolic function.Thus, Sean Homer suggests that the
basic premise that Lacan takes from Levi Strauss is that we understood individual
acts not in their own right but against of background of social relations from
which they arrive their meaning (2005 : 48).
Since symbolic function intervenes in all aspects of our life. what follows
from this premis is that to be fully accepted and integrated in a society, each
person must follow this symbolic function and most importantly take their place
within it and act accordingly. To make it simple, it is better to give an illustration.
Many feminists, on the very basis of their struggle to challenge phallocentric
discourse, argue that it is a must to make a clear difference between this two
terms: female and femine. The first is related to the matter of biology, something
which is inhrent to every woman while the latter, as proposed by Petter Barry, a
set of culturally defined characteristic (2002 :102). In relation to the latter term, a
French feminist, Simona de Beauvoir says that a woman was not born as a woman
but to be a woman. If we look back at the premis how symbolic function

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determines all apsects of our life, we can rationalize Simona de Beauvoir’s
remark. Once we were born, we were already identified by our family as man or
woman and for the rest of our life we have to act in accordance with what is
supposed to be woman and man defined by society. Thus, we can say that, at
some extent, by simply being a man or woman, a subject , even at the hour of his
or her birth, has already been introduced into symbolic fuction. He or she, whether
we like or not, bocomes like a sign which carries some meaning. Being a man or
woman is only one example, perharps the most apparent one, in which symbolic
function intervenes someone’s life. There are of course countless examples in
which symbolic function has a determinant power toward human subjectivity.
When talking about symbolic function, Lacan does not treat it in isolation
but how it has constitutive power toward human subjectivity and most importantly
human’s unconciousness. To make it clear how symbolic function constitutes
human subjectivity and unconciousness, we can look back at the illustraton of
how a subject is situated by society to be a man or woman. Think about this
situation: suppose a boy is celebrating his bitrhday and then one of his classmate
presents him a t-shirt which is pink in colour. After the celebration, the boy never
wears the t-shirt because he does not like it. From the outset, it seems that the boy
has a freedom whether to wear it or not and he decides not to. But if we examine
closely, we know that the unwilingness to wear the T-shirt is simply because pink
is a colour which is assosiated with woman. From this illustration we can see that
on one hand there is a social background that determines the boy’s subjectivity (in
this case his choice not to wear the shirt) and on the other hand, this social

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background (social function) remains unconcious for the boy. Lévi-Strauss
suggested that what is called the unconscious is merely an empty space in which
the symbolic function achieves autonomy’, that is to say, a space where ‘symbols
are more real than what they symbolize (1950: 19).
Symbolic function itself is only possible to exist by the circulation of
signifiers. To make this premis not obscure, it is better to explain what signifier
means here. When Lacan conceive the significancy of the circulation of signifiers
in symbolic function, he borrows the term or the concept of signifier from
Ferdinand De Saussure. According to De Saussure, one of the main features of
language is that it consits of signs and each sign is made of two inseperable
elements, namely signifier and signified. The relation between sign, signified and
signifier could be sketched diagrammacally as follow :
�� � � →

Signi�ied
signi�ier

From the diagram above, proposed by De Saussure, it seems that signified is
prioritizated. It can be seen from the position of the signified in the diagram,
which is above the bar. Signifier based on Saussure’s diagram is the
representation of signified, it brings signified into existence, into material world.
Lacan, however, dissagrees with the notion of the supremacy of signified
over signifier and thinks the other way around. Mark Brucher in Lacan, Discourse
and Social Change gives an interesting illustrationn to justify Lacan’s notion
about the supremacy of signifier over signified. A heterosexual man encounters
with a very beautiful woman in a bar. This man becomes excited as he fantasizes

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to have a special relation with the woman. He tells his fantasy to his friend but his
friend tells him that she is not a woman but a man. Immediatedly he looses his
interest to the woman. If we take a close inspection on the illustration, what
reveals is that the supremacy of signifier over signified. The image and
anatomical reality of the woman are still the same. What changes is the the switch
of the signifier “woman and man” (the moment when his friend tells him that she
is a man, the signifier is changing) .Thus, Lacan reverse thes Saussurian diagram
becoming follow

���n →

signi�ier

signi�ied

If the bar in Saussurian diagram is read as the indivisibility between
signified and signifier, Lacan, on the contrary, conceives the bar as the barrier of
the meaning. As what Sean Hormer argues what a signifier refers to is not a
signified, as there is always a barrier between them, but to another signifier. In
short, a signifier refers us to another signifier, which in turn refers us to another
signifier in an almost endless chain of signification(2005:42). It is well illustrated
in the use of dictionary. When we try to see the meaning of a word, it only leads
us into another word and that another word will also lead us into another word.
That is why the process of human signification is called signifying chain because
the process undergoes an almost endless chain of signification. It differs from
animanal communication in which certain sign is only bound to certain meaning.
In human language there is no such one to one correspondency. Hormer adds
signification is always a process – a chain. None of its elementsactually ‘consist’

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of the meaning or the signified but rather each signified ‘insists’ on a meaning, as
it presses forward to the next signifier (2005 : 42).
The significancy of signifier over signified finally leads Lacan to link it
with the notion of symbolic function and subjectivity. Mark Bracher in Lacan,
Discourse and Social Change defines symbolic order as the ultimate authority or
source of meaning constituted and epitomized in our notions of Nature, Society,
God, Nation and so on (1993:31). As the ultimate authority and source of
meaning, the existence of symbolic function, besides bringing social relation of
human into order, also gives a subject a sense of having identity. Having identity,
however, is very instrumental for human being. Lacan believes there are a large
amount of identity-bearing signifiers that circulates in symbolic function. Those
identity-bearing signifiers is called by Lacan as master signifiers. To make it
clear, let us takes the earlier example on the idea of being woman and man. Since
the earlier part of the subject’s life, as a man and a woman, there are always
values or standard of what a man or a woman is defined by society. For instance,
as a man, a subject is supposed to be brave, responsible, strong and so on. The
notion of brave, responsible, and strong can be seen as signifiers since, from the
very simplest reason, the word strong is only understood in particular actions
performed by a subject (man). The signifier strong gains its status through certain
actions. Thus in other to show his subjectivity as a man, a subject must embody
these signifiers ‘brave, resp